Teachers Supporting Teachers
Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) is a collaborative effort of the San Francisco Unified School District, the United Educators of San Francisco, and the United Administrators of San Francisco. The purpose of the PAR program is to support and renew quality teaching in every classroom. In PAR, Teacher Coaches provide peer support for veteran teachers who have received Unsatisfactory, or Needs Improvement evaluations. The UESF, UASF, and SFUSD all support PAR's strong, collaborative approach to teacher support and accountability.
PAR coaches work with teachers in a collaborative and adaptive way to grow their reflection and teaching practices to center and support each and every student. We use strength-based and adaptive coaching grounded in the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP) and the SFUSD rubric to be a sounding board and a mirror for teachers and their practice.
Now in its twenty fifth year, PAR uses SFUSD's California Standards for the Teaching Profession to work intensively with individual teachers to help them meet and exceed standards in their classroom practice.
PAR Vision
All members of the PAR community strive to be collaborative, reflective, strength-based, life-long learners who work towards transformational experiences through high quality, evidence and standards-based coaching which empowers each and every teacher to provide high quality, evidence and standards-based instruction that results in equitable access to quality education for each and every student to thrive in the 21st century.
Affirmative Support
“...This knowledge coupled with their desire to support their peers makes for a powerful combination that ultimately builds adult confidence and the capacity to yield better outcomes for our students.”
- Panelist
Positive Intervention
"If I had known that the PAR program coaching would be such a valuable asset to my teaching in terms of professional development and a spectacular addition to my personal teaching portfolio, I would have voluntarily placed myself as a candidate.” - Participating Teacher
Proactive Feedback
“I just want to appreciate the last few meetings we’ve had with Coach and Principal. [It] just felt that they were productive and positive and we have been able to see some of those results in the student work we’ve seen.” - Participating Teacher
Testimonials
"If I had known that the PAR program coaching would be such a valuable asset to my teaching in terms of professional development and a spectacular addition to my personal teaching portfolio, I would have voluntarily placed myself as a candidate."
Quote from Participating Teacher
"I just want to appreciate the last few meetings we’ve had with Coach and Principal. [It] just felt that they were productive and positive and we have been able to see some of those results in the student work we’ve seen. This has given me the confidence to be able to work with my Spanish bilingual team to prepare a workshop that involves reaching out to our community to better service our students."
Quote from Participating Teacher
"I will continue to work with my principal and bilingual team to build on the practices I’ve learned in PAR to support the academic success of my students. I will also work with the SPED team to continue to learn how to support my students with IEPs."
Quote from Participating Teacher
This page was last updated on June 20, 2024