Formal Observations At least two (2) formal observations per year are required for ancillary staff members in Track I, at least sixty (60) days apart. In the case of a first-year or second-year Track I ancillary staff employee, at least one (1) observation shall be made prior to the ancillary staff employee’s mid- year progress report. Annual evaluations shall include in-room observations of all aspects of the ancillary staff employee’s instructional practice. Observations shall be conducted by the ancillary staff employee’s supervisor. An observation shall be at least one (1) complete lesson, based on the lesson plans provided by the ancillary staff employee. Observations shall be scheduled at least five (5) work days in advance for a three-day window in which the observation would take place. If an observation needs to be rescheduled, the ancillary staff employee shall be notified of the date of the rescheduled observation no later than one (1) day prior to the end of the week in which the observation should have taken place, so as to accommodate lesson planning. A pre-observation conference shall be held to review the ancillary staff employee’s IDP and those areas which might be observed. All monitoring or observation of the work of the teacher shall be conducted openly and with the knowledge of the ancillary staff employee. The parties agree that during an observation every effort will be made to maintain the normal teaching-learning process. An observation shall include assessment of the ancillary staff employee’s skill and ability in the observed domains of the “Framework for Professional Practice”. A post-observation conference shall be held within five (5) work days of the observation unless the ancillary staff employee agrees in writing to extend the time to conduct the conference, not to exceed thirty (30) days. In the event the meeting does not occur as a result of administrator unavailability within thirty-five (35) days of the observation, negative comments or concerns shall be excluded from the observation. The ancillary staff employee teacher shall bring a completed Post-Observation Reflection Form to this conference, and the administrator shall bring the completed Classroom Observation Form. The ancillary staff employee teacher and the administrator shall each retain copies of both forms. As a result of this post-observation conference, identified areas of concern, together with suggested ways in which the ancillary staff employee is to improve, and identification of assistance to be given, may be addressed in the teacher’s IDP.
Formal Observation The instructional employee and the principal/administrator shall review using the mid-year Reflection Questions in the evaluation manual – Student Achievement Outcomes and make adjustments as needed to increase the likelihood of a positive goal outcome.
Evaluation Cycle Goal Setting and Development of the Educator Plan
A) Every Educator has an Educator Plan that includes, but is not limited to, one goal related to the improvement of practice; one goal for the improvement of student learning. The Plan also outlines actions the Educator must take to attain the goals established in the Plan and benchmarks to assess progress. Goals may be developed by individual Educators, by the Evaluator, or by teams, departments, or groups of Educators who have the similar roles and/or responsibilities. See Sections 15-19 for more on Educator Plans.
B) To determine the goals to be included in the Educator Plan, the Evaluator reviews the goals the Educator has proposed in the Self-Assessment, using evidence of Educator performance and impact on student learning, growth and achievement based on the Educator’s self-assessment and other sources that Evaluator shares with the Educator. The process for determining the Educator’s impact on student learning, growth and achievement will be determined after ESE issues guidance on this matter. See #22, below.
C) Educator Plan Development Meetings shall be conducted as follows:
i) Educators in the same school may meet with the Evaluator in teams and/or individually at the end of the previous evaluation cycle or by October 15th of the next academic year to develop their Educator Plan. Educators shall not be expected to meet during the summer hiatus.
ii) For those Educators new to the school, the meeting with the Evaluator to establish the Educator Plan must occur by October 15th or within six weeks of the start of their assignment in that school
iii) The Evaluator shall meet individually with Educators with PTS and ratings of needs improvement or unsatisfactory to develop professional practice goal(s) that must address specific standards and indicators identified for improvement. In addition, the goals may address shared grade level or subject matter goals.
D) The Evaluator completes the Educator Plan by November 1st. The Educator shall sign the Educator Plan within 5 school days of its receipt and may include a written response. The Educator’s signature indicates that the Educator received the plan in a timely fashion. The signature does not indicate agreement or disagreement with its contents. The Evaluator retains final authority over the content of the Educator’s Plan.
Informal Observation Additional evaluation of employees may occur through informal observations by the Employer. It may not be necessary to reduce such evaluations to writing, and a verbal discussion between the Employer and the employee concerning the informal observations may suffice. If a written evaluation is deemed necessary, Procedures C and D as outlined above shall be followed.
Informal Observations A. An informal observation is an observation that is not required to be pre-scheduled.
B. An evaluator may conduct any number of informal observations.
C. Observations do not have to be in the classroom. For example, department or collegial meetings may be used for informal observations.
D. Informal observations may serve as an opportunity for formative feedback. If there are concerns regarding the teacher’s/educator’s level of performance based upon informal observations, the evaluator will document the concern and schedule a time to discuss with the employee.