PERSONNEL SERVICES Regulation 4610

Transcription

1 PERSONNEL SERVICES Regulation 4610 Performance Evaluation Instructional Staff Performance Evaluation Philosophy of Evaluation A performance-based evaluation system is critical to improving teaching, thus improving student knowledge and performance. Performance-based teacher evaluation is intended to assist administrators and teachers in creating a learning environment in which students acquire knowledge and skills. A performance-based teacher evaluation system supplies information and feedback regarding effective practice, offers a pathway for individual professional growth, allows a mechanism to nurture professional growth toward common goals and supports a learning community in which people are encouraged to improve and share insights in the profession. An effective evaluation system should identify teachers strengths and areas of growth and provide direction for maintaining and improving teacher skills through professional staff development activities. An evaluation system should assist the district in determining the level of skill and competency that individual certified employees have in implementing the teaching-learning process. This system should guide individual building administrators as they monitor performance, help employees that need improvement and recognize professionals with outstanding skills. Evaluation shall be thorough and objective to ensure fairness in tenure and employment decisions. Evaluation Cycle A summative Evaluation Report shall be completed at least annually for probationary staff and at least once every three years for tenured staff. Probationary Staff Probationary staff is on an annual evaluation cycle. Summative reports will be completed and sent to the Human Resources Department by March 1 of each probationary year. Thus, the formative phase begins with initial employment and continues until the summative report for that year. A new formative phase begins immediately after each summative report. Data collection during the formative phase shall include a minimum of three (3) observations. At least one of these observations shall be scheduled at a mutually-agreed time. Observations should be a minimum of twenty (20) minutes. One observation must be completed by October 15; and a second observation must be completed by December 15; and at least one observation must be completed second semester. Additional observations will occur as needed. 63

2 Tenured Staff The evaluation cycle for tenured staff shall typically be three years. The cycle will begin the first year of tenure with a minimum of one observation in year one, and a minimum of one observation in year two, and a minimum of two (2) observations and a summative in year three. Observations should be a minimum of twenty (20) minutes. A Summative Evaluation Report must be completed within each evaluation cycle. A new evaluation cycle begins after each Summative Evaluation Report. A teacher shall be informed in writing if an additional Summative Evaluation Report is necessary, including specific justification for such an evaluation. A tenured staff member who is on a Growth Plan will receive three observations and a Summative Evaluation Report that year. If a tenured staff member is on a continuing Growth Plan, he/she will receive three observations and a Summative Evaluation Report each year the Growth Plan continues. Year of Summative Evaluation Report A minimum of two (2) observations must be conducted during the regular evaluation cycle. A minimum of one (1) observation must occur during each semester. One (1) observation must be a scheduled observation at a mutually agreed time. The three-year cycle shall continue in effect unless the evaluator or staff member determines a more frequent Summative Evaluation Report is appropriate. Observations should be a minimum of twenty (20) minutes. The evaluator shall complete a Summative Evaluation Report. The Summative Evaluation Report must be completed prior to March 1. Non-Summative Evaluation Years A minimum of one (1) observation must be conducted. The three-year cycle shall continue in effect unless the evaluator or employee determines a more frequent Summative Evaluation Report is appropriate. Observations should be a minimum of twenty (20) minutes. Evaluation Process The evaluation process should be founded upon mutual respect between the teacher and the evaluator and should be conducted openly with the teacher s full awareness, participation, and input. I. Evaluation Responsibilities 64

