Observing Teacher Practice SCEE Monthly Webinar October 9, 2012

Webinar Logistics  Participants are muted  Use the chat function to make a comment or ask a question  You may chat privately with individuals on your team  If you have problems, you may send Naz Rajput a message via the chat function or an at 2

Moderator  Deb Hansen Senior Policy Analyst West Wind Education Policy Inc. 3

Webinar Objectives  To learn about the skills evaluators need to conduct observations that yield useful information  To examine how evaluators can use observation data to support teacher capacity building  To consider the state’s role in supporting effective observation practices 4

Presenter 5  Jess Wood Project Director Align TLF Training Platform IMPACT Office of Human Capital DC Public Schools

Presenter  Kim Levengood Director Teacher Effectiveness Strategy Office of Human Capital DC Public Schools 6

District of Columbia Public Schools | 1200 First Street, NE | Washington, DC | T | F | dcps.dc.gov IMPACT Educator Assessment System Fall 2012

Agenda IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools  Overview of the IMPACT evaluation system  Lesson observations  The framework  The process  Facilitating teacher improvement and easing teacher stress

IMPACT at a High Level IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall IMPACT is the evaluation system for the nearly 7,000 school-based personnel in DCPS. First introduced in 2009, the system is designed to help staff become more effective by clarifying expectations, providing feedback and support, and retaining great people. District of Columbia Public Schools

IMPACT in Context: DCPS’s Human Capital Theory of Action IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public School Recruit and Select the Best Possible Talent Rigorously Evaluate Performance Retain the Best and Extend Their Reach Provide High-Quality Professional Development Remove the Ineffective Student Achievement

IMPACT Components 1.Student Achievement Data — IMPACT includes two student achievement measures: Individual Value-Added Student Achievement Data (IVA) and Teacher-Assessed Student Achievement Data (TAS). IVA is weighted at 35% and TAS is weighted at 15% of teachers’ final IMPACT scores. 2.Teaching and Learning Framework (TLF) — This is a measure of instructional expertise and is weighted at 40% of teachers’ final IMPACT scores. 3.Commitment to the School Community (CSC) — This is a measure of support and collaboration with the school community and is weighted at 10% of teachers’ final IMPACT scores. 4.Core Professionalism (CP) — This is a measure of four basic professional requirements for all school-based personnel. This component is scored differently from the others, which is why it is not represented in the pie chart. IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools

IMPACT Components IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools

IMPACT Ratings IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall DevelopingEffective Highly Effective 100 Points 200 Points 300 Points 350 Points 400 Points 250 Points Ineffective Minimally Effective District of Columbia Public Schools

IMPACT Ratings IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools Highly Effective  Eligible to advance to the next stage of our teacher career ladder  Eligible for a base salary increase upon reaching the Advanced, Distinguished, and Expert Teacher career stages  Eligible for an annual bonus Effective  Eligible to advance to the next stage of our teacher career ladder (up to the Advanced stage)  Eligible for a base salary increase upon reaching the Advanced stage Developing  Salary step-hold  Eligible for separation after three years Minimally Effective  Salary step-hold  Eligible for separation after two years Ineffective  Eligible for separation after one year

Agenda IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools  Overview of the IMPACT evaluation system  Lesson observations  The framework  The evaluators  Facilitating teacher improvement and easing teacher stress

IMPACT Components IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools

The Teaching and Learning Framework (TLF) IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools Execute aligned lessons that move all students toward mastery Check progress and push understanding Create a climate for learning  Teach 1: Lead well-organized, objective-driven lessons  Teach 2: Explain content clearly  Teach 3: Engage students at all learning levels in accessible and challenging work  Teach 4: Provide students multiple ways to move toward mastery  Teach 5: Check for understanding  Teach 6: Respond to student understanding  Teach 7: Develop higher-level understanding through effective questioning  Teach 8: Maximize instructional time  Teach 9: Build a supportive, learning-focused classroom community

Observation Protocols 1.Before (and up until 24 hours after) each formal observation  Teachers may choose to share important information about their students, curriculum, or teaching strategies by uploading a 250-word narrative to our online database. 2.During each formal observation  Evaluators observe and capture detailed notes for at least 30 minutes. 3.After each formal observation  Teachers receive an extensive written report, which includes scores and comments on all nine teaching standards of our Teaching and Learning Framework.  Teachers meet with their evaluators within 15 calendar days to debrief the observation and review the written report. 4.Informal observations  Teachers who are new to DCPS (including those who are new to the profession and those who have experience teaching elsewhere) receive an informal observation before any formal observations.  Informal observations are not considered when determining final IMPACT ratings. IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools

