AISD REACH Program Overview Strand Program Description Compensation Individual Student Learning Objective Teachers work with campus administration to write one objective that focuses on an area of need, give a pre- test to set a growth target, and systematically progress monitor student growth. Teachers will post- test at the end of the year/semester to determine if target is met. Eligible staff must complete the SLO process to be eliigible for any additional stipends. $1,500 Student Growth Team Student Learning Objective Team Choice - Groups of teachers will write a team SLO based on all the students in a course using a common assessment. Core teachers must participate in a team SLO. Non- core teachers may choose to join a core team or may form their own. Teams work with campus administration to create an objective focused on an area of need, give a common pre- assessment to set a growth target, and systematically progress monitor student growth. Teams will post- test at the end of the year to determine if target is met. Individual Choice - Create a second Individual SLO instead of a Team SLO- this applies only to non- core teachers or core teachers without a team or by special circumstance. Second Individual SLO is only with principal approval $2,000 $1,500 Campus- wide Objectives Campus Basket of Measures approved by Associate Superintendent - 4 measures - Campus must meet 3 out of 4 for the base stipend (additional stipend for 4 out of 4). Measures are: 1. Value- added 2. Campus Choice of TAKS/STAAR measures 3. Campus Choice of College Readiness measures 4. Campus Choice $2,000 $3,000 Professional Growth Professional Development Units (Optional) Mentoring Groups of teachers may engage in study and reflection for an area of need and implement strategies to improve practice and student achievement. Teachers will present findings in end of year report. Teachers can choose to create an original PDU, from a menu of options, or participate in Take One! Novice teachers (teachers in their first through third year of experience) receive support in instruction, lesson planning, classroom management, and other challenges teachers face each day. $1,500 $0 Mentors Master teachers who have been freed from their own teaching duties to work directly with new teachers. Mentors are on a 197 day contract. Mentors receive half of campus- wide award if the school achieves. $3,000 $2,000 Leadership Pathways Peer Observers SLO Facilitators PDU Facilitator/ Team Lead Teachers who have been freed from teaching to observe teachers' practice using the instructional practice and classroom climate rubrics. Peer Observers work 197 day contract. Campus staff who provide support for the SLO process. They also receive 4 substitute days to assist teachers with SLOs National Board Certified Teacher who leads a PDU Take One! Cohort Member of a PDU team who serves as the team leader (self selected) $0 $1,500 $1,000 $500 Observation Peer Observation External colleagues will evaluate practice twice a year using the instructional practice and classroom climate rubrics $500 Hard to Staff Recruitment and Retention Years at School Teachers who have been at the campus 1-3 years $1,000 Teachers who have been at the campus 4 or more years $3,000
AISD REACH Program Overview - PRINCIPALS Strand Program Description Compensation Student Learning Objective Quality and Rigor 80% of Quality Assurance SLOs must meet standard Must meet cut score of 18 on SLO Conference Rubric $2000 $1000 Student Growth Campus-wide Objective Campus Basket of Measures approved by Associate Superintendent - 4 measures - Campus must meet 3 out of 4 1. TBD Value-added 2. Campus Choice of TAKS/STAAR measures 3. Campus Choice of College Readiness measures 4. Campus Choice (additional stipend 4 out of 4) $7000 $10000 Professional Growth Professional Development Unit (optional) Groups of principals or leadership team may engage in study and reflection for an area of need and implement strategies to improve practice and student achievement. Principals will present findings in end of year report. Principals can choose to create an original PDU, from a menu of options, or participate in Take One! $1,500 National Board Certification For school years 2012-2013 and beyond; covers registration fee $5000 (fee support) Hard to Staff Recruitment and Retention Recruitment/ Retention Principals receive stipend for returning to campus $3000 (0-40 teachers) $5000 (41-100 teachers) $7000 (101+ teachers)
