U.S. Department of Education Chief of Staff Joanne Weiss will join more than 2,000 Ohio educators and school personnel in Columbus on Friday, May 25, for the Statewide Educator Evaluation Symposium. The symposium, hosted by the Ohio Department of Education, will offer over 40 breakout sessions to help inform education staff statewide on the new educator evaluation system being developed through the state's Race to the Top grant. Educators, principals and leaders engaged in the system's development will share best practices and lessons learned from districts currently piloting the evaluation system.
Weiss will give the keynote address during the Symposium's opening session, after which she will join a panel with principals, teachers and superintendents from around Ohio who will hold a discussion on the new evaluation system.
Prior to serving as chief of staff, Weiss served as director of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top program, which launched in 2009 and was funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Ohio is among 12 Race to the Top grantees pursuing statewide, comprehensive education reform. The state secured a $400 million grant in July 2010.