The task force is comprised of representatives from the business community and unions, non-profit foundations, the Governor’s Office, and the DOE. The purpose of the task force is to provide feedback, advice and support to Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi regarding the design and implementation of a new statewide teacher and leader evaluation system.

The State of Hawaii was awarded $75 million in federal Race to the Top funding to pursue a number of ambitious statewide education reforms, including the development of a new system for evaluating teachers and principals. Using multiple data points, this new system will provide teachers with better information than ever before about how their work in the classroom impacts their students’ achievement. The new approach looks at teacher performance by measuring the academic growth of their students, as compared to students in other classrooms. This new approach will allow schools to identify which teaching actions are most effective in the classroom.

“While the idea may be simple, the Hawaii State Department of Education recognizes that change like this is rarely easy or simple,” said Yvonne W. M. Lau, acting administrator of the Performance Management Section of the Office of Human Resources. “The active engagement of stakeholders at all levels, both internal and external, is critical to the success of such ambitious education reforms.”

“The Great Teachers Great Leaders Task Force is just one piece of our Race to the Top initiatives,” explained Stephen Schatz, DOE assistant superintendent for the Office of Strategic Reform. “We plan to continue engaging teachers, school leaders, community members and other stakeholders throughout the state in the design and implementation of this very important, new teacher evaluation program.”

GTGL Task Force Biographies (39 KB)