Dr. Boone, Campus Leadership

6:29

Coach Norm:

Ike and Alexis will be hosting the Blog when class starts.

Monday July 21, 2008 6:29 Coach Norm

7:52

alex:

Evaluative vs. Supervisory procedures/training--
Most use PDAS, TAP is other option.

Monday July 21, 2008 7:52 alex

7:54

alex:

Under PDAS, summative conference--mandated by law. Must occur

Monday July 21, 2008 7:54 alex

7:56

mrikeramos:

interesting, YET NOT suprising how often teachers simply sign the form and leave with no feedback

Monday July 21, 2008 7:56 mrikeramos

7:56

mrikeramos:

must be evaluated once a year

Monday July 21, 2008 7:56 mrikeramos

7:59

mrikeramos:

unless you have a waiver: must be in the same district/campus for 3 years, have to have been rated proficient on previous appraisal, must be first or middle year of a multi-year contract

Monday July 21, 2008 7:59 mrikeramos

7:59

mrikeramos:

teachers do not have to be notified by law prior to the visit by the appraisor (preferred but not required)

Monday July 21, 2008 7:59 mrikeramos

8:02

alex:

Teachers have to be notified of parent complaint within 10 days and it must be documented for it to affect PDAS

Monday July 21, 2008 8:02 alex

8:03

mrikeramos:

common courtesy / want teacher to put on their best for the formal appraisal / if "I" have done my job I should have a good grasp on the teacher's ability

Monday July 21, 2008 8:03 mrikeramos

8:04

mrikeramos:

final appraisal must be prior to 15 days remaining in the school year

Monday July 21, 2008 8:04 mrikeramos

8:05

alex:

If teachers identified as needing improvement:
Growth Plan--
Identifies areas where teachers need work; Has list at bottom of "musts" they occur.

Monday July 21, 2008 8:05 alex

8:05

mrikeramos:

8:04 - "prior to 15 days of instruction remaining"

Monday July 21, 2008 8:05 mrikeramos

8:07

mrikeramos:

The state has mandated appaisals for teachers since 1984. Under current law, each teacher must be appraised at least once each year using a procedure and instrument adopted by the Commissioner of Education or a procedure adopted locally to serve each school district's needs. Appraisals must be based on classroom performance, not extracurricular activities.

Monday July 21, 2008 8:07 mrikeramos

8:08

mrikeramos:

any behavior that impacts teacher's professional role with students and responsibilities can be a basis for censory

Monday July 21, 2008 8:08 mrikeramos

8:09

mrikeramos:

teachers are entitled to lives of their own, BUT they are expected to be role models for children

Monday July 21, 2008 8:09 mrikeramos

8:12

mrikeramos:

Districts are responsible to make certain that well trained appraisers with no known bias against the teacher conduct the evaluation. Evaluations must be conducted and completed well before the date to make recommendations to the superintendent to renew term contract employees, usually no later than February. All personnel notes and materials used by the appraiser must be maintained confidentially. Evaluations may not be released to the public; they are protected from disclosure even from requests made under the Public Information Act

Monday July 21, 2008 8:12 mrikeramos

8:13

mrikeramos:

A hiring school district, after formal interview, etc. can request to see PDAS information

Monday July 21, 2008 8:13 mrikeramos

8:14

mrikeramos:

Senate Bill 1, passed in 1995 required the Commissioner of Education to adopt a recommended appraisal process. In response, the Commissioner formulated the PDAS. Evaluation criteria contained in PDAS reflect observable, job-related teacher behaviors including the implementation of discipline management procedures and the performance of the teacher's students

Monday July 21, 2008 8:14 mrikeramos

8:15

mrikeramos:

PDAS about 15 years old

Monday July 21, 2008 8:15 mrikeramos

8:16

mrikeramos:

Commissioner's rules require that an appraiser be a teacher, supervisor, or person approved by the Board of Trustees, but not a fellow classroom teacher on the same school campus, unless that person is the chair of the department or grade level whose job description includes classroom observation responsibilities

Monday July 21, 2008 8:16 mrikeramos

8:17

mrikeramos:

FORMATIVE: meant to guide teacher improvement throughout the year
SUMMATIVE: judgmental / performance rating / is teacher effective or not?