WHAT ARE SLOs? What is AISD REACH? AISD REACH, the Austin Independent School District s strategic compensation initiative to support and reward teachers based on classroom success, is a forwardthinking effort developed and designed to advance the District s efforts to recruit and retain the very best teachers and principals for Austin s schools. Student Learning Objectives are one component of the program, and the focus of this manual. For further details on other components of the REACH initiative, please go to http://www.austinisd.org/inside/initiatives/compensation/. An overview of all REACH stipends can be found on the next page. What are REACH Student Learning Objectives? Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) are targets of individual student growth that teachers set at the start of the course and strive to achieve by the end. These targets are in specific areas within state or national standards that have been identified as a high need based on a thorough review of available data. All SLOs are set and approved after collaboration and consultation with colleagues and administrators. Teachers will each create two SLOs and receive financial incentives for meeting one or both of these goals at the end of the school year. In addition to the information in this manual, there are videos and other supporting documents available at http://www.austinisd.org/inside/initiatives/compensation/slos.phtml Why write Student Learning Objectives? Research has shown a strong correlation between setting and working toward rigorous, targeted goals and student achievement. SLOs provide both a framework for that process and a reward for achieving exemplary student growth. What are the financial incentives? SLO stipends are paid for successfully meeting the Growth Target in each SLO separately. The amount is dependent upon whether it is a team or individual SLO. The team stipend amount is $2,000 per team member, and the individual stipend amount is $1,500. Stipends are paid for SLOs that meet all of the requirements for rigor, verifiability and acountability outlined in this manual and following approval from both your principal and the SLO Team. FAQs Are SLOs required, and for whom? Yes, SLOs are a campus initiative and are therefore a requirement. All teachers, librarians, counselors, instructional coaches and assistant principals who are assigned to a single REACH campus for at least 50% (.5 FTE) are required to write two SLOs. If you are not sure about your eligibility, please contact a member of the REACH Team. What if I don t write SLOs? Failure to complete the entire SLO process for both SLOs will result in a loss of all REACH stipends, as well as possible campus consequences (PDAS evaluation, etc.) For further information regarding program requirements, please see the SLO Guidelines section of the manual. WHAT ARE SLOs? HOW DO I USE THIS MANUAL? SUPPORT TIMELINE SLO PROCESS Austin ISD REACH 2011 WHAT ARE SLOs? 2
SLO TIMELINE 2012 2013 The following is a suggested timeline for year-long SLOs. Deadlines are labeled and highlighted. When different, dates and deadlines for semester SLOs can be found in the informational box at the bottom of the page. Details regarding each component can be found by clicking on the links, or choosing the corresponding section in the TOC. AUG SEPT Complete Needs Assessment AUG SEPT Determine Team or Individual and student group SEPT Align to standards and create Learning Objective SEPT OCT Develop/choose Assessment and get approval SEPT OCT Analyze and document Pre-Assessment Results SEPT OCT Create Growth Target OCTOBER 26 Deadline: Complete and submit both SLOs in online Database SEPT APR Monitor student progress toward Learning Objective NOV JAN Complete Revision Requests from principal and/or JANUARY 20 REACH team Key Date: New Student Enrollment cut-off JAN 1 FEB 4 Request your own Revision (class or student changes) FEB 15 All pre-assessments must be given APR 1- MAY 10 Administer Post-Assessments (semester deadlines below) MAY 17 Deadline: Complete Final Submission Form Special Deadlines for Semester SLO Writers Post-assessment windows: Fall Semester..... December 3-20 Spring Semester... April 1 - May 10 Semester submission deadlines: Fall Semester..... October 31 Spring Semester... February 17 New Student Enrollment cut-off dates for both semesters are identifical to the submission deadlines specified above. You will submit the final information for both SLOs at the end of the year. The final submission deadline is the same as for year-long SLO writers. FAQs What if a special circumstance arises and I am going to miss a deadline? Contact a member of the SLO team and your campus administration immediately. Meeting deadlines is an expectation of the program, but we will work with you to resolve potential issues if they are communicated in a timely manner. Campus Expectations Individual campuses will often set deadlines and/or have special instructions for completing specific steps in the process. If you are unclear on the expectations for your home campus, please contact one of your campusbased SLO facilitators. WHAT ARE SLOs? HOW DO I USE THIS MANUAL? SUPPORT TIMELINE SLO PROCESS Austin ISD REACH 2011 TIMELINE 6
