Comments on: Decatur Leads the Way in New Teacher Evaluation Method

By: Teach

Teach — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:27:02 +0000

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it should be flack, not slack.

By: At Home in Decatur

At Home in Decatur — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:13:01 +0000

That’s reassuring to hear. We parents hear more than probably folks realize about the life of teachers because they are not only our teachers, but many are also our friends, neighbors, church family, club mates, and family members. We like to hear that they are supported, appreciated, and treated well because we know that the bottom line is the skilled and caring direct interaction between the teacher and student. We also get discouraged when ineffective teachers who cannot improve are not redirected to where they need to be. Our children are only in any particular grade once in their lives and we want that experience to be reasonably productive and rewarding.

Keep sending out the postive vibes! I’m sure that administrators deserve praise as well as flack (or is it slack? )

By: Teach

Teach — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:49:50 +0000

Class Keys contains highly detailed rubrics which I, as a teacher, have used to “practice” rate other teachers. In fact, we have ALL practiced rating each other. Additionally, there are opportunities for teachers to join a small cohort and gain more experience with the rubrics. I have participated in this group and have used the evaluation tool dozens of times.

I’m actually stunned at how thorough and clear Class Keys is. (It’s more clear than the IB rubrics!) I can’t believe the Georgia DOE did something so competent! The Class Keys system is basically a rubric for assessing best teaching practices. But it’s not easy to keep track of all your observations- I literally have a spreadsheet. Teachers are expected to demonstrate (through observations, lesson plans, records, etc.) proficiency with all of the best practices. Teachers are also allowed to score “emerging” and the Instructional Coaches at the school will TOTALLY support teachers that need help. But you can’t stand still! The idea is in line with what we expect of our students- know where you are and then grow. I consider myself a highly accomplished teacher but I still ask the instructional coach for help- especially with my IB tests and grades. We are lucky to have such competent instructional coaches- that’s not the case in many school systems.

I’m a big fan of VALID accountability. In the past, CRCT scores and silly evaluations such as “comes to work on time” and “dresses professionally” were standard. As for standardized tests, CRCT scores are problematic because they don’t assess growth. I used to work for an urban district and my Latino students gained 3 years (!) of math skills in 1 year but mostly failed the math CRCT; the whole picture simply wasn’t clear from the data. I’m a big fan of MAP.

I teach over 120 of your kids. Assess the heck out of me! What other career would expect anything else? Teachers who want to be the best at their career want their work to be scrutinized. Come on in to my class- I’ll knock your socks off!

CSD is awesome, wants their teachers to use best practices and supports teachers to overcome their weaknesses and grow. Ineffective teachers waste our kids’ time and discourage the love of learning!

And BTW- the administrators take a lot of slack on this blog but every teacher knows that the principal, that ONE person, sets the tone of the whole school. As far as the central office staff is concerned, Thomas Van Soelen gets more done in an hour than I ever thought possible. I don’t think he ever sleeps. Thomas, more than any other person, is the reason CSD is so spectacular. (I’ve never worked closely on a project with Dr. Edwards.) Thomas is the equivalent of the instructional coach for the administrators (although some administrators may disagree).

-Teach

By: Just wonderin'

Just wonderin' — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:29:05 +0000

Yeah. A teacher that just threw a bunch of other teachers recognized by their systems as teacher of the year under the bus. I don’t believe I want a “peer” evaluation from that individual.

By: At Home in Decatur

At Home in Decatur — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:50:39 +0000

That’s a valid point of view too. But a couple of teachers seem to feel strongly the other way. The rest of us non-teachers probably didn’t even know what Class Keys is.