Arlington Effective Educator Development System

Philosophy Statement The new evaluation system should be centered on Educators and Evaluators learning together, and building relationships for the long run – collaboration, not confrontation. Evaluations should be evidence-based. Documentation of feedback on a topic/issue should be noted before Educators can be faulted for failure to improve. Overall goal is to ensure that all Educators receive the supervision and support they need to develop as thoughtful, reflective, and effective Educators.

Timeline for All Plans: Goal Development May 15 – District Goals set June 15 – School Goals set Sept Superintendent or designee meets with Evaluators and Educators to explain the evaluation process Sept. 24 – Early Release Day: one hour Baseline Edge training; one hour time for data analysis and goal drafting October 1 – Evaluator meets with 1 st Year Educators to assist in self-assessment and goal setting process; all Educators submit draft goals

Educator Plan Development October 1 – Evaluator meets with first year Educators October 15 – Evaluator meets with all other Educators in teams or individually to establish Educator Plans November 1 – Evaluator approves all Educator Plans

Observation Notes Definitions Unannounced Observation: An Evaluator is in your classroom and is taking notes during a visit that lasts a minimum of 10 minutes. Observation During a Meeting: An Evaluator attends a parent/IEP/TAT/CLT/Dept./Grade level meeting AND indicates that they are there as an observer at the beginning of the meeting. The Evaluator will refrain from participating in the meeting in order to take notes and be an objective observer. Announced Observation: One full period/class with pre and post conversations. Conversation and written feedback within 5 days of observation (unless extraordinary circumstances)

Observation Notes Continued No video/audio taping or photos taken without the explicit agreement of the Educator (written consent form) Educators may submit any of the above at any time for their own evidence/artifacts Observation deadline dates: indicate time by which BOTH the observation AND the follow-up conversation and written feedback should occur At times an Evaluator may be accompanied by another administrator. In this case, the second administrator’s primary purpose will be to observe the Evaluator’s practice, not the Educator under observation. Educator Responses: Educator can always submit a response to the observation report.

Feedback Conversations Within 5 days of the observation, the Evaluator sends the Educator written initial feedback Within 5 days of the observation, the Educator signs up for a post-observation conversation Evaluators will maintain a Google calendar for this purpose Google calendars shall contain a sufficient number of slots before, during, and after school for the purpose of post- observation follow-ups Recommended time for follow-up conversations is 15 – 20 minutes, though these sessions can be extended

Written Feedback Educators can wait to receive the draft written feedback from the Evaluator before they meet with the Evaluator Educators can choose to schedule the post-observation conversation before they receive the draft written feedback in order to expedite the process, if they choose to do this

2 Year Self-Directed Growth Plan For Educators with Professional Teacher Status whose overall rating is Proficient or Exemplary: Each Year: 4 unannounced observations total Nov st observation One per month in January, March and April May 15 - Evaluator completes Evaluation Report Formative Evaluation Meeting at the end of Year 1 June 1 if moving to Directed Growth Plan June 10 if moving to 2 Year Self-Directed Growth Plan Summative Evaluation Meeting at the end of Year 2 June 1 if moving to Directed Growth Plan June 10 if moving to another 2 Year Self-Directed Growth Plan

One Year Self-Directed Growth For Educators with Professional Teacher Status whose overall rating is Proficient or Exemplary in only 4 unannounced observations total Nov st observation One per month in January, March and April Feb. 7 – Evaluator completes Formative Assessment Report Formative Assessment Meeting by February 28 May 15 - Evaluator completes Summative Evaluation Report Summative Evaluation Meeting June 1 if moving to Directed Growth Plan June 10 if moving to 2 Year Self-Directed Growth Plan

Developing Educator Plan For Educators in their first three years of teaching in Arlington, and Educators teaching under a different license (first year only): 6 Observations total Oct st Unannounced observation Nov One announced full period/lesson observation Remaining 4 unannounced observations in December, January, March and April Written notice to teacher at Formative Assessment meeting if Evaluator thinks teacher performance indicates possible non- renewal (just a heads up, this does not constitute a non- renewal letter – for non-PTS teachers only) Formative Assessment – February 28 Summative Evaluation – June 10