SLO PROCESS Eligibility and Program Requirements Please read this section carefully before you begin planning your SLOs. Knowledge of the SLO program requirements is not only vital to ensuring that SLOs are a meaningful part of your year, but will also help to avoid frustration caused by having to restart or revise your SLO in order to meet the standards. Guidelines for each specific component of the process can be found in the corresponding sections of this manual. Who writes SLOs? All teachers, librarians, counselors, instructional coaches and assistant principals who are assigned to a single REACH campus for at least 50% (.5 FTE) before October 31st SLO Requirements and Core Guidelines Failure to meet the requirements below will result in forfeiture of any and all REACH stipends earned during the same school year (some stipends are paid the year after they are earned). All eligible staff are required write two SLOs (one team and one individual unless two individual are approved by your principal). All submission and revision deadlines must be met. Each section of the SLO entry must meet the guidelines in this manual. SLOs must meet a 3 or a 4 on the SLO Rating Rubric in order to be approved. All students must have a pre and post-assessment score as well as the accompanying student work included in the SLO entry or be counted as not meeting the goal when calculating the final percentage. Keep all original SLOrelated materials for at least one full year after your final submission. At least one SLO is required to include all students taught by you (or for Team SLOs - all students taught by all members of the team) in all listed course numbers Team SLOs must address all students in all listed course numbers. Students registered to teachers classes who are not included on the team SLO entry but teach the same course number, do not need to be included. If writing two individual SLOs, one must address all students in the identified course number(s). The other can either address all students or a target group. Advisory classes may not be used for all student SLOs. Semester SLOs Campus Expectations In order to align SLOs to larger campus goals, individual schools will sometimes set expectations in addition to REACH program requirements. These might include (but are not limited to) establishing teams, targeting a specific student population (on individual SLOs only), targeting specific academic needs, assessments and growth targets. Please see your campus-based SLO Facilitator if you are not sure about your campus expectations. WHAT ARE SLOs? HOW DO I USE THIS MANUAL? SUPPORT TIMELINE SLO PROCESS Austin ISD REACH 2011 (continued) SLO PROCESS ELIGIBILITY AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS 7
SLO PROCESS Eligibility and Program Requirements (continued) FAQs Team SLOs may only be based on either semester courses or year-long courses, not a combination of the two. Each eligible staff member may only participate in one team SLO. Revisions requested from either your principal or a member of the REACH SLO team must be completed according to the comments in the revision request. Altering student answers or using SLO assessment items for the purpose of instruction or review at any point in the year is strictly forbidden. In addition to forfeiture of REACH stipends, these actions could result in the loss of your Texas Teacher Certification and/or legal prosecution. A word on rigor SLO stipends are awarded for evidence of student growth that is above and beyond normal expectations. In order to meet that standard, every component of your SLO from choosing the Learning Objective, to your assessment and Growth Target must meet a high standard of rigor and be approved by both your principal and the REACH SLO team. Specific information regarding expectations for each step in the SLO process can be found in the Guidelines sections found throughout this manual, as well as in the SLO Rating Rubric. Who reviews my SLOs? SLOs are reviewed for rigor and completion according to the guidelines in this manual and a minimum of a level 3 on the SLO Rating Rubric by both your principal and the REACH SLO Team. What if I don t complete one or both of my SLOs? Failure to complete the entire SLO process for both SLOs results in forfeiture of all REACH stipends earned during the same school year. Failure to participate will also be reflected in your formal evaluation. What if I don t meet the goals set in one or both SLOs? SLO stipends are paid for achieving the growth target set in each SLO independent of your results in the other. Failure to meet your goal in one or both SLOs does not affect your eligibility for other REACH stipends. I was hired after the school year began. Do I write SLOs? Do I take over the previous teacher s SLOs? Only teachers who are hired on or before October 31st are eligible for SLOs. Those teachers have the option of creating a new SLO or taking over an existing SLO if one has already been created. Although teachers hired after October 31 are not eligible for SLOs, they are eligible for the second half of the retention stipend and campus-wide awards (for more information on these stipends please see the REACH website). WHAT ARE SLOs? HOW DO I USE THIS MANUAL? SUPPORT TIMELINE SLO PROCESS Austin ISD REACH 2011 SLO PROCESS ELIGIBILITY AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS 8
