Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/40928
Interim year changes to DPAS II Guides Training for Leaders and Specialists Question: Is training mandatory? Answer: Training for teachers and specialists will allow districts some flexibility in the training they offer you. Although not mandatory, we strongly urge you to take whatever training you can. Experienced teachers will find training on eLearning Delaware. And/or they may also receive train- ing in their districts given by their principal, lead mentors or an "expert evaluator." Expert evalua- tor training, by the way, isn't taking place until September 20 and 21. Novice teachers and all special- ists will be offered eLearning Delaware online training plus an in-person training offered by the district. Several DSEA UniServ directors will be taking the "Expert Evaluator" training this month as a way to not only check that the training matches the new Guides, but also to know what your evalua- tor is being taught. The Dept. of Education is encour- aging principals to also encourage regular conversations in the build- ings about the interim evaluation system – at faculty meetings and PLC (Performance Learning Community) meetings – to better reach common understanding of this new, complex process. What do I do now? Question: What should I do to get ready for this "interim year?" Answer:We strongly recommend that you download, print out, read and highlight the new DPASII Guide. Be diligent, think 'organizing' Be diligent, as always, regarding what next year's evaluation It has many improvements that the DSEA staff asked for, additions and clarifications that will make it much clearer to administrators what is expected. Highlights of the changes with page number refer- ences, are presented here, in the box above. process is and isn't; what the Guide says about next year; that the "rubrics" for evaluation are in the guide (they weren't previously); that administrators who evaluate you must have successfully completed the training; and that additional train- ing is available from DoE, if you and your colleagues ask for it. Think "organizing." If something goes wrong, get together with your Assoc. Rep and colleagues to talk about sharing experiences, and planning what to do to correct the situation. Definitely include your DSEA UniServ director who will be key to helping you put together an action plan. 10 September 2011 DSEA ACTION! www.dsea.org Highlights of changes in the DPASII Guides for 2011-2012 It's all good news here. New guides are clearer, more comprehensive, and answer questions definitively. • Explanation of the rubric rat- ings: Explains how an experienced teacher or specialist can, at times, be Basic and still Satisfactory • Explanation of the criteria and elements for Components 1- 4: Much of this was not included in the previous Guides • Explanation of the Component V Interim Plan for 2011-2012 • Explanation of the Student Growth Measures Selection Form and Conference, and the Professional Responsibilities Form and Conference: The Professional Responsibilities Form may be optional for experienced teachers and specialists under certain con- ditions. • Pre-Observation Form: May be optional for experienced teachers and specialists under certain con- ditions. • Increase in number of observa- tions for novice teachers and spe- cialists:Will be a minimum of two announced and one unannounced. The Delaware Association of Administrators (DASA) is protest- ing this change. • Professional Responsibilities will now be discussed as part of the post-observation conference: An optional Lesson Reflection Template has been included to help teachers and specialists prepare for the post-observation conference. • There is a new chart that explains more clearly the level of performance responsibilities for each rating, including what may or may not trigger a formal Improvement Plan. • Explanation of the difference between commendations, recom- mendations (suggested improve- ments) and expectations (manda- tory improvements): The verb used by evaluators carries new meaning! Language matters here. • Explanation of changes in the Summative Evaluation Ratings: Components 1-4 will continue to be rated satisfactory/unsatisfactory, and Component 5 will be rated Exceed, Satisfactory, Needs Improvement and Unsatisfactory. • Explanation of the overall Summative Evaluation Ratings: Highly Effective, Effective, Needs Improvement and Ineffective. • Explanation of the revised Challenge Process: This now includes a meeting with the evalu- ator's supervisor to discuss the challenge and the appraisal record. • Forms, templates, sample doc- uments and Danielson's Rubrics (for teachers) and now included in the back of the Guides. (Page numbers: Teachers/ specialists) (57/44) (58/45) (42/32) (62/49) (3/4) (7-34/8-21) (48/35) (35-37/22-24) (51/38) (54/41) (41/28-29) (44/31) www.doe.k12.de.us/csa/dpasii/new /DPASII 11.pdf www.doe.k12.de.us/csa/dpasii/new /DPASII Teacher FullGuide-8-4- FINAL-8-18-11.pdf. Specialist FullManual-