Monday July 21, 2008 8:17 mrikeramos

8:17

mrikeramos:

FORMATIVE: can be done by designees
SUMMATIVE: must be done by someone who meets the criteria of the law

Monday July 21, 2008 8:17 mrikeramos

8:20

mrikeramos:

The recommended appraisal process must be detailed by category of professional skill and characteristic and must provide separate ratings for each category. It must guarantee a conference between the teacher and appraiser which shall be diagnostic and prescriptive with regard to remediation needed in overall performance and by category

Monday July 21, 2008 8:20 mrikeramos

8:22

mrikeramos:

Teachers must be appraised at least once a year and a written copy of the evaluation of the teacher's performance must be in the teacher's personnel file. The teacher is entitled to receive a copy of the evaluation and may request a second appraisal... (DIDN'T GET ALL)

Monday July 21, 2008 8:22 mrikeramos

8:23

mrikeramos:

A teacher may be given advance notice of the date or time of an appraisal, but advance notice is not required.

If the district uses an alternative appraisal process, it must be developed by district and campus level committees and contain provisions for evaluating the teacher's implementation of discipline management procedures and the performance of the teacher's students

Monday July 21, 2008 8:23 mrikeramos

8:26

mrikeramos:

The Commissioner has established eight separate domains upon which teachers will be appraised.

8 Domains

Domain VIII revolves around understanding that everyone on teacher contributes to the overall success of the students

Monday July 21, 2008 8:26 mrikeramos

8:27

mrikeramos:

Each domain is scored independently. Data for appraisals should be gathered from classroom observations, teh Teacher Self-Report Form and other documented sources.

Monday July 21, 2008 8:27 mrikeramos

8:30

mrikeramos:

Each teacher shall be rated on each Domain using the following categories:
Exceed Expectations
Proficient
Below Expectations
Unsatisfactory

Domain VIII has special rules and must include the following areas:
- Efforts to enhance academic performance
- can be found in manual
- " "

Monday July 21, 2008 8:30 mrikeramos

8:32

mrikeramos:

Rules Concerning Appraisals

Each teacher must have at least one 45 minute classroom observation with additional walk-throughs and observations discretionary

A written summary of the observation must be given to the teacher within ten working days of the completion of the appraisal. IF the teacher requests them, pre- and post- observation conference shall be conducted

Monday July 21, 2008 8:32 mrikeramos

8:41

mrikeramos:

How do you ease the transition in terms of how PDAS is conducted on a campus when you are a new administrator who has a different view on how PDAS should be conducted (i.e. gratification vs. true judgment and evaluation)?
- include teachers in the process

Monday July 21, 2008 8:41 mrikeramos

8:43

mrikeramos:

- be upfront; explain your perspective if it differs and share the changes you plan to make in terms of how PDAS is implemented on campus

Monday July 21, 2008 8:43 mrikeramos

8:44

mrikeramos:

A Teacher Self-Report Form shall be presented to the principal from the teacher within the first three weeks of the school year along with any revisions that are done later in the year.......(DIDN'T GET ALL - can be found online in PDAS teacher manual http://www5.esc13.net/pdas/manual.html)

Monday July 21, 2008 8:44 mrikeramos

8:46

mrikeramos:

Each teacher must receive a written annual summative evaluation report. This must be shared with the teacher no fewer than five days before the annual summative conference.

Each teacher must have a summative annual conference. Summative conferences must be completed no later than fifteen days before the last day of instruction for students.

