NEW Consolidated Forms

In order to reduce the number of documents and the confusion created by maintaining separate documents that pertained to the same information, I have consolidated the educator and SISP forms into a single document each.  Everything you need to submit for the entire cycle (self-assessment through evidence submission) will be contained in one document.  Evaluator documentation on observations, formative and summative reports, etc. will be linked into the document.

You will note that only the “Burlington Great 8” elements are included in the main evidence section as these are required.  The remaining elements are at the end of the document should you wish to provide evidence in these areas as well.

You can access these documents from your BPS account using the following links.

Teacher Evaluation Document

SISP Evaluation Document

These documents should be “View Only” and you will need to make a copy in order to have your own to edit with your information.  Some evaluators will push these files to you as part of the evaluation cycle, while others will ask you to access them yourself.

Burlington Public Schools employees are welcome to contact me for help in using these or any other part of the Educator Evaluation process.

2017 – 2018 Deadlines

Welcome Back!

One of the most common questions I receive regarding evaluation is “When is this due?”  In order to make things easier for both administrators and educators, we now have a combined list of deadlines for both educator evaluation and the Unit A contract.  For a PDF version of the listing, click here.

 

 

 

2017 – 2018 BPS Deadlines

(Evaluation and Contract Dates as of August 2017)

Before the start of school (prior to August 28, 2017)

• Building Principals post the school start time.
  

At the start of school, by September 15

• Superintendent, Principal, or designee conducts meeting for Educators and Evaluators focused substantially on educator evaluation (overview of process, how to access forms, district goals and priorities)

September 1

• Deadline for BEA members to submit proof of any earned credit toward salary advancement.  
• Deadline for BEA members to submit intent to participate in the attendance incentive program for the current year.

September 30

• Accumulated sick leave computed and communicated to BEA members.

October

•  
• Ongoing communication meeting – BEA and School Committee

October 2

• Deadline for BEA members to complete and submit self-assessment portion of evaluation documentation.
• Deadline for evaluators to meet with new BEA members (1st year)  to assist in completing the self-assessment and drafting goals which much include induction and mentoring activities.

October 16

• Deadline for 1st year BEA members to meet with evaluator to establish the Educator Plan portion of the evaluation documentation.
• Deadline for evaluators to meet with educators in teams or individually to establish Educator Plan portion of evaluation documentation.
• Deadline for application for tuition reimbursement course approval for this semester.

November 1

• Deadline for evaluator to complete Educator Plans.

November 8

• Deadline for BEA members to sign Educator Plan portion of evaluation 
• documentation and provide any response.

November 15

• Deadline for evaluators to complete first observation of the evaluation cycle for each BEA member assigned.

December

• Ongoing communication meeting – BEA and School Committee

December 1

• Deadline for sabbatical leave of absence requests for the following year.

January 5

• (or 4 weeks prior to Formative Assessment Report date established by evaluator)
• Deadline for BEA members on 1-year plans to submit initial evidence on parent outreach, professional growth, progress on goals)

January 31

• Deadline for one announced observation and one unannounced observation of BEA members with PTS who have an overall rating of needs improvement.  An additional announced and unannounced observation to be made after this date.
• Deadline for one announced observation of BEA members with PTS who have an overall rating of unsatisfactory.  An additional announced observation will be made after this date.  (Additionally, BEA members with PTS who have an overall rating of unsatisfactory shall have four unannounced observation, at least one per marking period.)

February 1

• Deadline for evaluators to complete Formative Assessment Reports for BEA members on 1-year plans.

February 15

• Deadline for evaluators to hold formative assessment meetings if requested by either evaluator or BEA member.
• Deadline for application for tuition reimbursement course approval for this semester.
  

March

• Ongoing communication meeting – BEA and School Committee

March 1

• Deadline for BEA members on extended maternity leave to indicate intent to return at the start of the following school year.

