MA Educator Evaluation System - one year later

It has been a long time since I have been on my own blog site, but am getting the motivation to more actively share my personal experiences and seek those of others as Massachusetts implements the new Educator Evaluation System for its districts statewide.  A year ago I was asked to participate in a district task force, the Educator Evaluation Development Team, to help develop the new evaluation system for our staff.  The committee consisted of administrators from central district office, school committee members, principals, department heads and teachers.  After a bumpy start, I found myself co-chairing the effort with the assistant superintendent. It soon became apparent that this task was not an easy one, as we sorted through all the documentation provided by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, with over 100 pages of guidelines, rubrics, suggestions, regulations and recommendations.  We also needed to develop and negotiate a union contract that addressed the new system and gain concurrence from union members and administration.

After several months last spring, a few days in the summer, and more finalizing sessions in the fall 2012, the committee developed a very workable, collaborative and living document and process for all. Staff training began in late May 2012, with more intensive in-service workshops in September and also with a Train the Trainer (T3) approach. By mid-October all staff were trained in the Self-Assessment and Goal-Setting modules, a calendar had been developed for scheduling due dates and identifying those colleagues who would begin the process on a one-year plan, and the other 50% began a two-year plan.  This truly was a random selection with names in a hat which enabled the administrative team and evaluators to balance the workload. A Memorandum of Understanding was ratified in the fall to allow the process to begin without a formal contractual agreement, and a signed contract was approved in January 2013.

Educators and evaluators began the task of self-assessments, understanding the rubrics, collecting evidence, reflecting on teaching practices and developing  record-keeping systems that worked for them.  The formative assessment reviews began in January for the one-year participants, and much was learned as we all went through the process.  Clarifications, misunderstandings, apprehension, frustration and senses of accomplishments were all part of the emotional ride we were on.  But with a common purpose and a look toward a successful program, both teachers and administrators alike worked through the missteps and bumps, recognizing that we were all in this together.  

A expanded committee, the Educator Evaluation Implementation Team, was established to monitor the progress, to address some of the questions that would arise, to provide clarifications to the process, and to establish district-wide calibration for evaluations and interpretations. As we approach the May time frame and  the first round of Summative Evaluations, the staff is coping with the understanding, with some apprehension, of the requirements for the final evaluations. But overall the process continues to be very collegial, and most staff members are embracing the new system.  I do believe that the overall reflective process is worthwhile and beneficial for all of us as we work to improve our own teaching styles.  And as for me, on a two-year plan, I am beginning to develop my own collection of evidence and working within the process for my formative assessment next month.