LAKES COUNTRY SERVICE COOPERATIVE JOSH NELSON & EILEEN WEBER SEPTEMBER Teacher Evaluation Day III

“IT DOESN'T MATTER WHICH SIDE OF THE FENCE YOU GET OFF ON SOMETIMES. WHAT MATTERS MOST IS GETTING OFF. YOU CANNOT MAKE PROGRESS WITHOUT MAKING DECISIONS.” -JIM ROHN

It’s DECISION Day Decisions to Make:  Individual Growth Plan  Peer Review  Student Engagement – Longitudinal Data  35% Student Data  Possible Training Needs

Goal for Next Two Days We will discuss and come to consensus on approving systems to be practiced that will give teachers necessary evidence and feedback to improve their practice and that meet the teacher evaluation law.  We will not be voting to approve the evaluation system that will be used on July 1, To leave this meeting as a united front in support of system wide practices to improve teacher performance. To develop a plan of action, which includes implementation strategies, consistent communication messages and plans for revision throughout the practice year.

Just to be clear…. The system we are working on today is about giving teachers the appropriate evidence and feedback to grow in their practice. We will not explore options today that determines whether or not teachers are proficient or underperforming. (Note: Must address eventually as required by law. See next slide.)

The Law - Minnesota Statute 122A.40 Subd. 8 (11) must give teachers not meeting professional teaching standards under clauses (3) through (10) support to improve through a teacher improvement process that includes established goals and timelines (12) must discipline a teacher for not making adequate progress in the teacher improvement process

~AS DEFINED BY THE TEAM Norms and Consensus

MAPS Norms No hostile language or criticize people Start on time; end on time Respectful of both start and end time Members hold themselves personally accountable Do homework! Generate talking points - the same for all members No parking lot discussion. Keep conversation professional both inside and outside the committee. Avoid side conversations Stay on agenda Attend all meetings

Consensus as defined by the group We have arrived at consensus when all points of view have been heard, and the will of the group is evident even to those who most oppose it.

~PRELIMINARY FINDINGS~ Principal Pilot Findings

Preliminary Findings of Principal Pilot Major Concerns:  The first was how they would shift from the rich professional dialogues about professional growth and meeting school improvement goals in the first half of the process, to a single, quantifiable, evaluative number as required by the summative review.  The second major concern was what both saw as the “overwhelming” number of standards and indicators. Other Concerns:  Lack of timely and specific feedback from the evaluators.  The possibility that this could be a “gotcha” model, leading to a principal’s dismissal without adequate direction and support for professional growth.

Continued… What Pilot Districts Valued: The vast majority of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their orientation training provided them with a clear understanding of the model’s goals and components, and that the orientation adequately addressed the initial questions they had about the model and its implementation. There was appreciation for the low-stakes nature of the pilot…

Continued… Self-reflection Overall, 38% of principals surveyed encountered obstacles in the goal-setting process, yet most evaluators reported their role as helping principals develop SMART goals. In addition, more principals than evaluators did not find the self-assessment template useful and about a fifth of principals did not feel they left the conference with viable action plans— although all evaluators thought they had.

Danielson Training

Notes from Danielson Training –July 31 st Domain 3 (Instruction) is the heart of the framework. If Domain 3 is sound, the rest of the domains will most likely be done well. When considering teacher performance ratings, consider “distinguished as a place where teachers visit, but don’t live.” The Charlotte Danielson framework was designed to give teachers feedback for improvement and not designed to assign performance ratings for possible remediation or termination. The Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) study found that observation results were much more reliable and consistent when observers were highly trained. Observation results from highly trained observers had a direct correlation to student achievement results.

TEACHER GROWTH PLAN Decision Time

Individual Growth Plan “must establish a three-year professional review cycle for each teacher that includes an individual growth and development plan...” Options?

Teacher as Reflective Practitioner What do teachers need from their evaluation system?  Direct feedback on their practice  From peers  From administrator(s)  From students  From community  Clear goals and objectives that are based on evidence and are measureable  Support from district board and administration  Targeted professional development  Freedom to take risks on new ideas/strategies  Schedule conducive to planning and collegial collaboration  Clearly defined process for measuring teacher effectiveness

Continued…. Individual Growth Plan Evidence of Student Engagement Peer Review and PLCs Feedback Student Data

Evaluation of Teacher Performance Classroom Observations and Classroom Walkthroughs Student Data Individual Growth Plan Evaluation of Teacher Performance

PEER REVIEW PROCESS Decision Time

“must establish a three-year professional review cycle for each teacher that includes an individual growth and development plan, a peer review process, the opportunity to participate in a professional learning community under paragraph (a), and at least one summative evaluation performed by a qualified and trained evaluator such as a school administrator. For the years when a tenured teacher is not evaluated by a qualified and trained evaluator, the teacher must be evaluated by a peer review.”

