2006 New Mexico Statutes - Section 22-10A-19 — Teachers and school principals; accountability; evaluations; professional development; peer intervention; mentoring.

22-10A-19. Teachers and school principals; accountability; evaluations; professional development; peer intervention; mentoring.

A.     The state board [department] shall adopt criteria and minimum highly objective uniform statewide standards of evaluation for the annual performance evaluation of licensed school employees. The local superintendent shall adopt policies, guidelines and procedures for the performance evaluation process. Evaluation by other school employees shall be one component of the evaluation tool for school administrators.   

B.     As part of the highly objective uniform statewide standard of evaluation for teachers, the school principal shall observe each teacher's classroom practice to determine the teacher's ability to demonstrate state-adopted competencies.   

C.     At the beginning of each school year, teachers and school principals shall devise professional development plans for the coming year, and performance evaluations shall be based in part on how well the professional development plan was carried out.   

D.     If a level two or three-A teacher's performance evaluation indicates less than satisfactory performance and competency, the school principal may require the teacher to undergo peer intervention, including mentoring, for a period the school principal deems necessary. If the teacher is unable to demonstrate satisfactory performance and competency by the end of the period, the peer interveners may recommend termination of the teacher.   

E.     At least every two years, school principals shall attend a training program approved by the department to improve their evaluation, administrative and instructional leadership skills.