Politics & Government

Gov. Christie Touts Education Reform in Visit to Haddonfield

Haddonfield is one of only 10 towns in the state participating in a pilot program for teacher evaluation.

Gov. Chris Christie came to Haddonfield Monday to talk about new rules for teacher tenure, a key part of his education reform agenda.

"Haddonfield's a broader example of what we're trying to do with education across the state," Christie said during a visit to . "Haddonfield is one of just 10 districts picked to participate in year two of our teacher evaluation program. The pilot is giving us front-line information on implementation that's going to be necessary for us to make the teacher tenure reform legislation I signed last month a reality."

Christie signed a bill into law in August that would overhaul the state's century-old teacher tenure rules. New rules require teachers to be on the job four years instead of three before being granted tenure and also require them to get a rating of "effective" or "highly effective" to keep tenure and remain on the job.

Find out what's happening in Haddonfield-Haddon Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Haddonfield is part of a pilot program to evaluate teachers in the classroom. Superintendent Richard Perry said the program makes up half of the evaluation criteria for teachers here, with the other half based on student performance and other measures.

It was the second time in the past three months Christie has come to Haddonfield. He held a . He said the town is growing on him.

Find out what's happening in Haddonfield-Haddon Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I've always liked Haddonfield," he said. "It's an example of government at the school-board level and local level that's working. I picked Haddonfield today for what they are achieving educationally in their schools. I think it's an extraordinary example for the rest of the state for what is possible."


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