Austin Independent School District Office of Educator Quality Campus Basket of Measures The Campus Basket of Measures is comprised of 4 measures. The campus sets goals in 4 of the categories, and have their goals approved. The Campus must meet 3 out of 4 goals to receive an incentive. There is a higher stipend for reaching 4 out of 4 goals. The four categories are: 1. Value-added (one standard error or better in reading and math) 2. Campus Choice of STAAR measure 3. Campus Choice of College Readiness measure 4. Campus Choice Examples Category 1 Value-added * Reading One standard error above expected or better * Math One standard error above expected or better Category 2 STAAR * Increase percentage of students scoring at the Advanced Academic Performance level in math by 10 percentage points * Increase the number students at the Satisfactory Academic Performance level (met standard) in Reading to 75% for the Hispanic student group * 62% of all LEP students will pass the Science STAAR Category 3 College/Career Readiness * 90% of 5th grade students will meet the proficiency standard on the tech - nology assessment * 15% Advanced Academic Performance in Science for the all student group * Increase TELPAS scores by 15 percentage points in grades 3-5 (from 72% to 87%) Category 4 Campus Choice * Increase overall yearly campus attendance to 95% from 93.6% * 75% of students in grades K-2 will meet the college readiness standard on the DRA * 90% of students in 4th grade will score a 3 or better on the Written Compositions portion of STAAR
Austin Independent School District Office of Educator Quality REACH Professional Development Units 2012-2013 Professional Development Units (PDUs) are an optional component of REACH where self- selected teams develop a PD plan based on the needs of both teachers in the group and the students they teach, and then document the application and impact of their PD on teaching and learning in the classroom. PDUs are designed to be a rigorous long- term study, in which teachers utilize a repeating cycle of engagement in PD/research, implementation in the classroom, data collection and evaluation. PDUs culminate in a presentation at the end of the year, where all team members will summarize the process and results. Team members must be willing to work closely together and devote time in and out of the classroom in order to successfully complete the process and earn the $1,500 stipend. PDUs come in two varieties: 1. Self- selected teams who follow the process outlined below 2. Teams or individuals who complete a modified version of Take One!. Take One! is a unique offering from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards where teachers prepare and submit one pre- selected video portfolio entry from one of the current certificate areas of National Board Certification. For more information, please see the REACH Take One! FAQ document. To earn the $1,500 stipend by the end of the 2012-13 school year teachers must complete the following steps (Take One! stipends will be based on completing the process and achieving the minimum cut score as determined by the National Board): 1. Apply: Submit a proposal specifying a pre- developed, team developed, or Take One! certification area of focus by November 2, 2012. Teams must be made up of between 3-7 teachers/administrators in REACH eligible positions who can engage in the study, have access to students in order to implement the strategies, and who can commit to the time required to meet and plan collaboratively. Each team will self- select one Team Leader who will coordinate meeting times, keep and post meeting logs, and be the primary liaison between the PDU Team and the REACH office. Upon completion of the PDU, Team Leaders will be eligible to receive an additional $500 stipend, regardless of the outcome of the presentation. The PDU application and presentation rubric can be found at https://n236dbs.austinisd.org/eq/pdu2013.nsf after August 27. 2. Document: Teams will create an E- binder with 4 sections: PD/Research, Artifacts/Student Work, Meeting Logs/Minutes, Individual Teacher Reflections. Meeting logs must be kept up to date throughout the year. The E- binder will be scored on a rubric and considered as part of the final score. A sample binder can be seen at http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=375940 3. Study: Teams attend identified PD sessions and/or begin book studies, then meet to review, plan implementation strategies and determine methods of data collection. 4. Implement: Each participant implements three or more new in their classrooms (or with students they have access to) throughout the study, while collecting data on effectiveness. 