Posted: 7/16/03

Uniform evaluation plan for teachers takes shape

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Teachers in Forest Lake Area Schools this fall will be evaluated under a new uniform system that is headed for school board adoption in August.

After nearly two years of study and research, a Teacher Evaluation Task Force has recommended adoption of a uniform system of teacher evaluation for use throughout ISD 831 at all levels.

If the system is adopted by the school board next month, it will provide a district-wide evaluation system that is consistent for all teachers.

The task force made its report to the school board on July 7 and the request will be considered for adoption at the boardís next business meeting Monday, Aug. 4.

Joe Jezierski, assistant principal at Southwest Junior High School, and Kathy McMorrow, teacher at Wyoming Elementary School, presented the report.

The proposed system was selected by the task force after review of many models. The goal of the teacher-administrator task force was to develop a clear, consistent and equitable evaluation system, Jezierski told the board on July 7.

The agreed upon system was based on the work of Charlotte Danielson, who wrote the book, ìEnhancing Professional Practice.î

Under the system, the four domains of the model that are to be evaluated are:

ïPlanning and preparation.

ïClassroom environment.

ïInstruction.

ïProfessional responsibility.

Each domain will contain a number of components that expand and define the domain, Jezierski said.

During the evaluation process each factor will receive a rating as follows:

ïExemplary.

ïProficient.

ïDeveloping.

ïUnsatisfactory.

ìThe task force believes that this evaluation system is a living document that will be consistently reviewed and changed as suggestions are given and as we proceed with the system itself,î the task force said in its report.

Change needed

When Lynn Steenblock arrived on the scene as superintendent three years ago, he soon felt a new system of evaluations was in order for the teaching staff.

ìI could see there was not a good evaluation system in place,î Steenblock said in an interview.

ìWhen I came to Forest Lake, each principal was evaluating based on what they knew. There was really no consistency on part of the evaluation.î

Steenblock said teacher evaluations by principals were taking place, but not on a uniform basis in the district.

Non-tenured teachers were getting the three required reviews each year and tenured teachers were being reviewed at least once every five years, as required by state law, he said.

Those review procedures will continue, he said, but now under a format that ìwonít be punitive,î but will be ìhelpfulî to teachers and the district.

Steenblock said the move to a new system for evaluation has been a ìtime intensive conceptî over the past two school years.

The big steps in the process, he said, have been the identification on a desired model and getting teachers to buy in on the plan.

The district is now ready to move forward, he said.

FLEAís view

The buy-in has been successful, according to Terry DuRei, president of the Forest Lake Education Association, the local teacher union.

DuRei said he was satisfied with what he called a ìfair processî and the fact the evaluation system would have no contract implications for the teaching staff.

Teachers are now in the early steps of negotiating a new two-year contract for the period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2005.

ìI think itís a pretty good deal,î DuRei said of the evaluation plan.

Principalís view

Neal Fox, principal at Columbus Elementary, said the new system would put all principals on the same foundation for doing evaluations, something that does not happen now.

ìI would say there is not a lot of consistency at the elementary schools,î Fox said of the existing review process. ìEvery administrator is doing some kind of evaluation.î

Fox is a member of the task force and said he is sold on the Danielson method and the technology software that follows the model. As part of his involvement, Fox said he is already using some of the tools contained in the model.

ìIíve created my framework and benchmarks for evaluating teachers,î the fifth-year principal at Columbus said.

Fox has completed a five-day training session on the Danielson model. This year marks the third summer administrators in Forest Lake Area Schools have been able to attend sessions to gain knowledge on the evaluation system, Fox said.

What is next?

For the school board, the next step will be to consider final approval on Aug. 4.

Questions of student involvement in the actual evaluation process of teachers and why tenured teachers should be given notification of a planned evaluation were raised by board members on July 7.

Jezierski said students and parents have an indirect influence on the evaluation process through the comments that come to administrators on a daily basis.

In the case of a tenured teacher, Jezierski said administrators have a solid knowledge base about the teachers they are reviewing.

The formal steps that remain are:

ïSchool board consideration and approval on Aug. 4.

ïWork session for task force members and principals on Aug. 15.

ïTraining session for teachers and staff on Aug. 25.

Top of Page