sgroves@delphosherald.com

DELPHOS — As one of 480 school districts in Ohio participating in the federally-funded Race to the Top initiative, Delphos City Schools adminstrators and educators are using the third year of the program to meet state-mandated assessments.

Jefferson High School’s Principal John Edinger said Phase III of Race to the Top primarily deals with Ohio Teacher/Principal Evaluation Systems (OTES), which are common core standards measuring education effectiveness, including student growth and educator observations.
“Ohio teachers have been working hard. With all the new things thrown at them, we are doing our best to lay out the program, tweak the rubric and document instructor feedback,” Edinger said. “The biggest pitfall may be trying to keep that pace.”

The $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund is an unprecedented federal investment in reform and includes $4 billion for statewide reform grants and $350 million to support states working together to improve the quality of their assessments and lead the way in comprehensive, coherent, statewide education reform.

Ohio began development of its OTES prior to receipt of its Race to the Top grant in 2010. The OTES includes a self-assessment against the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession, analysis of student data, multiple formal observations, formative assessments, collection of evidence/artifacts and perception data, student growth data, a written cumulative evaluation and an improvement plan.