5. Evaluate: Collect and review data to demonstrate the effectiveness of selected strategies. Share what worked and what did not through regular meetings and collaborate on lessons learned. Adjust PD, resources and implementation plan as needed, then repeat steps 3-5. 6. Present: At the end of the year, teams will present a 20-25 minute summary of their PDU to a panel consisting of members of The Office of Educator Quality, REACH and the campus principal. Each member of the panel will score the PDU presentation on a rubric. Scores will be averaged to create a final score, which will be used to determine if the team receives their stipend. The rubric can be downloaded from the PDU application. For More information contact Paul Stautinger at pstautinger@austinisd.org or 414-9560
What is Take One TM? Take One! TM is a unique offering from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) that provides a standards-based approach for improving teaching practice and links student learning to effective instruction. Teachers prepare and submit one pre-selected video portfolio entry from any of the current certificate areas of National Board Certification. The entry will be scored in accordance with the deadlines and policies of the current NBPTS assessment program. When completing Take One! as a REACH PDU, teachers are placed into small cohorts led by a Nationally Board certified teacher, who will guide you through the process. Who can participate? Take One! is available to all teachers and administrators. Take One! is classroom-based professional development, and requires that educators have access to a PreK-12 classroom in order to complete the portfolio entry. How will Take One! candidates be supported? Take One! candidates in Austin ISD will be supported through a campus cohort led by a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT). Each cohort will meet approximately 20 hours, or approximately 10 times between October and April, with the NBCT facilitator. Each cohort will determine the meeting dates and times. Candidates will plan and videotape lessons, review each other s videotape and written commentary, and offer feedback. Candidates will bring drafts and videos of instruction to each meeting. In addition, Take One! candidates will have one or more other NBCTs to serve as their mentors, give additional feedback and provide other forms of ethical support. How Does It Work? Take One! aligns practice to professional teaching standards. Participants identify evidence of student learning and make the critical link between teaching practice and student learning gains. Take One! participants: Study the NBPTS standards and rubric for their teaching discipline and choose an appropriate certificate area. Complete a video portfolio entry using a classroom of students to demonstrate accomplished prek-12 teaching. Submit the entry to NBPTS to be scored, in accordance with the deadlines and policies of the current NBPTS assessment program. How much does it cost? The fee is $395 per candidate. The REACH program will provide fees for up to 40 Austin ISD Take One! candidates. How does Take One! align with the current district NB program? The Take One! video entry is one of the four portfolio entries of National Board Certification. Take One! candidates who meet the accomplished score on their entry may can bank that score toward National Board Certification if they choose to apply to become Austin ISD full candidates in the two years following Take One!. What are other benefits to demonstrating accomplished teaching via Take One! TM? Unlike other PDUs, Take One! candidates do not make an end-of-year presentation. Take One! candidates who meet the cut score of 2.75 or higher on their scored entry from NBPTS will receive a one-time stipend of $1500. Scores are released by NBPTS to candidates in November or December after the April submission of the entry. Take One! candidates must verify their accomplished score by submitting documentation from NBPTS to the REACH office within a week of being notified of their score. The stipend is then remitted to the successful Take One! candidate in January. Interested? Please either apply on the PDU application page at https://n236dbs.austinisd.org/eq/pdu2013.nsf, or contact Paul Stautinger at 414-9560. September 2012