3 A. Human Resources The Human Resources Department will provide each building with a listing of teachers, counselors and librarians and their location in the evaluation process (probationary or tenured). At the beginning of the school year, the Human Resources and/or the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Department will conduct yearly training on the evaluation process for the following: 1. New teachers, counselors, and librarians during their employment orientation. 2. New administrators (new to the district or first-time administrators). 3. Refresher training for all administrators using the evaluation instrument in order to insure consistency in the process. The Human Resources Department will designate the building responsible for the summative evaluation of a certified employee who is assigned to more than one building. This administrator is responsible for preparing the Summative Evaluation Report and holding the summative evaluation conference. Formative data will be collected from all building administrators who have contact with the traveling teacher. B. Building Principals and Directors The building principal/director is responsible for the evaluation process of all certificated employees assigned to the building. The building principal may delegate the evaluation process of certificated staff to those holding administrator certification and serving in administrative roles (i.e. associate principals, assistant principals, athletic directors, and administrative interns). The building principal/director is responsible for two types of yearly inservices. The first is an in-service for certified employees new to the building. The second is a yearly review of the evaluation process for all returning certificated staff. C. Teacher, Counselor, or Librarian All certificated staff new to the district will participate in an in-service of the evaluation process. Each certified staff member will receive a copy of the evaluation instrument and procedures. Evaluators shall discuss with teachers, new to their staff, the District s evaluation process and specific criteria upon which they will be evaluated. 65

4 All certificated staff will participate in a yearly review of the evaluation process and specific evaluation criteria. Each staff member will be provided a copy of the evaluation tool and Policy/Regulation II. Formative Phase The formative phase includes the on-going process of data collection, documentation, conferencing and assistance with professional growth. The formative phase will include both scheduled and unscheduled classroom observations, as well as post observation conferences to help teachers improve by providing feedback and suggestions regarding their teaching. A. Data Collection Performance data may be classified as formal or informal. Formal data is collected through scheduled or unscheduled observations followed by a post conference. A tenured employee in their summative year will have at least one of their observations scheduled at a mutually agreed time. Informal data allows an evaluator to validate or question information gathered at other times. Such activities would not require any conferences with the certified employee unless he/she leads the evaluator to have concerns about the employee s performance prior to it being included or referenced in the Summative Evaluation Report. It is intended that the discussion with the employee be held within five (5) school days following the occurrence of an event causing concern, or when the evaluator deems it to be a concern, unless there is a need to mutually extend the deadline. Concerns or complaints regarding a teacher will not be incorporated into a staff member s evaluation or personnel file unless the staff member has been informed of the complaint and has been afforded an opportunity to reply. Unsubstantiated complaints shall not be used against a teacher for the purposes of evaluation or discipline. It is recognized that informal observations and additional formal observations may occur as appropriate in the view of the evaluator. Data sources for evaluation reports may include but are not limited to the following: Discussions/conferences with employee Informal observations which include school related contacts during non-instructional duties or times Review of materials and resources used Review of student assignments and student work Parent, student, and/or peer feedback SIS K12 data sources Physical appearance of the classroom/counselor s office or library 66

5 Disciplinary referrals Review of lesson plans and curricular scope/sequence Review of assessment tools/measures Documentation of professional growth experiences Documentation of policy/procedure compliance Observation of instruction Teacher, counselor or librarian submitted information Memo to file B. Documentation Documentation may include formal or informal data. This documentation becomes the basis for discussions between certified employees and evaluators about job performance. Any documentation which may be used in the evaluation process must be shared with the employee and should be signed by the teacher and evaluator. Signature of the teacher does not necessarily indicate agreement but does indicate that this report has been seen and read in its entirety. C. Conferencing Conferencing occurs to discuss data collection as well as observations. The conference provides a basic, essential opportunity for discussion about professional performance and growth. A pre-observation conference shall occur prior to any scheduled observation. The pre-observation conference worksheet shall be submitted to the evaluator prior to the scheduled observations. Conferences regarding observations, both scheduled and unscheduled, shall occur within three (3) working days after the observation unless there is a need to mutually extend the deadline. At the post observation conference, the teacher shall receive a copy of the formative observation form. D. Formative Evaluation If a certified employee is not satisfied with a formative evaluation, he/she may request of the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resource that his/her next formative evaluation be performed by a different evaluator. A new evaluator will be assigned by the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. This formative evaluation will be shared with the certified employee and the original evaluator. The original evaluator will use this formative evaluation as one additional source of data for the summative evaluation. The summative evaluation will be developed by the original evaluator. E. Professional Growth 67

