SPACKENKILL UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT
ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW PLAN FOR TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS SUBJECT TO EDUCATION LAW §3012-c
Date of Adoption: August 29, 2011
Date of Amendment: October 3, 2011
INTRODUCTION
A. Any existing and previously-approved Annual Professional Performance Review (“APPR”) procedures pursuant to Section 100.2(o) of the Rules and Regulations of the Commissioner of Education (“Commissioner’s Regulations”) remain in effect for teachers and principals who are not subject to Section 3012-c of the New York State Education Law (the “Education Law”).
B. For the 2011-12 school year, this APPR Plan (“Plan”) and the procedures and methods described herein shall apply to all classroom teachers of common branch subjects or English Language Arts or mathematics in grades 4 to 8 and all building principals of schools in which such teachers are employed, except as provided in paragraph “D” below.
C. Nothing in this Plan shall be construed to affect the right of the Board of Education to terminate a probationary teacher or principal or restrict the discretion of the Superintendent and/or the Board of Education to make a determination on the status of a probationary teacher or principal and/or to deny tenure.
D. Nothing in this Plan shall be construed to abrogate any conflicting provisions of any collective bargaining agreement in effect on July 1, 2010 during the term of such agreement and until entry into a successor collective bargaining agreement, provided that notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, upon expiration of such term and the entry into a successor collective bargaining agreement, all the provisions of Education Law §3012-c and the Commissioner’s Regulations shall apply.
E. This plan shall be in effect for the 2011-12 school year.
I. Availability of Districts APPR Plan
A written copy of the APPR plan will be approved by the BOE at the Board of Education meeting on August 29, 2011, this document shall be included in the official published minutes of the Board of Education meeting.
The written copy of the plan will be published on the DISTRICT website within 48 hours of the approval of the plan by the BOE.
II. Training of Lead Evaluators and Evaluators
A. The duration and nature of the training the DISTRICT will provide to evaluators:
All Spackenkill evaluators will be trained as lead evaluators.
B. The duration and nature of the training the DISTRICT will provide to lead evaluators:
Positions trained as lead evaluators: Principals, Assistant Principals, Deans, Directors, and Superintendent of Schools.
Dutchess BOCES will provide training of lead evaluators in compliance with all state regulations. The remaining district administrators will be trained either by BOCES or someone who has been trained by BOCES.
C. The DISTRICT’s process for certifying lead evaluators:
The Superintendent of Schools upon receipt of proof of successful completion of the lead evaluators training will certify individual evaluators as lead evaluators
D. The DISTRICT’s process for ensuring that lead evaluators maintain inter-rater reliability over time:
Inter-rater reliability of lead evaluators over time will be conducted by the Superintendent or designee. The process will involve the maintenance of a database of evaluators on their respective assessments.
E. The DISTRICT’s process for periodically recertifying all lead evaluators:
Spackenkill will fully participate in the periodic recertification conducted by Dutchess BOCES and all administrators will be recertified by BOCES or someone who has been recertified by BOCES.
III. Teacher Evaluations
A. Twenty points of the teacher’s composite effectiveness score shall be based upon the teacher’s student growth percentile score on State assessments in English language arts and/or mathematics in grades four to eight.
B. Twenty points of the teacher’s composite effectiveness score shall be based upon locally selected measures of student achievement that are determined to be rigorous and comparable across classrooms.
C. Sixty points of a teacher’s composite effectiveness score shall be based upon multiple measures aligned with New York State Teaching standards, their related elements and performance indicators.
1. The District’s method of measuring student growth on state and local assessments is subject to negotiations.
The procedures for use with the local measure must be negotiated and the Plan shall be amended once an agreement is reached on this component.
2. The District’s method of measuring teacher effectiveness:
Sixty points of a teacher’s composite effectiveness score are based upon multiple measures as aligned with the New York State Teaching Standards.
A teacher’s performance must be assessed based upon a teacher practice rubric approved by SED. The rubric shall be selected before training is provided, and the plan shall be amended at that time.
NOTE: The procedures for observing teachers are negotiable, including but not limited to, the length of the observation, whether it’s announced or unannounced, pre- or post- observation conferences. The Plan shall be amended once an agreement is reached on this component.
The allocation of the remaining portion of the 60 points is negotiable and shall be based on any combination of the following:
1. evidence of student development and performance through structured reviews of student work and/or artifacts of teacher practice using portfolios or evidence binder process;
2. evidence that the teacher develops effective relationships with students, parents, caregivers, and relevant stakeholders to maximize student growth, development, and learning through the use of surveys and/or feedback from students, parents/caregivers and/or their peers using structured survey tools; or
3. evidence that the teacher sets informed professional growth goals and strives for continuous professional growth as demonstrated through teacher self-reflections and teacher progress on professional growth goals. The Plan shall be amended once an agreement is reached on this component.
IV. Teacher Improvement Plans:
The District must provide a Teacher Improvement Plan (TIP) if a teacher receives a rating of developing or ineffective. The TIP must be received within ten (10) days after the date on which teachers are required to report prior to the opening of classes for school year. The TIP must include, without being limited to:
- Identification of the needed areas of improvement;
- A timeline for achieving improvement;
- The manner in which improvement will be assessed; and
- Where appropriate, differentiated activities to support improvement in those areas.