AISD REACH Full-Release Mentoring Summary AISD REACH is committed to providing dedicated mentors whose primary, full-time job is to provide high-quality, individualized professional development, guidance and classroom support for every novice teacher at high-needs schools. Teachers in their 1 st -3 rd years of experience are supported through a coaching model that includes collecting, analyzing and reflecting on teacher and student data, planning collaboratively, and setting professional goals. Mentors and novice teachers engage in a nonevaluative, learner-centered relationship with a focus on accelerating the development of the novice teachers skill while supporting the campuses academic goals and vision. AISD REACH Mentors are hired centrally through an open application process. This allows us to cast our net broadly to ensure a high-quality pool of mentors. Principals are invited to participate at each stage of the selection process. Mentors need a minimum of five years of successful teaching experience, one administrator and two colleague recommendations. AISD REACH Mentors are trained in new teacher development. They receive a comprehensive, sequential professional development series from The New Teacher Center, as well as participate in ongoing professional development sessions with the mentor coordinator. The training is focused on building the knowledge, skills and understandings critical for mentors that will enable them to become expert teachers of teachers. Because mentors support campus academic goals and initiatives, they participate in campus- and district-level training to better assist their work with the beginning teachers. Essential to the success of the REACH, and the mentoring program in particular, is the coordination between REACH Mentors and campus leadership-curriculum coaches, department heads and campus principals. As with any partnership, each member contributes to the effectiveness of a shared endeavor and plays a role in the implementation and evolution of the REACH Mentoring program. While mentors will collaborate with campus leadership, maintaining confidentiality is vital to the success of the mentoring relationship. Mentors can share generalities about the areas they are working on with teachers, but they are not able to disclose specific information about the novice teacher s practice or situation. One of the key elements to successful mentoring is that the mentors must have flexible schedules in order to differentiate their support based on the novice teachers needs. This means their schedule can vary greatly from day to day and is an ongoing collaboration with the mentees and the REACH mentor coordinator. Additionally, mentors need to spend at least 65% of their time working on direct coaching activities. To ensure that novice teachers are receiving the appropriate ratio of coaching, mentors document their activities in a log and report their absences in workforce, which is monitored by the REACH mentor coordinator. Because the purpose and job description of the mentors is to provide full-time support to novice teachers, campuses should not assign duties or other roles that require them to spend time away from their job responsibilities. Although this work is focused on teacher retention, keeping new teachers is not the only critical issue that needs to be addressed. The results of an effective mentoring model will be one that improves teacher retention and is associated with improved student learning similar to those achieved by veteran teachers.
Peer Observation AISD REACH Background AISD REACH constantly works to provide a system of supports and rewards, and one additional way to support teacher growth is through peer observation. As we were developing the pilot teacher appraisal system, many teachers expressed the desire to receive constructive and objective feedback from their peers to help improve their practice. In order to meet this need as well as the TIF grant requirement of two observations, REACH is piloting a peer observation system. Program The REACH program has hired sixteen teachers to serve as peer observers and conduct the classroom observations. These observers will receive extensive training from New Teacher Center as well as from district personnel to ensure inter- rater reliability. Each teacher will be observed twice throughout the year and will be rated on the new instructional practice and classroom climate rubrics. Both observations will be unannounced. Each teacher will participate in pre and post conferences with the peer observers. Pre- conferences will allow the teacher to discuss their lesson plans, classroom expectations, and possible areas for the peer observer to look for during the observation. Post conferences will reflect on how the teacher felt the lesson went, what the observer saw and areas of strength and improvement. All conference conversations will be confidential. The formal observation rubric will be available to principals. These observations will not be included in your appraisal unless you are at a pilot appraisal school. Scoring Each observation will be scored based on the instructional practice and classroom climate rubrics. Each observation has the possibility for a total score of 40. Both rubric totals will be combined for a final score. Compensation If teachers receive a cut score of 60 and do not receive any ones on a rubric competency strand for either observation, then he/she will receive a $500 stipend. Questions Please contact your campus peer observer or Joann Taylor, Assistant Director for Strategic Compensation, at 414-9592.