6 The purpose of professional growth is to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. Therefore, a part of the evaluation process shall include the certified employee and evaluator having open discussions regarding continuous growth during post-observation conferences. Professional Development Plans Each certified staff member will submit a Professional Development Plan annually to the building administrator. No Professional Development Plan (enrichment) shall be used as the basis for a Does Not Meet mark on the summative evaluation. Growth Plans A Growth Plan will be considered if an administrator identifies a performance deficiency that is of concern and could result in nonrenewal and/or Does Not Meet mark on the summative evaluation. The administrator will inform the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and discuss it with the teacher within five (5) school days of determination that it is a serious concern. At any time, if serious deficiencies, concerns and/or problems (including complaints of a serious nature) are noted by an administrator, the employee must meet with the teacher and present this in writing within five (5) school days of noting the deficiency unless extenuating circumstances should arise. For a serious deficiency or concern, it must be presented to the teacher in writing or it may not be used as the basis for reprimand, discipline or discharge. In subsequent evaluations, failure to again note a specific deficiency shall be interpreted to mean that adequate improvement has taken place. The Growth Plan will be developed jointly by the teacher and the administrator. The Growth Plan will be instituted and the administrator will follow up with another observation within the first thirty (30) twenty (20) school days to determine if any improvement has been made by the teacher. A written and mutually signed record of the Growth Plan will be maintained with the dates of observations, conferences, and progress to date on specified criteria for improvement. Up to three (3) Growth Plans may be written per teacher. Growth Plans will include a timeline for monitoring progress and a mutually agreed upon target for completion. If the teacher needs additional time for improvement, the plan may be extended or revised. III. Summative Phase The Summative Phase is the review and synthesis of formative performance data. The Summative Evaluation Report is the document used to summarize the evaluator s rating of performance for each domain. The summative conference is the discussion between evaluator and certified employee about the information 68

7 on the Summative Evaluation Report. Ratings for levels of performance on the Summative Evaluation Report must be grounded in observable data or relevant artifacts gathered during the formative evaluation process. It is of particular importance to note that ratings of Does Not Meet the Standard or Basic must be discussed and documented prior to the rating on the Summative Evaluation Report. The Summative Evaluation Report must be completed by the evaluator before March 1 for probationary staff and tenured staff. The Summative Evaluation Report must be signed by the evaluator and the person being evaluated on the cover sheet confirming receipt of the report. The employee s signature will indicate that a copy was received, read and discussed; it will not indicate the employee s agreement with the contents of the report in whole or in part. An evaluatee may write a rebuttal to the Summative Evaluation Report within five (5) school days of its presentation. A copy of the rebuttal must be given to the evaluator and attached to the Summative Evaluation Report in the personnel file. The evaluator will prepare three (3) copies of the Summative Evaluation Report. One copy of the Summative Evaluation Report will be placed in the employee s personnel file. A copy will also be retained by the employee and evaluator. The evaluator will maintain pertinent data, including a copy of the Summative Evaluation Report, related to each teacher and said file shall be available for the teacher s examination. In the event a certified staff member believes that material has been placed in his/her file inappropriately or in error, with the exception of judgments or conclusions contained in or related to the evaluation instrument, the certified staff member may request a review and appropriate adjustment, provided cause is shown by mutual agreement with the Superintendent and/or his/her designee. Evaluation decisions and judgments of performance, the non-renewal of a probationary contract, or the termination of services are excluded from the grievance procedure. However, violations of the procedures of the evaluation policy may be grieved. A teacher, counselor or librarian who is not being recommended for continued employment might appeal his/her evaluation by filing an appeal request letter to the Superintendent within ten (10) school days of the date of the formal evaluation conference. The appeal evaluator shall have unrestricted access to all pertinent information concerning the appeal in question. Dec Readopted July 2003 Readopted May 2005 Readopted April 10, 2007 Readopted September 18, 2008 Reviewed March 1,