Intro to Achieve NJ

School Improvement Panel

• TEACHNJ Act – TEACHNJ was the tenure reform law that was enacted in

August 2012. – This law defines certain requirements and structures for

the new evaluation system in New Jersey, and requires that tenure decisions be linked to evaluation outcomes.]

– AchieveNJ are the regulations that provides the details and support structures necessary to allow districts to implement the law effectively.

Overview of TeachNJ

• Effective August 6, 2012, teachers, principals, and assistant/vice principal must complete four years of employment to be eligible for tenure under the following evaluation requirements: – To earn tenure, a new teacher must complete a district

mentorship program during his/her first year of employment. After completion of this program, the teacher must be rated either effective or highly effective in two of the three subsequent years.

Achieving tenure under TEACHNJ

Losing Tenure under TEACHNJ

• Under our contract, the NTU and NPS have put in place checks and balances to ensure the evaluation process is being done fairly. – School Improvement Panel (which is part of TEACHNJ) – Peer Validators – Peer Oversight Committee

Newark’s checks and balances

Teacher Evaluation in NPS

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Review of Evaluation Process and

Requirements

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The Irreplaceables report focused on the top 20% of teachers

who drive students to learn at least a half year more each year.

Estimates of Irreplaceables percentage based on teachers with value-added or growth data; District A high performers: 21%; District B high performers: 20%; District C

high performers: 20%; District D high performers: 18%; Student impact estimates calculated following the methodology of Hahnel and Jackson (2012). Source: District data

from SY 2009-10 and SY 2010-11.

The “Irreplaceables” are teachers so successful

that they are nearly impossible to replace.

Who Are the Irreplaceables?

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However, Irreplaceable teachers reported receiving little

recognition or attention at the school level – often on par with the

lowest performers.

Source: District B data and survey data. Trends confirmed across districts.

Principals used 7 of 8 top retention strategies at similar rates

for high and low performers.

Teachers Reporting Recognition at School

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Celebrating Success: We are rewarding teachers for

good performance.

We retained 96% of our Highly Effective and 94% of our

Effective teachers from 2013-14 to 2014-15!.

206 Highly Effective teachers across 58 schools received $1.35

million in bonuses

157 teachers across 49 schools received a performance improvement

stipend of 50% of what their step had been if they did not receive a

step last year as Partially Effective teacher and were rated

Effective/Highly Effective this year

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NPS Framework for Effective Teaching

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Evaluation Process

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Goal-Setting

Conference

Annual

Conference

Mid-Year

Conference

Observations and

Conferences

Observations and

Conferences

Teacher Evaluation Requirements, 2014-15

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Requirement Non-tenured

(year 1 or 2 of

teaching)

Non-tenured

(year 3 or 4 of

teaching)

Tenured CAP

Length of

Observations

Long: 40 minutes

Short: 20 minutes

Announced /

Unannounced

All required to have at least one announced and one announced

# of

Observations

(Minimal Req)

2 Long

1 Short

1 Long

2 Short

3 Short 2 Short

2 Long

# of

Observers

At least 2

different

observers

At least 2 different

observers

No requirement At least 2 different

observers

Timing At least one observation must occur in each semester

Pre-Obs

Conferences

One observation each year must be announced with a pre-conf within 7 days

before observation (for tenured Ts not on a CAP, pre-conference can be done in

written format if teacher agrees)

Post-Obs

Conferences

Post-observation required for all observations within 10 days (for tenured Ts not

on a CAP, post-conference can be done in written format if teacher agrees) 13

Ratings Distribution: Annuals and

Observations

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17%

69%

10% 4% 11%

69%

16% 4% 11%

74%

12% 3%

Highly Effective Effective Partially Effective Ineffective

11-12

12-13

13-14

7%

68%

21% 4% 9%

70%

16% 5%

Highly Effective Effective Partially Effective Ineffective

12-13

13-14

Annuals

Observations

Reflection

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Discussion Question:

What questions do you have about the evaluation

process?

Further reflection / feedback. Please write on an

index card that will be collected.

What questions or feedback do you still have about the

evaluation process that you would like the Talent Office

to know?

School Improvement Panels

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SIP Composition

The SIP must include:

• The school principal

• An assistant/vice principal or a designee if the school does not

have one

• A teacher

* More staff members may be added to the SIP, provided that teachers represent at least

one-third of the total membership. The principal has final responsibility for SIP

membership but must consult with the local association representative in determining a

suitable teacher to participate.

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Responsibility of the SIP

1. Mentoring

2. Evaluation Implementation (especially for Teaches on CAPs)

3. Professional Development and Learning

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Data and Confidentiality

• The protection of teacher and student confidentiality rights

should be a key consideration.