Agenda IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools  Overview of the IMPACT evaluation system  Lesson observations  The framework  The evaluators  Facilitating teacher improvement and easing teacher stress

IMPACT Evaluators IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall IMPACT observations are conducted by principals, assistant principals, and master educators. Master educators are experts in particular content areas and are not school-based. District of Columbia Public Schools

Master Educators: Selection Process IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools Rigorous Recruitment Online Application General Phone Interview Performanc e Task Panel Interview Deputy Chief Interview

IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall 2012 District of Columbia Public Schools 1.Instructional Expertise  Deep content and pedagogical knowledge  At least 5 years of teaching experience (and evidence of success in raising student achievement) in a low-income school 2.Interpersonal and communication skills  Outstanding written and oral communication  Sensitivity to self and others 3.Fit with DCPS  Alignment with the DPCS core beliefs  Adaptability  Initiative and results-orientation  Commitment to constant learning Master Educators: What We Look For 22

Observer Training IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall 2012 Consistent, Transferrable Content Video-based Practice Responsive Assessment Ongoing Calibration District of Columbia Public Schools23

Agenda IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools  Overview of the IMPACT evaluation system  Lesson observations  The framework  The evaluators  Facilitating teacher improvement and mitigating teacher stress

Facilitating Teacher Improvement IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall IMPACT was designed to improve teacher practice by clarifying expectations and ensuring that all teachers receive frequent, targeted feedback through written observation reports and in-person debrief conferences. District of Columbia Public Schools Nearly 60% of the teachers who received a Minimally Effective rating at the end of the school year improved their performance to Effective or Highly Effective during the school year.

Facilitating Teacher Improvement In addition to IMPACT observations, support for teachers includes:  Reality PD is an extensive library of more than 80 professionally produced lesson videos across a variety of grade levels and subject areas. The videos address each Teach standard of the Teaching and Learning Framework and feature some of DCPS’s best teachers.  Teach resource sets include self-assessments, high-impact instructional strategies, annotated resource lists, and other tools aligned to each Teach standard.  During structured learning cycles, school-based instructional coaches work with teachers through observations, side-by-side coaching, modeling, co-planning, and debriefing with a focus on a particular Teach standard. IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall District of Columbia Public Schools

IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall 2012 Mitigating Teacher Stress “IMPACT is stressful. I never know when someone is going to walk into my classroom to evaluate me.” – Elementary Teacher, Murch ES “IMPACT is stressful. I never know when someone is going to walk into my classroom to evaluate me.” – Elementary Teacher, Murch ES  Informal observations  Fewer observations for high performers  Dropping low outlier observation scores  Introducing LIFT, DCPS’s new teacher career ladder  Ongoing feedback collection  Sharing contextual information about teachers’ classes with master educators  A focus on relationship-building between teachers and master educators  Informal observations  Fewer observations for high performers  Dropping low outlier observation scores  Introducing LIFT, DCPS’s new teacher career ladder  Ongoing feedback collection  Sharing contextual information about teachers’ classes with master educators  A focus on relationship-building between teachers and master educators How We’re Working to Address This: 27District of Columbia Public Schools

Reflections from a DCPS Principal Principal Dana Nerenberg Hyde-Addison Elementary School IMPACT Educator Assessment System | Fall 2012 District of Columbia Public Schools28 In thinking about your experience conducting IMPACT observations: 1.How have they helped to improve the instruction in your building? 2.How have they changed the culture at your school? 3.What have been some of the challenges? 4.What lessons have you learned? 1.What are the most important skills you needed to develop?

Questions and Answers 29

Reactors  Holly Boffy SCEE Educator in Residence and 2010 Louisiana Teacher of the Year 30  Jackie Wilson Director of the Delaware Academy for School Leadership at the University of Delaware

Poll

I would like to learn more about: a)Using additional staff as observers (in addition to the principal) b)Increasing inter-rater reliability of observations c)Evaluating the effectiveness of our state evaluation systems d)Monitoring LEA implementation of evaluations systems e)The state's role in supporting LEAs to improve evaluations f)Other: 32

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Upcoming Webinars 36  November 13, 2:00-3:30 pm EST  Post-Election Analysis and Policy Update  December 11, 2:00-3:30 pm EST  TBA

Raising your hand 37

Lowering your hand 38

30 Minute Q&A  Participants may ask questions of the presenters by raising your hand or by typing questions into the Chat box 39  To offer an anonymous question or comment privately, click on Circe Stumbo’s name in the list of chat recipients or her at

Contact Information  Kim Levengood,  Jess Wood,  Dana Nerenberg, 40

Thank you 41