TEACHER EVALUATION -- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPTION

Who:Tenure teachers who have received two consecutive excellent ratings and requested to participate in the Professional Development Option or

Tenure teachers who received an excellent rating in their last evaluation as non-tenure and their first evaluation at tenure level or

Tenure teachers currently participating in the Professional Development Option providing both teacher and administrator agree to continue at this level.

Purposes:Refine advanced instructional skills for improved student learning.

Promote reflective self-assessment and professional growth.

Enhance professional relationship with peers and administration.

Build stronger links between teacher evaluation and professional development.

Share results, where appropriate and mutually agreeable, with other district staff.

Operate in an atmosphere of trust that does not require significant rules,

restrictions, and limitations.

Formative / Summative

Professional Development Plan Components:

1)Teacher(s) and administrator mutually agree on a Professional Development Plan that is primarily developed and written by the teacher(s). The Professional Development Plan will focus on:

  • increasing opportunities for improved student learning
  • reflective self-assessment for meaningful professional growth
  • addressing personal, and school or District improvement goal(s)

The Professional Development Plan may include any of the following as appropriate:

  • goals and strategies to achieve goals
  • background and supporting information
  • classroom observations and formative feedback
  • means to assess achievement of goals
  • roles of each participant in achieving the strategies
  • format for the summary report

2) If agreement on a Professional Development Plan is reached by October 15, the teacher(s) and administrator sign the summative form with the teacher(s) receiving an excellent rating. This form is placed in teacher’s personnel file. If the teacher and administrator are unable to reach mutual agreement on a Professional Development Plan, the teacher will continue his/her evaluation using the current instrument and process for tenure teachers.

3) Implement Professional Development Plan.

4) After all components of Professional Development Plan are completed; teacher(s) and administrator meet for post-conference. Discussion centers on accomplishments towards goals, review of the feedback provided, impact on student learning, consideration of questions or remaining concerns and possibilities for future professional growth. If a group of teachers worked together, they have the option of a joint post-conference. Individual post-conferences may be held in addition, at the request of either the teacher(s) or administrator.

5) The teacher(s) and administrator (optional) prepare a summary report, consistent with the format specified in the Professional Development Plan, and each provides a copy to the other. At the sole discretion of the teacher, he/she may request a copy of his/her summary report be placed in the teacher’s personnel file. If desired by the teacher, the administrator’s summary report may also be placed in the teacher’s personnel file. Portions of either summary may be shared with other staff as appropriate.

TEACHER EVALUATION – PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPTION

Summary Report:

The summary report should be a brief narrative documentation of the professional growth efforts within the school year. While each report will be uniquely related to the specifics of the individual Professional Development Plan, there are some aspects that will likely appear in the summary. These elements might include:

indications of impact on student learning

 highlights of special activities, events, or accomplishments

 samples of observations or feedback

 identification of areas of professional growth

 evidence that goals were met or explanations why goals were not met

 suggestions for additional or related opportunities for professional growth

 summarization of the post-conference discussion

 suggestions for use by other district teachers

Most importantly, it should include a reflective self-assessment and indicate possible future directions for professional growth. This self-assessment is the essence of the Professional Development Experience and the most important component of the entire process. It is the substance, not the length of the report that determines its quality. Most can be completed within two pages.

Available Summative Rating:

Excellent

Movement:

In the spring of each school year, each teacher scheduled for evaluation the following year will

discuss the evaluation options with his/her administrator. A teacher previously at PDO, will continue

to work on PDO with the mutual consent of both the teacher and administrator. If there is not mutual

consent, the teacher’s next evaluation will use the evaluation instrument and regular process.

The Professional Development Option encourages professional growth, which often involves some amount of risk taking. It must be clear that no teacher will be reassigned to the regular evaluation process solely based on their good faith efforts to achieve the components of his/her Professional Development Option Plan. A teacher’s choice to participate or not participate in the Professional Development Option will not be used as the sole determiner for voluntary or involuntary transfers or other issues regarding teacher placement.

In the extremely rare instance where a teacher at PDO demonstrates significantly unacceptable

behaviors, as determined by the Principal or Superintendent, that teacher may be immediately reassigned to the regular evaluation process. The Association will be notified of this action.

TEACHER EVALUATION – PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPTION

Possible Administrative Role(s):

Learner, Guide, Observer, Facilitator, Participant, Information Recorder, Mentor, Coach.

Feedback:Teachers at PDO will be asked to provide feedback on their evaluation experience.

Options for Professional Development Plan:

The following is an incomplete listing of possible options for the Professional Development Plan. The options are offered as examples to stimulate the development of ideas. The teacher(s) and administrator(s) will develop the actual plan. It may include one of these options, a mix of these options or an entirely different strategy mutually agreeable to all participants and consistent with the Purposes of PDO evaluation, as listed in this document. Whichever option is chosen, the Professional Development Plan should be designed to improve student learning.

In plans involving two or more teachers, most of the meetings and discussions will occur jointly. Observations will generally be completed independently, unless the plan is based on a co-teaching or similar strategy, in which the observations need to occur concurrently. The final summary may include some elements completed by the group, however each participant should independently complete the self-assessment and individual reflection components of the summary.

The Professional Growth Plan may focus on any component of one or more of the following:

  • teaching/learning model,
  • general instructional methodologies,
  • content specific instructional methodologies,
  • content knowledge,
  • educational philosophy,
  • school improvement goals,
  • staff development programs,
  • assessment,
  • learning climate,
  • safety and violence prevention
  • other appropriate educational issues.

TEACHER EVALUATION – PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPTION

OPTIONS

One to One:Teacher and administrator work together to accomplish plan. This option has similarities to a mentoring experience.

For example – A teacher works to increase the amount and balance of student participation during instructional activities, in his/her classroom.

Peer Learners Plus:

Two teachers agree to work together on a joint plan based on common, but not necessarily identical goals. This option has similarities to a cooperative learning experience.

For example - Two teachers work together to learn how to better use technology as an instructional tool in their classrooms.

Peer Helpers Plus:

Two teachers agree to work together, each helping the other achieve goals in areas of individual proficiency. This option has similarities to a peer-coaching model.

For example – One teacher offers to share his/her knowledge in Reading Improvement and the other teacher shares his/her knowledge in Math Their Way. They each help the other incorporate their new knowledge and instructional skills in the classroom. Both teachers gain from the knowledge and skills of their partner.

Study Groups Plus:

A small group of teachers agree to work together on a joint plan based on common but not necessarily identical goals. They work together to learn and achieve more than a single individual could. This option has similarities to a cooperative learning experience.

For example – A group of teachers work together to implement a new instructional program in a positive and productive manner to improve student learning of our curriculum.

Graduate Course Groups Plus:

This is a variation on Study Groups Plus in which the group is defined by the teachers’ common enrollment in the same graduate class.

For example – A group of teachers enrolled in an assessment class, work together to develop a series of classroom assessments designed to determine student mastery of our curriculum. The assessments are linked to appropriate instructional methods used in each teacher’s classroom.