April 23

• (or 4 weeks prior to Summative Evaluation date established by evaluator)
• Deadline for BEA members to submit evidence on professional standards (Great 8) and progress on goals.  

May 1

• Deadline for BEA members to submit a written request to the Superintendent for transfer for the following year.
• Deadline for Principals to do an all-call for BEA members interested in changing assignments.  (To be done prior to determining grade assignments/reassignments for the following year.)

May 15

• Deadline for evaluators to complete all observations of BEA members.
• Deadline for evaluators to provide formative evaluation report to BEA members in the first year of a 2-year cycle.
• Deadline for evaluators to provide summative evaluation reports to BEA members in the second year of a 2-year cycle and members on a 1-year cycle.
• Deadline to notify BEA members of transfer status.
• Deadline for application for tuition reimbursement course approval for this semester.
• Deadline for submitting proposals for extracurricular activities for the upcoming year.

June 1

• Deadline for evaluators meeting with BEA members whose overall summative ratings are Needs Improvement or Unsatisfactory.
• Deadline for decisions regarding current Improvement Plans, if any.
  

June 11

• Deadline for evaluators to meet with BEA members whose ratings are proficient or exemplary at request of Evaluator or Educator.

June 15

• Deadline for BEA members to be notified in writing of their programs for the coming year (school, subjects, etc.)
• Deadline for notification of extracurricular assignments for upcoming year
• Deadline to determine if a 2nd year extracurricular position will be continued or terminated.
• Deadline (or within two weeks after Town Meeting approval of School Committee budget) for notification of any likely layoffs.

June 20

• (or within 10 school days of receipt)
• Deadline for BEA members to sign Summative Evaluation Reports and add response, if any.

Observation Requirements

Status	Plan	Unannounced	Announced
Non-PTS	Developing Ed 1-year plan	At least 4 No more than 2 per marking period	At least 1 per cycle
PTS	Self-Directed 2-year plan	At least 2 per cycle	N/A
PTS	Directed Growth Up to 1 year	At least 2 per cycle 1 before 1/31, 1 after 1/31	2 over cycle 1 before 1/31, 1 after 1/31

 

Non-PTS and PTS

Teachers in their first three years of practice within the district are considered non-PTS (not yet granted Professional Teacher Status) and are on a Developing Educator Plan under the current evaluation system.  Once a teacher has achieved PTS, they transition to a 2-year evaluation cycle on a Self-Directed Educator Plan as long as they continue to receive formative and summative ratings of Proficient or Exemplary.

The table below highlights some of the primary differences in educator evaluation between teachers with and without PTS.

	Developing  Educator Non-PTS	Self-Directed Growth Plan PTS(1)	Directed Growth Plan PTS(2)
Plan Duration	1 year	2 years*	1 year or less
Mid-Cycle Report	January Formative Assessment Report	May – End of Year Formative Evaluation Report	Based on start and end dates of plan.
Announced Observations	At least 1	None	2 (1 prior to Jan 31 and one after Jan 31)
Unannounced Observations	At least 4, no more than 2 in any marking period	At least 2 per evaluation cycle	2 (1 prior to Jan 31 and one after Jan 31)

Improvement plans are not included here, but are 45 school days (or more) in length and include additional requirements.

As always, if you have questions about plans, observations, or any aspect of the evaluation system, please contact me at marcus@bpsk12.org or book a time using the Book Now link in the right sidebar.

(1) Professional Status educators with a prior rating of Proficient or Exemplary.
(2) Professional Status educators with a prior rating of Needs Improvement
* Once DDM trends have been established, educators with ratings of Proficient or Exemplary but Student Impact Ratings of low will be placed on a 0ne-year Self-Directed Growth Plan

 

 

Professional Practice Goal Writing

Last year, I wrote a post on writing Professional Practice Goals.  That post has been converted to a page, accessible by the tab above, to make it easier for educators to find the information throughout the year.  As always, if you would like assistance with the evaluation process, please book a time with me.

