Springfield Effective Educator Development System (SEEDS) Springfield Public Schools Springfield Effective Educator Development System (SEEDS) September 2012

Agenda Recap of the context, purpose, and overview Step 1: Self-assessment Step 2: Goal setting Step 3: Implementation of the plan Training plan for the 2012-2013 school year

Springfield Public Schools has undertaken many valuable efforts to develop teachers and raise student achievement Teacher Incentive Fund Springfield Improvement Framework School Improvement Planning MA Curriculum Frameworks Data Warehouse Educator Evaluations School Improvement Grants Wraparound Services Organizational Health Initiative Dropout Prevention Taskforce Achievement Network Partnership Literacy and Numeracy Credit Recovery and Extended Learning Time Magnet Schools Mass Core

The various initiatives fit together with a common purpose of raising student achievement The work Implement a consistent, rigorous curriculum built on common standards with common unit assessments Coach, develop and evaluate educators based on a clear vision of strong instruction Effective instruction in every class, every day Shared, high expectations for all students Students achieve grade level proficiency Students graduate ready for college and career Deploy data that is timely, accurate and accessible to make decisions for students, schools and the district Strengthen social, emotional and academic safety nets and supports for all students

Teacher effectiveness greatly impacts student achievement* Student achievement percentile after 2 years Least effective teacher Most effective teacher 50th %ile (average school; average teacher) 37th %ile 96th %ile 3rd %ile 63rd %ile Most effective school Least effective school * Student achievement percentile after two years Source: Marzano (2003) What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action

Kim Marshall’s 4 part model The new system also aligns with the state’s regulations and teacher evaluation experts Kim Marshall’s 4 part model

The SEEDS framework consists of five key features Five features of the new evaluation framework Statewide Standards and Indicators 1 Three categories of evidence to assess performance 2 A statewide performance rating scale 3 Four educator plans 4 Five-step evaluation cycle 5

Today’s objective is to equip administrators to be ready to implement the first three steps in your buildings Self Assessment Analysis, Goal-Setting, & Plan Development Implementation of the Plan Formative Assessment / Evaluation Summative Evaluation Today’s Focus Continuous Learning

Agenda Recap of the context, purpose, and overview Step 1: Self-assessment Step 2: Goal setting Step 3: Implementation of the plan Training plan for the 2012-2013 school year

Educators need three resources for their self-assessment Classroom rubric School improvement plan (SIP) Self-assessment form

Self-assessment discussion questions What worked? Where did your school struggle? What would you do differently next year?

Agenda Recap of the context, purpose, and overview Step 1: Self-assessment Step 2: Goal setting Step 3: Implementation of the plan Training plan for the 2012-2013 school year

S = Specific and Strategic M = Measurable A = Action Oriented SMART goals S = Specific and Strategic M = Measurable A = Action Oriented R = Rigorous, Realistic, and Results Focused T = Timed and Tracked

SMART goal practice – circle the best SMART goal Elementary School Reading All students will be able to improve by at least one reading level by the end of the year. 100% of students will improve by at least one reading level by June 2012 as measured by the Fountas and Pinnell reading benchmark scores. Students will be measured one time each in September, January and May. Middle School ELA My 7th grade ELA MCAS scores will get better next year. 100% of students will improve on the 7th grade ELA MCAS from June 2012 to June 2013. Students scoring advanced or proficient will increase from 10% to 20%. Students scoring needs improvement will increase from 10% to 80%. Students scoring warning or failing will decrease from 80% to 0%. High School Math 100% of students will improve on the 10th grade Math MCAS. The number students that score proficient or advanced will increase from 65% in June 2012 to 75% in June 2013. The number students that score needs improvement on the will increase from 15% in June 2012 to 25% in June 2013. The number of students that score warning/failing will decrease from 20% in June 2012 to 0% in June 2013. Encourage my students to do better on the 10th grade Math MCAS.

SMART goal practice Draft goal Encourage my 10th grade class to score advanced on the ELA MCAS. Improve this goal

Student Learning Goal informed by professional practice Educators set student learning and professional practice goals as part of SEEDS Student Learning Goal informed by professional practice Professional Practice Goal to support student learning

The SEEDS goal setting process begins with the SIP Goals should be aligned from district to classroom level… …and are defined in the district strategy and through the SIP and SEEDS Coach, develop and evaluate educators based on a clear vision of strong instruction SIF #1,2,3,4 Implement a consistent, rigorous curriculum built on common standards with common unit assessments SIF #1, 3,4,7 Deploy data that is timely, accurate and accessible to make decisions for students, schools and the district SIF #5,7 Strengthen social, emotional and academic safety nets and supports for all students SIF #6 District goals District goals SIP School goals SIP SIP District goals School goals Grade level and department level goals Grade/Department level goals Evaluation SIP SIP School goals Grade level and department level goals Individual goals 17

Goal setting discussion Process – what process will work in your building to help educators set goals? Message – what message will you communicate to educators as they begin this work? Improvement – how can this step help improve instruction?

