The Toledo (Ohio) Plan is an effective teacher-performance tool based on peer coaching and evaluation. Boldly different from the traditional evaluation procedures used by other school systems, intern intervention has generated considerable national and international attention for Toledo. Negotiated by the Toledo Federation of Teachers in the early 1980s, this program provides a formula for the professional development of beginning teachers and an evaluation system that detects and screens out those who show little aptitude for the classroom. Additionally, experienced teachers who are severely deficient in performance are given intensive peer assistance to bring their work up to acceptable standards. The program provides assistance from peers who are themselves excellent teachers. All new teachers participate in the Intern Program, in which they are assigned consulting teachers (mentors) who provide both professional development and evaluation. The consulting teacher conducts a complete evaluation of the intern's progress in meeting the performance standards of the Toledo Public Schools. The consulting teacher assigned to each intern has final evaluation responsibility and recommends to the Intern Board of Review the future employment status of the intern teacher. This board accepts or rejects the recommendation of the consulting teacher. The nine-member board is composed of five teachers and four administrators. Six votes are required to reverse a consulting teacher's recommendation.

To learn more about the Toledo Plan and ideas for implementing a PAR program, select from the options below:

• Letter from Toledo Superintendent & CEO
• Dal Lawrence Bio
• Introduction
• Traditional Evaluation
• Intern
• PAR Panel
• Choosing Consultants
• Standards
• Forms
• Intervention
• Consulting
• Unanticipated Consequences
• Tips

(This content was extracted from The Toledo Plan: Peer Assistance and Peer Review—Practical Advice for Beginners)