If the teacher failed to make progress, the case would go to a panel of school administrators and other teachers, which would make recommendations to the school board. This article also profiles the Poway school district in southern California, where they've practiced peer review for a dozen years. This change of mind is a relatively recent one. But Bob Chase, head of the NEA, has been particularly vocal in his support. He points to the benefits of professionalizing teaching.
Doctors enjoy peer review, as do psychiatrists and lawyers.
If teachers pursue only what's in their narrow self-interest, they will find themselves at odds with a public that's clamoring for school improvement, reform, and more. NEA President Bob Chase also is smart in championing peer review because it essentially brings lead teachers into management. This expansion of the role of top educators gives teachers the chance to police their own. Mr. Chase probably fears that if teachers don't win a place in the policing of bad teachers, that principals will ultimately win stronger management authority. That could lead to the unraveling of the knot of tenure itself.