U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will visit Toledo Wednesday to observe the city school district's teacher peer review system as part of a Midwest bus tour.

Mr. Duncan will be hosted by the Toledo Federation of Teachers at the union's headquarters on South Byrne Road. He will participate in a demonstration of how the peer review system works for intern teachers.

Union president Kevin Dalton said Mr. Duncan's visit points to the success of the program, called the Toledo Plan.

"I consider it a privilege that Mr. Duncan is coming here to review and observe the Toledo Plan," Mr. Dalton said. "I believe it's an indication to its merit and value."

Mr. Duncan's visit is part of a back-to-school bus tour that kicks off in Pittsburgh. Mr. Duncan will then head to Erie, Pa., later to Cleveland, and then to Toledo Wednesday. Later stops include Detroit, Milwaukee, and Chicago.

"While visiting cities across the Midwest, I want to take the opportunity to promote the valuable work teachers, parents, and administrators do every day to change students' lives and ultimately, invest in our nation's future," Mr. Duncan said in an education department release.

The Toledo Plan was developed in 1981 by then local union president Dal Lawrence.

The core of the program is its intern system, into which all new Toledo Public School teachers could be entered.

Intern teachers are given an experienced teacher who acts as a mentor, who both supports the intern through goal-setting and classroom visits, and evaluates the new teacher.

The mentor then forwards a final evaluation and recommendation for either renewal or nonrenewal of the intern to an Intern Board of Review, which includes teachers and administrators.

Six board members are needed to reverse the mentor's recommendation.

Over the years, a significant number of intern teachers were either nonrenewed or resigned.

"Nobody wants the teacher next door to them to be under-performing," Mr. Dalton said.

The program has gained accolades, including the Innovations in American Government Award from Harvard University.

It also faced criticisms, however, both from groups who claimed the program had a history of eliminating minority teachers and from those who argued it ignores veteran teachers who struggle.

The Toledo Plan does include provisions for the review and possible termination of veteran teachers, but few are ever forwarded into the program.

Mr. Dalton said principals have the authority to use the plan for tenured teachers, but for whatever reason, rarely do.

TPS chief academic officer Jim Gault said he hopes more struggling veteran teachers will be moved into the program because of the support it offers, and said that new evaluation systems that include student test scores may be used in the future to refer teachers into the Toledo Plan.

Contact Nolan Rosenkrans at: nrosenkrans@theblade.com or 419-724-6086.

First Published September 6, 2011, 4:15 a.m.