UNETHICAL to not follow law and fulfill responsibility as a leader to be honest with your teachers and promote their growth thru objective appraisal using the best of your knowledge and skills

Monday July 21, 2008 8:46 mrikeramos

8:48

mrikeramos:

3rd Party Source Data used in PDAS
- must be documented and shared with the teacher within ten days of receiving the information.
- can include parent complaints, student complaints, complaints from other teachers, positive input from any of these sources, etc.
- ifnot presented to the teacher within ten days of the appraiser's knowledge of it, it may not be used as part of the appraisal

Monday July 21, 2008 8:48 mrikeramos

8:50

mrikeramos:

Any documentation collected after the summative conference may be considered as part of the appraisal of the teacher and result in amending the appraisal. This documentation must be shared with the teacher under the appropriate time lines.

Monday July 21, 2008 8:50 mrikeramos

8:52

mrikeramos:

TEACHER IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE
- if he/she is evaluated as UNSATISFACTORY in one or more Domains of the PDAS or Below Expectations in two or more Domains.

(rest can be found on the TRACS site or on the website http://www5.esc13.net/pdas/manual.html)

Monday July 21, 2008 8:52 mrikeramos

8:53

mrikeramos:

the big chunks above can be found on the TRACS site under Teacher Appraisal powerpoints

Monday July 21, 2008 8:53 mrikeramos

9:13

mrikeramos:

Leader responsible for quality of building - one of major methods is thru PDAS

Monday July 21, 2008 9:13 mrikeramos

9:14

mrikeramos:

Takes time and skill and experience to begin to be able to recognize good teaching

Monday July 21, 2008 9:14 mrikeramos

9:14

Coach Norm:

One of the hardest activities for new principals is teacher evaluation.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:14 Coach Norm

9:15

mrikeramos:

Marginal teachers - Teacher in need of assistance
- identifying them involves inclusion of an improvement plan (growth)

Monday July 21, 2008 9:15 mrikeramos

9:15

Coach Norm:

Identifying a teacher in need of assistance requires a growth plan.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:15 Coach Norm

9:15

Coach Norm:

You beat me.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:15 Coach Norm

9:16

Coach Norm:

Convey and document immediately when you id a teacher needing assistance.

Notify admin as well as the teacher.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:16 Coach Norm

9:16

mrikeramos:

HEY whats up...I didn't even see you

Monday July 21, 2008 9:16 mrikeramos

9:16

Coach Norm:

Notify your supt. or your responsible superior when you place a teacher on a growth plan. Most districts will provide training for this process.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:16 Coach Norm

9:17

Coach Norm:

Not much, I saw you come in with that breakfast.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:17 Coach Norm

9:17

mrikeramos:

yessir...had to...I was starvin

Monday July 21, 2008 9:17 mrikeramos

9:17

Coach Norm:

Teacher has the right to oppose a growth plan.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:17 Coach Norm

9:17

mrikeramos:

Documentation must be very precise and carefully done

Monday July 21, 2008 9:17 mrikeramos

9:18

mrikeramos:

- books / experienced principals / training seminars / etc. - utilize these to ensure effective documentation

Monday July 21, 2008 9:18 mrikeramos

9:18

Coach Norm:

Documentation must be done properly, precisely. If not done properly, the teacher will be back under not positive circumstances.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:18 Coach Norm

9:21

Coach Norm:

Not everyone in teaching should be there, it is not a pleasant experience to go thru.

It is important for the kids sake to do this correctly.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:21 Coach Norm

9:23

Coach Norm:

Out of sight, out of mind idea. Washington State Legislature - if admin knowingly moves or reccommends a teacher involved with improper relations, if it happened again, the supt would lose certificate.

Teachers and Admins have to report such activities now.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:23 Coach Norm

9:25

Coach Norm:

Documentation - quality is of utmost importance.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:25 Coach Norm

9:25

Coach Norm:

Principles of Documentation

Monday July 21, 2008 9:25 Coach Norm

9:26

Coach Norm:

What is required when you id a teacher in need of assistance?

Monday July 21, 2008 9:26 Coach Norm

9:26

mrikeramos:

what is required?
- should be reserved for serious problems

Monday July 21, 2008 9:26 mrikeramos

9:26

mrikeramos:

if minor: use oral directive / can be followed up by a note to the file

Monday July 21, 2008 9:26 mrikeramos

9:27

Coach Norm:

Oral directives which can be followed up by a note to the file will suffice for teacher misconduct is minor.