Directed Growth Plan For Educators with PTS whose overall rating is Needs Improvement (same as Developing Educator Plan) 6 Observations total Oct st Unannounced observation Nov One announced full period/lesson observation Remaining 4 unannounced observations one per month in December, January, March and April Formative Assessment by February 28 Summative Evaluation by May 15 At the end of the Directed Growth Plan, the Evaluator will rate the Educator as either Proficient (Educator moves to a 2 Year Self- Directed Growth Plan) or Unsatisfactory (Educator moves to an Improvement Plan)

Directed Growth Plan The Directed Growth Plan will contain the requirement that a written plan be developed that will include the specific indicators in need of improvement, the provision of specific assistance to the Educator, and an articulation of the expectations of the Educator. Educators will be encouraged to request that the Association participate in the development of this plan. (AEA Notification)

Improvement Plan *None in – must go through Directed Growth Plan first For Educators with PTS whose overall rating is Unsatisfactory: 1 unannounced observation in September 2 unannounced observations in October and November, one in December 2 unannounced observations per month for the duration of the plan 1 announced full period/lesson observation must be completed by the Formative Assessment conversation Minimum timeframe for first Improvement Plan will be from the beginning of the school year to December vacation, maximum timeframe will be one year A Successive Improvement Plan will have a 30 day minimum timeframe and a maximum one year timeframe (i.e. Improvement Plan – Directed Growth Plan – Improvement Plan)

Improvement Plan The Improvement Plan will contain the requirement that a written plan be developed that will include the specific indicators in need of improvement, the provision of specific assistance to the Educator, and an articulation of the expectations of the Educator. Educators will be encouraged to request that the Association participate in the development of this plan. (AEA Notification) At the end of the Improvement Plan: 1.Improvement leads to Self-Directed Growth Plan 2.Substantial progress leads to Directed Growth Plan 3.Unsatisfactory performance leads to dismissal

Formative Assessment February! Dedicated January Meeting Time to collect evidence Jan. 21: Educator submits evidence on Standards I and II and goals – up to 3 pieces of evidence for each area by end of year Feb. 7: Evaluator will complete mid-cycle Formative Assessment Reports for Educators on one year plans. Feb. 28: Evaluator holds Formative Assessment Conversation.

Timeframe for Summative Evaluations Dedicated April Meeting Time to collect evidence April 30: Educator submits additional evidence on Standards I and II and goals - up to 3 pieces of evidence in each area total May 15: Evaluator completes Summative Evaluation Report and sends to Educator (Formative Evaluation for 2 Year Plans) June 1: Evaluator meets with Educators whose overall ratings are Needs Improvement or Unsatisfactory June 10: Evaluator meets with all Educators whose ratings are Proficient or Exemplary June 15: Educator signs Summative Evaluation Report and adds response, if any, within 5 school days of receipt End of Year: All Directed Growth and Improvement Plans are written and signed

Timelines (Appendix B)

Evaluation Year at a Glance September Self-Assessment Data Analysis Goal Setting 1 st Unannounced Obsvn. - Impvt. Plan October Educator Plans 1 st Unannounced Observation for Non- PTS, Directed Growth November Announced Observation for Non- PTS & Directed Growth 1 st Unan. for Self- Directed Growth Plan December 2 nd Unan. Observation for Non-PTS, Directed Growth January Continue with unannounced observations for all Plans; Educators submit evidence February Formative Assessment Reports and Conversations March Continue with unannounced observations for all Plans April Continue with unannounced observations for all Plans; Educators submit evidence May Formative (Year 1 of 2 Year Self-Directed Growth Plan) and Summative Evaluation Reports Completed Begin meetings District Goals June Summative and Formative Conversations; Write any Directed Growth or Improvement Plans by end of year School Goals Other things to factor into an Evaluator and Educator’s Work Load and Calendar: Report Cards End of Term/Grades MCAS Class Lists Course Selection PTO/School Council Student/Parent Issues Life….