– Evaluation data of a particular employee must remain

confidential.

– Districts must store evaluation data in each teacher's

personnel file or in another secure manner that is easily

accessible to the teacher (either electronically or on

paper). This is why the district uses BloomBoard.

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Some Do’s and Don’ts (Per NJDOE

Guidance)

Review aggregate mentorship, evaluation and professional learning data to make informed program improvements

Promote organized, transparent communication

Allow teachers to conduct observations without approval from local representation

Examine evaluation data at the individual teacher level.

SIP

s S

ho

uld

. .

.

ScIP

s S

ho

uld

n’t . . .

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1. Mentorship: Sample Tasks

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• Identify critical needs of new educators

•Establish additional support structures for new educators

•Support mentors with capacity, resources, and guidance

Discuss with a partner: What are your schools

doing around mentorship of new teachers that

others can learn from?

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2. Evaluation Implementation: Sample

Tasks

• Plan trainings and other activities pertinent to evaluation

• Analyze aggregate evaluation data to make recommendations for further support, especially for CAP teachers

Discuss with a partner: What do you think are

helpful activities for your SIP to engage in

around implementation of the evaluation

processes?

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3. Professional Development and Learning:

Sample Tasks

•Analyze aggregate evaluation data to identify key areas for growth

•Identify professional learning needs and plan to implement support

Discuss with a partner: What are useful

professional development resources that you

would recommend?

NPS Resources for Professional Development

• The BloomBoard Marketplace houses over 1,300 free resources & 200 paid

resources, including videos, articles, presentations, self-paced courses, and more.

NPS is providing all teachers with access to all resources $70 and under for free.

• NPS Instructional Resource Center: www.nps.k12.nj.us/irc

• Leadership Institute for Teacher Team (LIFTT) Materials

• Various departments also offer more content-specific PD including the Office of

Curriculum, Office of Special Education, Office of Bilingual Education, and the

Office of Early Childhood.

What other professional development

resources that you would recommend?

• NTU provides a variety of workshops through our Educational Resource Center, including Stress Management, Computer Training, Teacher Evaluation. Moving forward, we will make sure the SIP gets this information.

• • The American Federation of Teachers also offers

training in a variety of areas. If you would like more information on these events, or would like to inquire about scheduling your own event, e-mail edissues@aft.org or call 800-238-1133, ext. 8636

NTU Recommended Resources

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Further Resources:

• AchieveNJ SIP Corner

• SIP Guidance 1.0

• Achieve NJ Website: http://www.nj.gov/education/AchieveNJ/

• NJDOE Teacher Evaluation Page:

http://www.nj.gov/education/AchieveNJ/teacher/

• Resource Library: http://www.nj.gov/education/AchieveNJ/resources/

Website resources most relevant to SIPs include:

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Moving Forward

Discussion: What is one thing that you will do upon return

to your district or building to increase the usefulness of

the SIP?

Reflection: Write down on an index card any additional

resources you feel would be useful for your work as a

SIP member.

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Conflict Resolution

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• The Principal serves as the chair of the School Improvement Panel, but the members are all co-equals in ensuring that the responsibilities of the School Improvement Panel are being fulfilled.

• It can seem like a tricky balance to figure out how

the teacher member of the SIP can disagree with administrators without being insubordinate.

But what happens when conflict comes up?

• Competitive • Collaborative • Compromising • Accommodating • Avoiding

• Survey for reviewing your conflict resolution type http://academic.engr.arizona.edu/vjohnson/ConflictM

anagementQuestionnaire/ConflictManagementQuestionnaire.asp

Conflict Resolution Types

• When angry, separate yourself from the situation and take time to cool out.

• Attack the problem, not the person. Start with a compliment.

• Communicate your feelings assertively, NOT aggressively. Express them without blaming.

• Focus on the issue, NOT your position about the issue.

• Accept and respect that individual opinions may differ, don’t try to force compliance, work to develop common agreement.

Strategies for Conflict Resolution

• Do not review the situation as a competition, where one has to win and one has to lose. Work toward a solution where both parties can have some of their needs met.

• Focus on areas of common interest and agreement, instead of areas of disagreement and opposition.

• NEVER jump to conclusions or make assumptions about what another is feeling or thinking.

Strategies for Conflict Resolution

• Listen without interrupting; ask for feedback if needed to assure a clear understanding of the issue.

• Remember, when only one person’s needs are satisfied in a conflict, it is NOT resolved and will continue.

• Forget the past and stay in the present. • Build ‘power with’ NOT ‘power over’ others. • Thank the person for listening. Developed by Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Inc. Distributed by the State Wellness Program, a program of the Employee’s Benefits Council

Strategies for Conflict Resolution