NOTE: The procedures associated with TIPs are negotiable and the Plan shall be amended once an agreement is reached on this component.
v. PRINCIPAL EVALUATIONS
A. The DISTRICT’s method of measuring a principal’s composite effectiveness score
1. The District’s method of measuring student growth on state and local assessments is subject to negotiations.
The procedures for use with the local measure must be negotiated and the Plan shall be amended once an agreement is reached on this component.
1. The DISTRICT’s method of measuring principal effectiveness
a. The name of the approved principal practices rubric that the DISTRICT uses to measure principal effectiveness based upon multiple measures:
The rubric shall be selected before training is provided, and the plan shall be amended at that time.
b. The DISTRICT’s method of measuring principal effectiveness based on ambitious and measurable goals:
The measures of principal effectiveness are currently being negotiated and upon completion the APPR plan will be amended.
Sixty points of a principal’s composite effectiveness score are based upon multiple measures as aligned with the Leadership Standards.
A principal’s performance must be assessed based upon a principal practice rubric approved by SED.
At least 40 of the 60 points shall be based on a broad assessment of the principal’s leadership and management actions by the principal’s supervisor based on one or more visits by a supervisor and at least two other sources from the following: structured feedback from teachers, students, and/or families; school visits by other trained evaluators; review of school documents, records, state accountability processes and/or other locally-determined sources.
NOTE: The procedures for this assessment are negotiable. The Plan shall be amended once an agreement is reached on this component.
The allocation of any remaining points is negotiable and shall be assigned based on the results of one or more amibitious and measurable goals set collaboratively with principals and the Superintendent or his/her designee as follows:
1. at least one goal must address the principal’s contribution to improving teacher effectiveness, which may include, but need not be limited to: improved retention of high performing teachers, the correlation between student growth scores of teachers granted tenure as opposed to those denied tenure, quality of feedback provided to teachers throughout the year, facilitation of teacher participation in professional development opportunities made available by the District and/or the quality of effectiveness of teacher evaluations conducted under this section; and
2. any other goals shall address quantifiable and verifiable improvements in academic results or the school’s learning environment resulting from the principal’s leadership and management actions by the principal’s supervisor
The Plan shall be amended once an agreement is reached on this component.
A. The DISTRICT’s method for reporting the individual subcomponent scores and total composite effectiveness score for each building principal to the State Education Department:
The District will follow New York State Education Department (NYSED) developed procedures and timelines for reporting composite effectiveness scores.
VI. Principal Improvement Plans
Upon rating a principal as Developing or Ineffective through an annual professional performance review, the District shall develop and commence implementation of a Principal Improvement Plan (PIP) as soon as practicable but in no case later than 10 days after the date on which teachers are required to report prior to the opening of classes for the school year.
A PIP must include, but is not limited to, identification of needed areas of improvement, a timeline for achieving improvement, the manner in which the improvement will be assessed, and where appropriate, differentiated activities to support a principal’s improvement in those areas.
NOTE: The procedures associated with PIPs are negotiable and the Plan shall be amended once an agreement is reached on this component.
VII. Appeal Procedure
In accordance with the law and regulations, a teacher or principal may only appeal the following in conjunction with his/her APPR:
- the substance of the APPR;
- the District’s adherence to the standards and methodologies required for such reviews;
- the District’s adherence to the regulations and compliance with any locally negotiated procedures, as well as the District’s issuance and/or implementation of the terms of the PIP.
Appeal procedures shall provide for the timely and expeditious resolution of any appeal.
The Appeal Procedure must be negotiated with both the Teachers and the Principals and once agreements are reached, this component of the Plan shall be amended.
VIII. Other Requirements for the Districts APPR Plan
A) The process by which the District will ensure that the State Education Department receives timely and accurate teacher, course, and student “linkage” data: The District will follow New York State Education Department (NYSED) developed procedures and timelines for extracting data from the student management system and reporting to the Student Information Repository System (SIRS). The District’s Special Programs Systems Specialist will facilitate the data verification process.
B) The process for teachers and principals to verify the courses and/or student rosters assigned to them: Student schedules are created prior to the start of the school year. During this process, students are assigned courses and sections of courses are assigned to teachers. After the scheduling process is completed, the schedules are locked and teachers are then able to verify their assigned list of courses and student rosters.
C) The process by which the District will report to NYSED the individual subcomponent scores and the total composite effective score: The District will utilize the reporting system provided by NYSED. Data entered into this system will coincide with the format and timeline prescribed by the Commissioner and NYSED.
D) The assessment development, security, and scoring processes utilized by the District to ensure that the assessments are not disseminated to students before administration and that teachers or principals do not have a vested interest in the outcome of the assessments they score: The District will follow NYSED Assessment Administration Guidelines when administering and scoring state assessments. Should the District utilize assessments provided by a company chosen from the list of NYSED approved third-party vendors, the vendor will provide the assessments which are aligned with the Common Core Standards. Web based assessments will be the preferred delivery model for administering the exams. Using such a system will ensure a process by which the handling and scoring of the exams are done so within a secure and controlled system provided by the vendor.
