Arlington Effective Educator Development System

1. Arlington Effective Educator Development System

2. 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.

3. Timeline for All Plans: Goal Development • May 15 – District Goals set • June 15 – School Goals set • Sept. 15 - 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 1st Year Educators to assist in self-assessment and goal setting process; all Educators submit draft goals

4. 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

5. 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)

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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. 15 - 1st 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

10. One Year Self-Directed Growth For Educators with Professional Teacher Status whose overall rating is Proficient or Exemplary in 2013-2014 only • 4 unannounced observations total • Nov. 15 - 1st 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

11. 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. 15 - 1st Unannounced observation • Nov. 15 - 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

12. Directed Growth Plan For Educators with PTS whose overall rating is Needs Improvement (same as Developing Educator Plan) • 6Observations total • Oct. 15 - 1stUnannounced observation • Nov. 15 - 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)

13. 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)

14. Improvement Plan *None in 2013-2014 – 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)

15. 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: • Improvement leads to Self-Directed Growth Plan • Substantial progress leads to Directed Growth Plan • Unsatisfactory performance leads to dismissal

16. 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.

17. 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

18. Timelines (Appendix B)

19. Evaluation Year at a Glance

20. Career Advancement • In order to attain Professional Teacher Status, the Educator should achieve ratings of proficient or exemplary on each Performance Standard and Overall • 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

21. 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)

22. 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

23. 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 2013-2014 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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 2013-2014 • Use DESE rubrics for 2013-2014

27. Evaluation Charts (Appendix A)

28. Forms in Baseline Edge • Goals and Educator Plan • Observation Form • Formative Assessment • Formative Evaluation • Summative Evaluation *Optional Paper Self-Assessment Form to support goal development

29. 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

30. 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)

31. Baseline Edge Training • Voluntary trainings will be held after school in September • September 24th early release day – 1 hour Baseline Edge training

32. URL for Evaluation Resources http://arlingtonevaluationtaskforce.weebly.com