Online Performance Management:
Frequently Asked Questions
Updated 11/21/11
If you need additional support, you can contact City Schools Connect at 410- 396-8885, or work with your Human Capital Specialist.
Table of Contents
Access/training
What is the link to access the OPMS system, how to do I logon?
What is the link to the OPMS training, how to get access to the one page guides and the short videos?
OPMS Forms
Does each of the PBES forms need to be completed in order? Does the completion of one form trigger the next form?
Can I halt any step in the process and return back to continue and finish the process at a later time?
Can a principal access the forms after the closing date for a particular task?
Do I have to complete every field in the form?
Does the OPMS allow you to change the dates once you submit?
Can you choose your date or back-date entries?
Will teachers still sign a paper copy of the PBES forms?
OPMS functionality: additional documents
Can I attach documents when I send my teachers an invitation to meet with them?
Can I attach documents to the tasks?
OPMS functionality: tasks in a plan
How do I schedule a date and time to meet with my teachers? Will this automatically update their Outlook calendar?
I know the same person should not perform both formal observations. How can I see who completed the first observation?
Does the system allow me to enter more than 2 formal observations in a cycle? What is the maximum time a teacher can be observed?
How can I assign another Qualified Observer to observer my teachers?
What is the difference between changing the Main Observer vs. Adding Participants?
Can Performance Improvement Plans be completed online? Is this required?
OPMS functionality: forms
Is there a maximum amount of characters for the observation for each section?
How do I spell check my work?
Can I print the documents so I can file them, review them off line, and formulate my response in Microsoft Word?
Policy and Process
Do I need to complete the evaluation if my teacher transfers to another school?
What do you do when a teacher is on FLMA at the May 1st date when annual evaluations are due?
What positions are currently available in OPMS for observation and evaluation?
Is the December 1st date for completion of the observations or the deadline for entering the information in OPMS?
What is the process for formal observations in OPMS for staff that are .5 in two schools?
Can the completed Formal Observations be scanned and added to OPMS as in order to comply with Dec. 1st deadline?
What do I do about observations and evaluations that have already been completed?
What happens if the teacher completes a Pre-Observation form and the principal does not acknowledge it?
Access/training
What is the link to access the OPMS system, how to do I logon?
OPMS is available to teachers through their Employee Self Service portal and to principals and managers through Manager Self Service portal.
What is the link to the OPMS training, how to get access to the one page guides and the short videos?
The training for OPMS is located on the Blackboard Learn site, TSS. This is accessible from the OPMS main screen or by the following link.
Once at the TSS site, click on "Quick Links" located in the upper left hand corner. In the "School Information" section located in the middle, click on "Online Performance Management System Training" On the left-hand side, click on "Observers" or “Staff” to access the training.
OPMS Forms
Does each of the PBES forms need to be completed in order? Does the completion of one form trigger the next form?
To adhere to PBES, you must complete each form in order. However, the technology does not require you open and complete forms in sequential order. They are not linked and completing one does not trigger the next.
Can I halt any step in the process and return back to continue and finish the process at a later time?
Yes, you can stop any step in the process at any point. When you log back into the system, or open the form you can pick up right where you left off. The process is not complete until you go through all of the validation steps and receive a final confirmation message.
Can a principal access the forms after the closing date for a particular task?
Once the end date is reached for a particular task, you cannot initiate the process. If there is a need to initiate a task after the close date, it is handled on a case by case basis and the OPMS Team will contact the ITD Service Desk to address this as a one-off situation.
Do I have to complete every field in the form?
Yes, every field must be completed. Human Capital will not consider this form valid without each field completed, especially the dates.
Does the OPMS allow you to change the dates once you submit?
Once you have completed the process, selected “submit” and received the message that your form is complete, you cannot go back and change anything on the form. If you feel you have pressed submit in error and wish to “un-do” your entry work, you will need to send an email to the OPMS Team for a one-off request.
Can you choose your date or back-date entries?
The online system will automatically log the date that the interaction with the system is completed. On each form, users are expected to input the data that the form was actually completed, even if this date is before the actual date of electronic input.
Will teachers still sign a paper copy of the PBES forms?
In general, forms can be printed and shared by hard copy, but employees will not need to sign these paper copies. Signatures are captured electronically through OPMS with the acknowledgement process.
OPMS functionality: additional documents
Can I attach documents when I send my teachers an invitation to meet with them?
Yes, once you create the meeting invite, and select the continue button, the subsequent page will have a button to add an attachment.
Can I attach documents to the tasks?
Attachments can be added using the Add button for a particular task.
OPMS functionality: tasks in a plan
How do I schedule a date and time to meet with my teachers? Will this automatically update their Outlook calendar?
To invite a teacher to attend a conference, select the PBES Scheduler in the Quick Links section, in the upper right area of your PBES Dashboard screen. This Quick Link will take you through several screens and allow you to request a meeting based on any of the steps of the evaluation process. This will generate an email but is not synced up with Outlook calendars. At this time, the request will also appear on the home page of the PBES application.
I know the same person should not perform both formal observations. How can I see who completed the first observation?
