HEATHER COTE
Heather Cote is the Director of Performing Arts for the Westwood Public Schools in Westwood, MA and adjunct faculty for Kent State University. She holds a Bachelors degree in Music Education, a Masters degree in Theater Education and a D.M.A in Music Education, where her dissertation research focused on teacher evaluation. Dr. Cote has taught vocal, general and instrumental music at all levels, currently conducing the Westwood High School bands. She has presented at many state conferences and workshops. Dr. Cote is the Eastern District Chair for MMEA and the Eastern Division Representative for NAfME’s Music Program Leaders Council.
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Evaluative Relationships: Exploring the Distance between Educator and Arts Supervisor
Race to the Top (RttP) was used to focus school reform on the improvement of teaching through teacher evaluation based on student growth data. Hill and Grossman (2013) claimed that, in the current era of reform, content-area experts were the best means of supporting teachers and helping them improve their practice. Because music supervisors interact consistently with teachers as well as other administrators, their professional knowledge landscapes are complex. This narrative uncovered the relationships within the life of three music supervisors and the ways in which agency was exercised in those relationships. The stories told revealed the challenges that come along with being socialized into the evaluator role, the control that we had within those roles and the changes in relationships that were inevitable.