Documentation of teacher behaviors should be reserved for serious problems.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:27 Coach Norm

9:27

Coach Norm:

Habitual habits lead to further and higher level types of directives

Monday July 21, 2008 9:27 Coach Norm

9:29

Coach Norm:

Use documentation when...

District policy requires it or a state that has negotiated requirements

A pattern of behavior that needs to be changed

A serious indicent has occurred.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:29 Coach Norm

9:30

Coach Norm:

Notes to the file to begin with.

Letters to follow up that are more directive in nature.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:30 Coach Norm

9:32

Coach Norm:

The best thing to do is to right a note. Date it, short description of incident and comments.

Formal documentation - good idea to have teacher sign it.

Date it,
what occurred,
expectation of the instance
expectation for the future.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:32 Coach Norm

9:32

Coach Norm:

If teacher refuses to sign, have a third party witness

Monday July 21, 2008 9:32 Coach Norm

9:34

Coach Norm:

Kinds of documentation

Notes to the file accompanied by an oral directive
Performance appraisals - PDAS
Specific indicent memos
Summary memos that put the employee on notice that if improvement is not demonstrated, contract non-renewal will be recommended.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:34 Coach Norm

9:34

mrikeramos:

Several types of documentation:
- note to file / w/ oral directive
- PDAS
- specific incident memos
- summary memos (most serious / needs to be reviewed by your legal council or someone in your district who knows what they are doing); at this point non-renewal is probably on your mind

Monday July 21, 2008 9:34 mrikeramos

9:34

Coach Norm:

Once you get to summary memos for non-renewal, you will need to get the school legal council involved.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:34 Coach Norm

9:37

mrikeramos:

Specific Incident Memos...
- i.e., when teacher is smelling of alcohol and students are reporting it to staff

Monday July 21, 2008 9:37 mrikeramos

9:39

Coach Norm:

Specific indicent memos
- written on letterhead stationary and dated
- specify the nature of the allegation or the results of your investigation
- present your finding of fact
- specify conclusions drawn from the facts
- offer the teacher opportunity to respond
- require the teacher's signature, which indicates that s/he has received the document not that s/he agrees with it.

If teacher comes to you for help, find ways to help her. Document recommendations for help to the teacher. Communicate clear expectations of the individual teacher.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:39 Coach Norm

9:41

Coach Norm:

if a teacher's behavior on their personal time and it impacts performance with students, you must deal with the issue.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:41 Coach Norm

9:46

Coach Norm:

When is remediation required?

- Violent conduct that involves significant or potentailly significant emotional or physical harm to studnets is not NOT REMEDIABLE

- Prior to mid-contract termination

- Recommended before term contract non-renewal.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:46 Coach Norm

9:49

Coach Norm:

Remediation means advising an employee of deficiences and consequences, developing an improvement plan, and giving the employee a reasonable time to comply.

Remediation plans should include an assessment component so that it can be determined whether the employee has completed the plan and improvement has occurred. Assessment must be observale and quantifiable.

If any of these are not present, the plan is invalid.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:49 Coach Norm

9:50

Coach Norm:

Working with Marginal Teachers

Two goals are appropriate:

- To help the teacher improve
- Tgo terminate or non-renew the teacher

Whichever goal is selected a directive style of supervision is required.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:50 Coach Norm

9:50

mrikeramos:

Working with the Marginal Teacher:
- help improve
- terminate or non-renew

Whichever goal is selected a directive style of supervision is required.

Unless we are talking about a crime or a disease such as alcoholism, it probably best to start with a goal and see if teacher can accomplish.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:50 mrikeramos

9:52

Coach Norm:

Reason not to be non-directive is you have identified a problem that needs to be solved.