A report will be forthcoming which will list all the teachers and the Qualified Observers who completed the formal observations.
Does the system allow me to enter more than 2 formal observations in a cycle? What is the maximum time a teacher can be observed?
A third formal observation can be completed in OPMS after December 1st, if needed. Informal observations area required component of PBES, but are not tracked in this online tool at this time.
How can I assign another Qualified Observer to observer my teachers?
An additional Qualified Observer can be assigned to complete an observation or evaluation using the Change Main Observer button. This process must be performed for each task, in each cycle. There is no batch assignment to link many teachers to a single qualified observer. Likewise, when a qualified observer is given the responsibility, it is for only a single task, and not all future tasks.
What is the difference between changing the Main Observer vs. Adding Participants?
Changing the Main Observer transfers ownership of the evaluation, allowing another qualified observer to complete the task. The original owner, the principal will be able to continue to view the form, but not make any changes to it. The new qualified observer will be able to send the form to the teacher. Adding Participants will allow the new qualified observer to complete the form, but the form can only be sent back to the original owner, the principal. Using Adding Participant will not allow the qualified observer to send the form to the teacher.
Can Performance Improvement Plans be completed online? Is this required?
Yes, there is a task in OPMS for the teacher or the principal to initiate the PIP in OPMS.
OPMS functionality: forms
Is there a maximum amount of characters for the observation for each section?
There is a 2000 character limit, approximately 400 words, foreach fieldwithin each task. For instance, with the Formal Observation Form there are four fields: (1) Lesson/Activity Overview; (2) Area(s) of Strength; (3) Area(s) for Improvement; (4) Qualified Observers Supporting Statements. The observer has a total of8000 characters total. This is approximately 4 pages of writing. If you have more than this amount of information, you can attach documents to the form. In future cycles, the text boxes may be expanded to accommodate additional writing.
How do I spell check my work?
There is no spell check function in the OPMS system. You will need to use the spell check functionality in your browser. Best practices suggest creating the evidence in Word , spell checking and editing, and then using cut and paste to move the text to OPMS.
Can I print the documents so I can file them, review them off line, and formulate my response in Microsoft Word?
Yes, several of the screens in the Performance Management module have a button labeled “Printable Page” Select this button and follow the process dictated by your browser. Currently OPMS will not automatically wrap the text, so please use your formatting functionality in Word before moving the text to OPMS. This functionality will be reviewed in Cycle 2.
Policy and Process
Do I need to complete the evaluation if my teacher transfers to another school?
The online tool is linked to an employee’s current supervisor. If the employee’s supervisor changes, then the employee will be transferred to the new supervisor’s electronic queue.
What do you do when a teacher is on FLMA at the May 1st date when annual evaluations are due?
Schools leaders can complete an unsatisfactory evaluation before the May 1st deadline. If a teacher is on approved leave in a window that has prevented the observer from completing an unsatisfactory annual evaluation, then the school leader is advised to consult the Office of Human Capital directly for guidance.
What positions are currently available in OPMS for observation and evaluation?
Additional forms will be introduced which will allow school leaders to complete observations and evaluation of IEP chairs, full time mentors, clinical service providers, guidance counselors, and other school-based teacher level positions other than full-time classroom teachers.
What is the process for formal observations in OPMS for staff that are .5 in two schools?
Each teacher completes one PBES process and is only assigned to one primary supervisor and this is attachment to the primary assignment school. A split assignment employee only has one PBES life cycle.
Can the completed Formal Observations be scanned and added to OPMS as in order to comply with Dec. 1st deadline?
Starting in Cycle 2, the Formal Observation cannot be scanned and attached in OPMS. However, there are two options in Cycle 1:
OPTION 1: Complete the Formal Observation form electronically in OPMS, and transfer the form to the teacher by Dec 1st. Please note that in order for this to adhere to PBES school leaders must share the form electronically with the teacher by Dec 1st.
OPTION 2: Complete the Formal Observation form by hand or in Microsoft Word by Dec 1st, including the necessary supervisor and teacher signatures. All form content must then be copied into the electronic Formal Observation form in OPMS by Dec 16th. Additionally, it is recommended that a scanned copy of the signed/dated form be uploaded as an attachment to the Formal Observation task in OPMS to confirm that the Dec 1st timeline in PBES was met.
What do I do about observations and evaluations that have already been completed?
Starting in Cycle 2, all Pre-Observations, Formal Observations and Evaluation must be completed electronically in the OPMS system. If they are already completed on paper, or already captured in an Excel document, they need to be re-entered in OPMS. There is some flexibility in Cycle 1. The Pre-Observation forms can be scanned or directly uploaded into OPMS without having to copy form content into the electronic fields of the online form. Additionally, the Pre-Observation Conference form can now be completed by either school leaders or teachers.
What happens if the teacher completes a Pre-Observationform and the principal does not acknowledge it?
The tracking reports will show these tasks as “on-going” and not finalized. The Principal, ED, and District staff can see that a school has on-going, incomplete tasks on the reports that are posted to the Principal’s Dashboard. If a task is “on-going” it will not prevent a subsequent task from being initiated.