Educator Evaluation Comes to “How Do I Do That?”

I am happy to announce that Educator Evaluation Support will be available during How Do I Do That? sessions this year.  In addition to tech integration and educator evaluation support each session, Instructional Coaches will be available to work with teachers on new initiatives and collaborative projects whenever schedules allow.  For the first session, October 13, 2015, Math and Science Coaches will be available.

For information on upcoming How Do I Do That? sessions, check out the BPS EdTech blog.

Step 1: Self-Assessment

Getting started with the Evaluation Cycle

As always, if you would like assistance during any portion of the evaluation cycle, please contact me at marcus@bpsk12.org or book a time using the “Book Now” link in the sidebar to the right.

The first step of the evaluation cycle is Self-Assessment. This includes an assessment of strengths and priority areas for both student learning and professional practice.  A new page has been added to this website with information specific to the Self-Assessment process.

A. Completing the Self-Assessment

i. The evaluation cycle begins with the Educator completing and submitting to the Evaluator a self-assessment by October 1st or within four weeks of the start of their employment at the school, except for the first year of this agreement when it shall be completed by November 1st.

ii. The self-assessment includes:

a. An analysis of evidence of student learning, growth and achievement for students under the Educator’s responsibility.

b. An assessment of practice against each of the four Performance Standards of effective practice using the district’s rubric.

c. Proposed goals to pursue:
(1st) At least one goal directly related to improving the Educator’s own professional practice.(2nd) At least one goal directly related to improving student learning. (Collective Bargaining Agreement 2014-2017)

Evidence Form (Resource)

As I worked with educators across the district over the past two years, I noticed that one of the more difficult aspects of the evaluation system has been keeping track of evidence.  Knowing which elements of the rubric are well represented in your evidence, which ones need greater attention, and communicating the evidence collected to date is a challenge.  Being able to share with your evaluator as the year progresses and receive feedback is also helpful for both educator and evaluator.

Thanks to a discussion with a Rockland educator last year, I’ve started using a Google Doc arranged by rubric elements to link my evidence and keep a record that I can share with my evaluator.  Whether you share your document at the start of the year for continuous feedback or only at certain points in time, it can make the overall process easier.

Using the table, you can insert text descriptions, links to websites or Google Docs/Sheets/Slides, or even photographs.  I’ve added a Table of Contents for easy navigation, definitions of the Proficient level for each element, and formatted the definitions of Great 8 Focus Elements in bold to make them easier to find.  In Rockland, evaluators have used the commenting feature to give feedback during the year and changed the header color on elements where educators have supplied enough evidence so that they can focus their attention elsewhere.

Please feel free to make a copy of the linked Google Doc and use it if you and your evaluator feel it would be helpful.  I will post versions of the SISP Rubric shortly.

As always, I am available to meet with educators individually or in groups to discuss the evaluation process and provide assistance.  Email me at marcus@bpsk12.org or set up a time through my online booking service by clicking the “Book Now” link in the right sidebar.

 

Calendar of Evaluation Dates

Evaluators will be sharing documents over the course of the year and communicating due dates.  As we kick off the year, keep the following dates related to the evaluation cycle in mind.  You can also access the Calendar of Evaluation Dates in Google Drive.

September 1

• Superintendent, principal or designee meets with evaluators and educators to explain the evaluation process.

October 1

• Evaluator meets with first-year educators to assist in self-assessment and goal setting process. (Or within four weeks of the Educator’s date of hire.)
• Educator submits self-assessment and proposed goals.