You must maintain control of this situation.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:52 Coach Norm

9:52

mrikeramos:

Use directive because:
- convey the importance
- must be clear in your expectations
- to maintain control of the process
- problem identified already / now MUST solve

Monday July 21, 2008 9:52 mrikeramos

9:53

mrikeramos:

always remember: WOULD I WANT "MY" CHILD IN THAT CLASS? - refer to this when determining when and to what degree to intervene / If you can't say yes and believe it then you better do something

Monday July 21, 2008 9:53 mrikeramos

9:54

Coach Norm:

Identifying teh Marginal Teacher

- ineffective teachers tend to to attract immediate attention
- Marginally effective teachers are often ignored beacause thier performance is considered "not bad enough"
- The key question to ask is "Would I want my chld in this class?" If the answer is "no", then action needs to be taken.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:54 Coach Norm

9:55

Coach Norm:

Two issues of poor classroom performance:

- The inability of the teacher to think abstractly and problem solve

- A low level of commitment to the profession.

Many factors that might cause these: tired, looking for better job, this is only part time work, waiting on retirement, etc.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:55 Coach Norm

9:57

Coach Norm:

Low level of abstract thinking and problem solving...

- lack of experience
- lack of knowledge
- inability to indentify the problems
- personal problems that effect performance

Offer assistance on the fourth bullet.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:57 Coach Norm

9:58

mrikeramos:

REAL reason we use a directive approach:
- low level or inability of the teacher to think abstractly and problem solve (they may not recognize what they are doing)
- Lack of experience
- Lack of knowledge (content, instructional skills, etc.)
- Inability to identify problems
- Personal problems that affect performance (we must intervene
as leaders / offer help /
- low level of commitment to the problem (they may be tired, burned out, close to retirement, etc.)
- burnout
- egocentricity
- unwillingness to change or fear of change
- personal problems
- correct first 2 with experience and reflection

Monday July 21, 2008 9:58 mrikeramos

9:59

Coach Norm:

low level of commitment ...
burnout
egocentricity
unwillingness to change or fear of change
personal problems

The directive approach is the process to use.

Monday July 21, 2008 9:59 Coach Norm

10:00

mrikeramos:

Important Issues:

- diagnosis / - prescription / - standard setting for teacher and student behavior / - establishing timeline for improvement

* Remember to use DIRECTIVE STYLE

* we may not know content but we MUST know EFFECTIVE TEACHING

Monday July 21, 2008 10:00 mrikeramos

10:01

Coach Norm:

Four issues in working with marinally effective teachers ...

Diagnosis - have you spent enough time in the class with the teacher to lead to a
Prescription to the problem.
Standard behavior for teacher and student behavior
Establishing timelines for improvement.

Monday July 21, 2008 10:01 Coach Norm

10:01

Coach Norm:

Directive style allows for retention of control by the principal.

Monday July 21, 2008 10:01 Coach Norm

10:02

Coach Norm:

Be aware of the timelines. Begin with the final date of notification required.

Monday July 21, 2008 10:02 Coach Norm

10:03

Coach Norm:

If you miss a deadline, the process is invalid.

Follow the directions of superiors to the letter in regards to the growth plan.

Monday July 21, 2008 10:03 Coach Norm

10:04

Coach Norm:

Marginally teachers try to shift the blame or complain about harassment issues. You have the right and obligation to be there.

Monday July 21, 2008 10:04 Coach Norm

10:06

Coach Norm:

Reasons for failure of growth plans

- lack of monitoring the growth plan
- failure rates that exceed the norm for the campus
- complaints from parents, students, and other teachers.
- low student perf. on standardized test.

Monday July 21, 2008 10:06 Coach Norm

10:06

Coach Norm:

Areas of focus for data gathering
- student parcipation
- learner centered
- evaluation of student data
- discipline of students

Monday July 21, 2008 10:06 Coach Norm

10:08

Coach Norm:

Elements of a Prof. Growth Plan

- notification that change is needed
- specific directions for improvement
- an offer of assistance and support
- a reasonable time to demonstrate improvement.

Monday July 21, 2008 10:08 Coach Norm

10:09

Coach Norm:

Difficult skill, but you will have assistance.

Monday July 21, 2008 10:09 Coach Norm

7:39