Career Advancement A)In order to attain Professional Teacher Status, the Educator should achieve ratings of proficient or exemplary on each Performance Standard and Overall B)In order to qualify to apply for a teacher leader position, the Educator must have had a Summative Evaluation performance rating of proficient or exemplary for at least the previous two years

Postpone to the Future Rating Impact on Student Learning Growth (DDM) Using student feedback in Educator evaluation Using staff feedback in Educator Evaluation of Administrators Waiting for “direction and guidance” from DESE – then we will bargain with respect to these issues. (June 30, 2013)

Transition from Existing System Balance Evaluator Workloads: Goal is 50% of Educators will be on 1 year and 50% on 2 year plan for each Evaluator 1.All Non-PTS will be on 1 year plan 2.All “Pilot” teachers will be on 2 year plan 3.Remaining PTS teachers will be chosen at random to enter a 1 or 2 year plan with a desired result of 50/50. Both the Association and the Administration will be represented during the selection process on Monday, June 10 at 3:00.

Plan of Assistance Under current system, a teacher may be placed on a Plan of Assistance at any point in the evaluation cycle after the Evaluator makes the determination that the teacher is not meeting the Principles of Effective Teaching. Under the new evaluation system, a Plan of Assistance will be called a Directed Growth Plan. The standard for placing an Educator on a Directed Growth plan in will be a minimum of one year of documentation of evaluation, supervision and support, including feedback with specific areas of deficiency that were not subsequently rectified. No mid year plan changes.

Serious Disagreements Should there be a serious disagreement between the Educator and the Evaluator regarding an overall summative performance rating of needs improvement or unsatisfactory: Educator can request a meeting with Evaluator’s supervisor AEA member may also attend the meeting

Grievance Procedure Violations of this article are subject to the grievance and arbitration procedure. The parties recognize that the time-lines and dates associated with the newly negotiated Evaluation System are untested. For school year, missed timelines alone of less than ten school days shall not be the subject of a grievance alleging a violation of the new Evaluation System.

Evaluator Training Superintendent shall ensure that Evaluators have training in the following areas: Supervision and evaluation, including the regulations and the standards and indicators of effective teaching practice All the information as included in the six training modules as specified by the DESE (11 hours minimum) Specific training around discourse necessary to support a coaching model of evaluation. Formal documentation of the professional development in this area will be placed on file.

Joint Labor-Management Team The parties agree to establish a joint labor-management team, which shall review the evaluation process and procedures annually through the first three years of implementation and recommend adjustments to the parties.

Miscellaneous No Educator will move from a Self-Directed Growth Plan to an Improvement Plan without first participating in a Directed Growth Plan. Any Educator moving to a Directed Growth Plan or Improvement Plan will have that plan in place by the end of the school year preceding the plan implementation. AEA and APS will collaborate on a template for Directed Growth and Improvement Plans. Exemplary off the table informally for Use DESE rubrics for

Evaluation Charts (Appendix A)

Forms in Baseline Edge 1.Goals and Educator Plan 2.Observation Form 3.Formative Assessment 4.Formative Evaluation 5.Summative Evaluation *Optional Paper Self-Assessment Form to support goal development

Evidence Collection Options “Portfolio” in Baseline Edge Attachments to forms in Baseline Edge Paper/Binder Number 3 best pieces for Standards I and II 3 best pieces per goal (2 goals) No more than 12 total

More on Baseline Edge Q. Who can see your Baseline Edge evaluations? A. Your Primary and Contributing Evaluator, Building Principal, Laura Chesson (supervises Department Heads), Kathy Bodie Note: Paper copies of Formative and Summative Evaluations as well as any Directed Growth and/or Improvement Plans will be kept in your personnel folder. Evaluation Support Team: There will be designated teachers at each building to help with the mechanics and technical aspects of the new Evaluation System (stipend position)

Baseline Edge Training Voluntary trainings will be held this summer – dates TBD September 24 th early release day – 1 hour Baseline Edge training