Peer Review Observable Characteristics of Effective Teachers ~U of M Center for T & L  Begins class promptly and in a well-organized way.  Treats students with respect and caring.  Provides the significance/importance of information to be learned.  Provides clear explanations.  Holds attention and respect of students, practices effective classroom management.  Uses active, hands-on student learning.  Varies his/her instructional techniques.  Provides clear, specific expectations for assignments.  Provides frequent and immediate feedback to students on their performance. Praises student answers and uses probing questions to clarify/elaborate answers. More information and samples located at s/index.html s/index.html

Do Your PLC’s Currently??? 1. Link to Student Results 2. Engage in Continuous Improvement 3. Develop Collective Responsibility 4. Create alignment and accountability

How will you evaluate your PLCs? Options  Rubrics  LCSC  Dufour  Douglas Reeves  Reflections

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT HOW WILL YOU MEASURE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN YOUR DISTRICT? DECISION TIME

Student Engagement “must use longitudinal data on student engagement and connection, and other student outcome measures explicitly aligned with the elements of curriculum for which teachers are responsible;”

What is student engagement? What does student engagement look like in the classes you teach? Definitions of Student Engagement Turn and talk – Determine different ways to measure student engagement.  Examples: observation and student survey

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA Exploration and Discussion

35% Data “must use data from valid and reliable assessments aligned to state and local academic standards and must use state and local measures of student growth that may include value- added models or student learning goals to determine 35 percent of teacher evaluation results”

Break Down of Data What is the intent of the statute? Does one assessment need to meet the entire 35%? Does it make sense to have a shared goal? What data is pertinent to all teachers?

What data do you have? Chart Paper A Data Picture of Our School

Student Learning Goals

Pros/Cons Choose 3-4 of the most viable options Discuss the pros/cons of each Determine whether your data should/could be a combination of multiple different data points.

Share Out Popcorn-possible data options

35% DATA WHAT DATA WILL BE USED? HOW WILL YOU MAKE IT APPLICABLE TO ALL EDUCATORS? WILL THERE BE ANY BREAKDOWN OF PERCENTAGES? DECISION TIME

USING MDE’S CHECKLIST, WHAT HAVE YOU COMPLETED? WHAT DO YOU HAVE LEFT? CHECKLIST

ACTION PLAN

COMMUNICATION PLAN

LAKES COUNTRY SERVICE COOPERATIVE JOSH NELSON & EILEEN WEBER SEPTEMBER 26, 2013 Teacher Evaluation DAY IV

WHAT DECISIONS WERE MADE YESTERDAY? WHAT DO YOU NEED TO COMPLETE TODAY? Review Your Work

LOOKING AT YOUR DECISIONS MADE… HOW MANY POINTS OF CONTACT DO YOU HAVE/YEAR? SHARE OUT POINTS OF CONTACT

Teacher Evaluation Mock Plan Evidence Review How will you score it? Score individually Pros/Cons of weighting evidence

HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO WEIGHT YOUR TEACHER EVALUATION PLAN AND WHY? Share Out

MAKE CHANGES, REVIEW ACTION PLAN OF WHAT DECISIONS NEEDED TO BE MADE. IF YOU CAN’T MAKE YOUR FINAL DECISIONS, WHEN AND WHERE WILL YOU DO THAT? FINAL DECISIONS

Implementation Plan – Discussion Committing to a new teacher evaluation system means you are committing to a culture of ____________? How will the entire staff of your district build a deep understanding of the new evaluation system? **It is easiest to criticize something that you don’t understand!**

Implementation – Goal Statement The goal statement will provide consistency in your message across the district and community. The goal statement will be communicated and articulated at the following venues:  Board Meeting  Staff Meeting  PLCs  Back to school letters to staff  Etc… Example of Goal Statement: “Teachers will improve their practice with the consideration of feedback, performance data and evidence of good teacher practice provided by personal research, administrative guidance and peer reviews throughout the contract year.” Recommendation: Simplify the message!!!

Communication Plan Where are you going to present the plan?  Board meeting?  Staff workshop?  Letter to staff? Provide intent and focus to the evaluation process  Who will be evaluated?  What is different than the past?  Why change the evaluation process?  What does this mean for the teacher? How much more work will the teacher be required to do?  How does this tie into what the teacher is already doing?  What does it mean to pilot?  What goes into the personnel folder as the summative evaluation?

Supporting Documents for Implementation What documents do you have that will help with implementation? What documents do you need to create to support implementation?

Action Plan Review your action plan and add today’s work!

Work left undone Plan for remediating underperformers Method for determining overall performance rating Portfolio Technology to create efficiencies

Support Your work has just begun. Let us know how we can support you with implementation. Good Luck! “All great changes are preceded by chaos.” -Deepak Chopra “A year from now you will wish you had started today.” -Karen Lamb

COMPLETE YOUR ACTION PLAN COMMUNICATION PLAN RESOURCES REQUIRED TRAINING TIMES AVAILABLE REVIEW OTHER PLANS Work Time

JOSH NELSON: EILEEN WEBER: QUESTIONS