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

2. 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 school year

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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 school year

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

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

12. 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 school year

13. 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

14. 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 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 The number students that score needs improvement on the will increase from 15% in June 2012 to 25% in June 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.

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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?

19. 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 school year

20. 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.

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

22. 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

23. 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.

24. 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?

25. 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.

26. 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 school year

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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