Teach. Lead. Grow.Educator Evaluation in NJ & SBSD

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Crossroads North Middle School Library

Who We Are

Joanne Kerekes, Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Diszler, Director of Professional Development

Goals for Tonight

Explore what it means to be effective Why is effective teaching so important? What does it mean to be an effective teacher?

Provide an overview of the State Law and the State’s System and the District’s Model of Evaluation

Conduct a “walk-through” of a classroom with you

The people who make a difference…Take this quiz

Name the 10 wealthiest people in the world.

Name the last 10 Heisman trophy winners.

Name the last 10 winners of the Miss America contest.

Name 8 people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize.

How about the last 10 Academy Award winners for best picture… or the last decade's worth of World Series winners?

How did you do? Now try this quiz…

Name 5 heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Name 4 friends who have helped you in a difficult time.

Name 3 people who have taught you something worthwhile.

Think of 2 people you enjoy spending time with.

Think of 1 educator who aided your journey through school– who made a discernable difference.

Easier?  It was for me, too. The lesson?

“The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care for you.”“Only those who care, make a difference. To make a difference to others, care for them.”

Teach. Lead. Grow.

The effort to improve educator evaluation in New Jersey has been a top priority since the Educator Effectiveness Task Force (EETF) was convened in 2010 and released its recommendations in 2011.  Woven into the fabric of this initiative is the need to strike a balance between two important drivers: a sense of urgency to make changes that will benefit students and educators, and a strong desire to proceed thoughtfully and to incorporate feedback from New Jersey educators along the way.

~State of NJ Department of Education

Effectiveness.That’s what this project is all about.

Why are effective teachers so important?Let’s go to Dr. James Stronge to get us started on our journey into effectiveness.

What factor had the largest effect on student achievement?

Mixed Ability Grouping?

Class Size?

Prior Achievement?

The Teacher?

Stronge and Associates Educational Consulting,

LLC

What factor had the largest effect on student achievement?

Mixed Ability Grouping? 4

Class Size? 3Prior Achievement? 2

The Teacher? 1

Wright, Horn, & Sanders, http://www.sas.com/govedu/edu/ed_eval.pdf (1997)

Stronge and Associates Educational Consulting,

LLC

Influences on Student Achievement:Factors that Explain Variability

Students50%

Peers5-10%

School5-10%

Home5-10%

Teachers30%

Hattie, http://acer.edu.au/documents (2003)Stronge and Associates Educational Consulting,

LLC

Piece by pieceEffectiveness Reform in New Jersey

…and the steps South Brunswick has taken to implement it

Evaluation is like a jigsaw puzzle. You have to see the whole picture, then put it together piece by piece.

The center pieces of an Effective Evaluation System

New State Law

New State Evaluation

System

PreparationSBSD

Evaluation Model

Building the puzzle…One piece at a time.

TeachNJ Puzzle Piece #1

The Law

New State Law

Teacher Effectiveness & Accountability for the Children of New Jersey

TeachNJ Law became effective August 2012. For implementation in 2013-2014. First year educators must complete a district mentorship

program Educators must complete 4 years of employment to be

eligible for tenure Must be rated either effective or highly effective for

continuance

AchieveNJ

Puzzle Piece #2

The State’s System

NJ’ s New Evaluation System

Two Parts to the System

Professional Practice

Student or Program Growth

Part I: Evidence of Professional Practice

Observation State approved tool 3 observations for all Multiple observers Unannounced & announced

Other Evidence Non Tenured Portfolio Tenured Reflection

(documentation log) Student-staff surveys Lesson Plan Reviews Walk through visits

Part II:Evidence of Growth

Student or Program Growth On annual State

assessments (Student Growth Percentiles)

On District assessments over time (Student or Program Growth Objectives)

The end result.

Four tiered system of rating based on evidence of practice and evidence of growth. Ineffective Partially effective Effective Highly effective

Used for year-to-year personnel decisions

Which educators are being evaluated?

Teachers All levels and all content areas

Education Specialists Child Study Team, Related Service Providers, Counselors,

Librarians, Nurses, Athletic Trainers, Instructional Specialists

Leaders Principals, Assistant Principals, Supervisors, Directors, and

Central Office Superintendent is evaluated by the Board of Education

South Brunswick School District’s Model of EvaluationPuzzle Piece #3

Choice of State-Approved Models

SBSD Model

South Brunswick’s Choice

The Stronge Model Developed by Dr. James Stronge of the University of

William & Mary Meets the criteria articulated by NJDOE Is research- and evidence- based Is inclusive of teachers, education specialists, and

leaders Was successfully piloted over the past 2 years

Based on 7 Standards

1. Professional Knowledge

2. Instructional or Program Planning

3. Instructional or Program Delivery

4. Assessment

5. Learning Environment- Community- Collaboration

6. Professionalism

7. Student or Program Growth

Getting Ready for ImplementationPuzzle Piece #4

Professional Development

Training

Training Schedule

Trained all teachers, education specialists and leaders on TeachNJ…AchieveNJ…and, the Stronge Model. Early Release Days Staff Meetings Summer Training Dates Professional Development Day

Piloted with selected staff members in the Spring.

Put the jigsaw pieces together, and a portrait of an effective teacher takes shape.

~James Stronge

We have become evidence collectors.

Let’s “walk through” a classroom and see what evidence of effectiveness we can find.

Teacher Observation~ Putting the tools to work

What evidence of good instruction do you notice in the video?

Be an evidence collector!

Observation Debrief

Some Final Thoughts SBSD has always had a

“strong” evaluation system. Multiple observers Portfolios Reflection Logs Lesson Plan Reviews Walk Throughs District & State Assessments

SBSD has excellent educators.

As our mission statement says, we are “lifelong learners.”

So… we can always “get better together.”

The Starfish StoryEvery child in our classroom is like a starfish. Even when you think you can’t make a difference, never give up. We can make a difference, one child at a time!