Agenda Recap of the context, purpose, and overview Step 1: Self-assessment Step 2: Goal setting Step 3: Implementation of the plan Training plan for the 2012-2013 school year

Evaluators’ responsibilities Educators’ responsibilities Both the evaluator and the educator are responsible for implementing the Educator Plan based on the new rubric Evaluators’ responsibilities Educators’ responsibilities Provide feedback for improvement Ensure access to supports Collect evidence on educator performance and progress toward goals through: Unannounced observations Announced observations Pursue the attainment of goals Collect evidence on: Engagement with families Fulfillment of professional responsibilities Welcome to include information across all standards of the rubric BOTH the evaluator and the educators are responsible for “implementing the plan.” The evaluators will be responsible for providing frequent feedback, supporting the educators, and collecting evidence on the educators’ progress through observations The educators will be responsible for taking concrete steps towards achieving their goals, and collecting evidence/artifacts that show how they’re meeting the expectations as defined in the rubric, which includes engagement with families, and fulfillment of professional responsibilities.

We are encouraging evaluators to follow SOTEL S - Safety O - Objectives T - Teaching E - Engagement L - Learning Source: Kim Marshall

Suggestions on how to conduct unannounced observations Do not have a pre-conference Minimum of 10 minutes per unannounced observation Educators need to initial a blank unannounced observation form at the beginning of the observation Communicate that unannounced observations are coming Take notes on a blank piece of paper Document edited notes on unannounced observation form Provide authentic feedback aligned to the rubric Authentic feedback should include a statement about what the teacher is doing, what the students are doing, and feedback Feedback can be an area to applaud or an area to improve The rubric should not be used during the observation Complete the entire Educator Unannounced Observation Form Return the form to educator within 10 school days, a best practice is 48 hours A post conference is required for any educator Receiving a needs improvement or unsatisfactory performance rating and/or At the request of a teacher

A qualitative review of level four evaluations revealed commendations and opportunities for improvement Practices to continue (Commendations) Practices to Avoid (Opportunities for Improvement) The use of rubric language to describe what the evaluator is looking for “Needs improvement” ratings are usually accompanied by specific feedback The majority of the ratings are “Proficient” or “Needs Improvement” (but varies by school) “Proficient” ratings are given without actionable feedback or suggestions for improvement Comments without specifics or no comments at all No reflection on whether or not there has been progress made on goals Exact same comments repeated for most educators It is important to note that our level four principals were under extreme time pressure this year to complete evaluations with late guidance. We applaud them for all their efforts last year in making SEEDS happen, especially given these circumstances.

Unannounced observation discussions Process – what process will work in your building to: Spend observation time on the right educators Build observations into your everyday work Message – what message will you communicate to educators prior to visiting their classroom? Improvement – how can this help improve instruction?

Management and organization of unannounced observations Observations per day 1 2 3 4 Observations per teacher 8 16 24 32 observations of each teacher by the end of the year. If an evaluator with an average* caseload conducts observations per day, he/she will conduct Observations per day 1 2 3 4 Observations per teacher 4 8 12 16 observations of each teacher by the end of the year. If an evaluator with a high* caseload conducts observations per day, he/she will conduct Depending on the caseload, evaluators only need to do 1-2 observations per day to complete at least 8 observations per teacher. *Assumption: an average caseload is 17 teachers, a high caseload is 35 teachers, and the calculations are based on a 140 school calendar.

Agenda Recap of the context, purpose, and overview Step 1: Self-assessment Step 2: Goal setting Step 3: Implementation of the plan Training plan for the 2012-2013 school year

SEEDS will be a focus of administrator PD throughout the year Fall – focus on inter-rater reliability skill development Winter – preparing for step 4 and step 5: formative reviews and summative evaluations Spring – focus on effective feedback skill development

What is inter-rater reliability? Evaluator #1 Evaluator #2 Student learning Exemplary 1.25+ years of growth Proficient 1.00 years of growth Needs Improvement 0.75 years of growth Unsatisfactory 0.50 years of growth The goal

What is inter-rater reliability? Evaluator #1 Evaluator #2 Student learning Exemplary 1.25+ years of growth Proficient 1.00 years of growth Needs Improvement 0.75 years of growth Unsatisfactory 0.50 years of growth The concern