HONOLULU, Hawaii: The following media release was issued by the Hawaii Department of Education, about the expansion of  teacher evaluation pilot program that is already underway at the Kau-Keaau-Pahoa complex areas on Hawaii Island:

The Hawaii State Department of Education is receiving a high-tech boost from Hawaii Business Roundtable (HBR) to support its teacher evaluation pilot program for the 2012-13 school year.

HBR has committed to purchasing Apple iPads for the 63 schools that are voluntarily joining the pilot program. Each school will receive a total of three iPads, totaling 189 iPads ($115,000 approximate amount).

“Outside of family factors, effective teaching has the single most significant impact on students’ learning; this is true across socio-economic levels,” said Governor Neil Abercrombie. “It is encouraging to see Hawaii’s business leaders investing in the education of their companies’ future managers and team members by getting behind a pilot program that advances local student achievement and supports our teachers through a performance management system.”

The department is currently piloting the program in 18 schools in the Zones of School Innovation (Nanakuli-Waianae and Kau-Keaau-Pahoa complex areas), bringing the total number of schools to 81 in the next school year. Administrators who are currently participating in the pilot program have been using iPads to collect evidence of teacher practice during their observations of teachers in classrooms.

Waianae Elementary School Principal John Wataoka has been using the iPad to conduct observations during year one of the pilot program. “Having this technology in the classroom has been really helpful,” Wataoka said. “With this device, we are able to log observations of teacher practice in real time, document examples of student work, and communicate feedback to teachers faster than before.”

Utilizing a common classroom observation process adapted from the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching, administrators have been using the iPads to classify findings within a pre-set observation template, identify relevant professional development opportunities, and email their findings to the teacher in advance of the post-observation conference.

“Our members are committed to supporting the Hawaii State Department of Education in preparing our students to succeed in the 21st century workforce,” said Hawaii Business Roundtable Chairman Allen Uyeda. “To the extent our donation of iPads facilitates efficient and constructive feedback and continuous professional growth, we believe it will benefit Hawaii’s public school teachers, schools and ultimately our students.”

“The use of this technology has made it easier for administrators to provide quality feedback to teachers, and to engage in a continuous cycle of improvement,” explained Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi. “We would like to thank Hawaii Business Roundtable for this generous donation that will help to improve educator effectiveness in our schools.”

For more information about Hawaii’s new teacher evaluation pilot program, log onto: hawaiidoereform.org/Teachers-and-Leaders.