Lawmakers and school officials are weighing in on the issue of the role of principals in schools. Both sides of the issue would like to see more interaction between teachers and administrators, but they disagree on how that time should be spent. Governor Branstad wants more teacher evaluations, but teachers are saying that the number of evaluations is fine, they would like to see administrators spend time coaching and helping teachers. Mid-Prairie has a unique idea for this issue. They have approved the position of a learning design coach says Mid-Prairie Superintendent Mark Schneider. This coach will spend time helping teachers improve the way they teach students, while letting principals and administrators continue to handle the day to day operations of the school and conduct teacher evaluations. The learning design coach they have hired was a media specialist with the school and a previous 4th grade teacher, and the district plans to add one more experienced teacher from the school district in the future.