October 15

• Evaluator meets with Educators in teams or individually to establish Educator Plans. (Educator Plan may be established at Summative Evaluation Report meeting in prior school year.)
• For Educators new to the school, meeting with the Evaluator must occur by October 15 or within six weeks of the start of their assignment to that school.
• Educator signs the Educator Plan within 5 school days of receipt

November 15

• Evaluator completes first observation of each Educator

Mid-Cycle (Plans of 1 year or less)

2 weeks before Formative Assessment Report date established by Evaluator

• Educator provides evidence of family outreach and engagement, fulfillment of professional responsibility and growth, and progress on attaining professional practice and student learning goals.
• Evaluator completes mid-cycle Formative Assessment Reports for Educators on plans of 1Year or less

January 31

• 1 Announced Observation completed for Educators on 1-Year Directed Growth Plans and Improvement Plans

February 1

• Evaluator should have all mid-cycle Formative Assessment Reports completed for Educators on a1-Year Educator Plan.

February 15

• Evaluator completes Formative Assessment Meetings if requested by either Evaluator or Educator
• Within 5 School Days of receipt of Formative Assessment Report Educator signs and returns the report. This signature does not indicate agreement or disagreement with the report.
• Within 10 School Days of receipt of the Formative Assessment Report Educator may reply in writing to the Formative Assessment Report.End of Year Activities

April 15

• Year 2, 2-Year Self-Directed Plans: Educator provides evidence of family outreach and engagement, fulfillment of professional responsibility and growth, and progress on attaining professional practice and student learning goals.

May 1

• Year 1, 2-Year Self-Directed Plans: Educator provides evidence of family outreach and engagement, fulfillment of professional responsibility and growth, and progress on attaining professional practice and student learning goals.

May 15

• All observations required by the Educator Plan completed
• Evaluator completes Formative Evaluation Reports for Educators in Year 1 of a 2-year Self-Directed Plan
• Evaluator completes a Summative Evaluation Report for all other Educators
• Within 5 School Days of receipt of Formative Assessment Report Educator signs and returns the report. This signature does not indicate agreement or disagreement with the report.

Downloading and Saving Teachboost Forms

As we reach the end of the year, please download and save all of your Teachboost forms.  If the district remains with Teachboost for the upcoming year, there will be substantive changes made to customize the program to reflect the feedback you’ve given over the course of the year.  As we have no way of knowing at this point how changes would impact the materials you have already created in Teachboost, it is important that you save the report files.  If we return to a Google Drive solution, there is the possibility that you will lose your Teachboost material if you do not save it to your drive.

The process for saving forms is outlined below or you can access the Google Slideshow here.

The process for adding files to your Google Drive will depend upon the device you are using.  Saving directly to Google Drive is easy with a Chromebook.  People using Macs and PCs may need to save to their hard drives and then upload to Google Drive.

As always, please contact me if you have questions or concerns at marcus@bpsk12.org or schedule a time to meet using the Book Now link in the sidebar.

Educator Feedback

By now, most educators should have received their Formative or Summative Reports for the year.  What should you do next?

• Sign your evaluation.  Signing your evaluation does not mean that you agree with it, only that you have received it.

• If you have questions or concerns about your evaluation, make sure to schedule an appointment to talk with your evaluator. If your overall performance was rated Unsatisfactory or Needs Improvement, your evaluator should have reached out to you already to schedule an appointment.  If you feel that there are inaccuracies, misinterpretations, or flat-out errors in your evaluation, make sure that you schedule an appointment to discuss them with  your evaluator.  These reports go into your personnel file and ignoring errors now could lead to bigger issues later.

• Fill out an Educator Response form to put into writing any comments, concerns, or additional information that you feel is needed to more accurately reflect your job performance.

This is a good time to start thinking about next year.

• Consider filling out your Self Assessment¹ (which includes reflection on incoming students and curriculum) now while your evaluation and current year of teaching is still fresh in your mind.

• Plan your Professional Practice and Student Learning Goals¹ now.  You can think about your Educator Plan¹, which includes the actions you’ll take over the course of the next evaluation cycle and what resources or support you will need to accomplish your goals, over the summer or when you plan for next year’s activities.

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¹Forms for these activities will be provided by your evaluator at the start of the 2015-2016 year.  The linked documents are advance copies.