One local school district is close to making changes to teacher evaluations.

Schools across Illinois will soon be following requirements made by Senate Bill 7 which includes using student progress as part of their evaluation process. Superintendent of Lincoln Community High School, Robert Bagby says administrators have been creating a template to accomplish that.

[audio:81314lchseval1.mp3] [/audio]

The district is looking ahead and creating their own template because the State of Illinois has not provided a model as of yet. Bagby believes set curriculums take away from creativity in the classroom and allowing teachers freedom to be successful.

[audio:81314lchseval2.mp3] [/audio]

While Bagby believes accountability is important in schools, he feels many variables are not taken into account in most evaluations. He fears many talented, young teachers won't stay in the field due to excessive evaluations and paperwork.

[audio:81314lchseval3.mp3] [/audio]

The burdens of teaching are being felt across the state. Bagby says he sees quite frequently good, young teachers leaving the field because the demands are so high.

The new evaluations will be introduced in the fall of 2015.