JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) - An East Tennessee school district has halted a new video evaluation process for teachers after complaints about possible privacy issues.
The Johnson City Press (https://bit.ly/1gzKUI0) reports teachers and parents at Washington County schools have questioned whether images will be secure while on a third-party server.
Bill Flannery, who is assistant director of schools, says the cameras were to be part of a pilot project which would test their effectiveness in helping evaluate teachers. The cameras have two video devices. One is focused on the teacher; the other is focused on students to gauge how they react.
“They make a video of them doing what they do as professionals, and after it’s over, they can see themselves in action,” Flanary said. “We figured the teacher will watch themselves, and then the principal and teacher would sit down and talk about what they were doing right and how they could improve. The only people alive that will ever see the video are the principal and teacher.”
That didn’t assuage concerns from some teachers and parents.
“The largest apprehension was: Once these are on the cameras, how are they going to use them?” Washington County Education Association President Leisa Lusk said. “There’s a privacy issue with the students and their parents giving permission for them to be used anywhere but in the classroom.”
Parent Tony Padgett said he attempted to contact the district with his concerns after finding out that cameras were being used in his daughter’s classroom.
“I’m not happy about it at all,” Padgett said. “We have to sign a release every year for our kids’ images to be put into a yearbook, but nobody asked if they can videotape my child?”
Flannery says legal questions have put the program on hold for now, but noted that 19 other school districts in Tennessee are also experimenting with video evaluations.
“I totally understand why people are concerned about cameras in the schools,” he said. “But nobody sees these tapes except professionals. This will bring about better classroom instruction.”
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Information from: Johnson City Press, https://www.johnsoncitypress.com
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