Seattle and some cities in Ohio had already set up such programs, at a time when the NEA officially opposed them. So far, the number of teachers' unions backing peer-review programs has been relatively small. Most are affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, which has 940,000 members. But the programs have not spread widely, despite AFT encouragement. Under the Columbus contract, every newly hired teacher is assigned a consulting teacher.
Consultants mentor new teachers and have a voice in determining whether a new teacher is retained.
About 85 percent of new teachers are teaching in Columbus five years later. Possibly the first peer-review program in the nation is that of the Toledo Federation of Teachers, an AFT affiliate, which launched its program in 1981. Throughout most of the country, the issue of peer assistance and review has been controversial, and in some places, it has been divisive. Proponents maintain that peer assistance and review will help floundering teachers and possibly save their jobs. Opponents argue that it will pit one teacher against another and threaten the unity of local union associations.