Evaluator Approval Update

Iowa Department of Education

May 14, 2003

 

1.     Evaluator approval training for superintendents, central office staff, AEA personnel and any other persons not currently responsible for direct evaluation of teachers.

 

The Department has decided that all personnel seeking evaluator approval, with the exception of athletic directors evaluating only coaches, will complete the same basic coursework.  There will not be a separate IEATP training for superintendents and central office staff members.  Over the course of the spring, 2003 semester, a group of superintendents and AEA staff in eastern Iowa participated in a pilot that attempted to gauge the degree to which the basic training could be modified to meet the needs of other categories of evaluators.  The Department also collected data from the field on the current IEATP training occurring this spring.  Findings from these efforts concluded the following:

-        The Department must ensure that specific baseline skills are developed through the implementation of IEATP training.  Maintaining a consistent approach to this process of skills development is needed.

-        It may be necessary for districts to have the increased capacity to evaluate teachers if needed. Having all administrative personnel trained in the basic model allows more flexibility in a district meeting its obligation for teacher evaluation under Teacher Quality expectations.

-        The law requires evaluator training to focus on the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria. It could be possible to incorporate the Iowa Standards for Leadership (ISL), but the overall training must still focus primarily on the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria. Incorporating the ISL in this scenario could actually lengthen the original training.

-        Currently 35-40% of the superintendents statewide have already taken the basic IEATP training. This reduces the "need" for a different training for superintendents or central office staff.   Given the current capacity for additional training development and the logistics behind modifying training, retraining trainers, other demands on time and the lack of code compelling this accommodation, it seems prudent to maintain training using the original model.

-        Feedback from those superintendents that took the basic IEATP course is positive. They benefited from having the same language and context.  The common language and expectations are probably the greatest benefit and argument for everyone completing the same training.

 

The Department will be working with SAI to collaborate on the development of additional training support for superintendents and other central office staff related to the Iowa Standards for Leadership.  This training will support the use of the principal's evaluation tool and the ISL.

 

2.     Future IEATP training and registration priorities

 

There will be no "summer" IEATP training, however, many AEAs will offer the DDL training component this summer.  Contact your local AEA for a schedule of DDL courses.  The IEATP course design promotes collaboration, conversation and application of skill with teachers.  The training is spread over a period of time to allow local application of knowledge and skills to occur.  The ability of participants to apply the skills learned in training is limited in June and July due to the lack of available teaching staff.

 

IEATP training will begin again in August, 2003.  Priorities for registration are as follows, in order of highest priority to lowest:

1.     District administrators hired for the 2003-04 school year that will be evaluating beginning teachers, but have not had the IEATP training.  This includes candidates from out-of-state and new administrators that have not had the training as a part of their administrative preparation program.

2.     Other district administrators including superintendents and central office staff that have evaluation duties, but have not completed the training.  This includes district administrators who are not evaluating teachers, but need to renew their evaluator approvals.

3.     AEA staff including consultants and or administrators (no stipend attached to this category of personnel).

4.     Nonpublic administrators (no stipend attached to this category of personnel)

5.     Any teachers, including those who currently hold evaluator approval.

Categories 3-5 will be held on a waiting list until 10 working days prior to the start of training to ensure that any personnel in categories 1 and 2 have access to the process. 

Note:  Athletics directors evaluating coaches only will not be accepted into IEATP training during 2003-04.  There will be a separate training for this category of evaluator ready by the fall of 2004.  Until that time they can request a year extension to the existing approval from the BOEE.  Up to two extensions can be granted.

 

The statewide schedule of IEATP training will be available soon.  There will be 2 cohorts offered per region during each of the fall and spring semesters of the 2003-04 school year.

 

3.     Evaluation of other categories of staff on teaching contracts (e.g., counselors, media specialists).

 

The Department will not be developing different criteria under the Iowa Teaching Standards for other categories of staff on teaching contracts.  The Department reviewed work submitted by several districts statewide to determine how various districts were creating expectations for these other categories of staff under the Iowa Teaching Standards.  In all cases, districts were able to develop "descriptors" that defined the work of specific categories of staff without revising the existing criteria under each Iowa Teaching Standard.

 

Therefore, it is expected that districts will be able to conduct comprehensive evaluations as needed with all beginning personnel on teaching contracts as soon as possible.  This means that the district will need to "define" expectations or create descriptors under the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria for all categories of staff members on teaching contracts.  For samples of how to develop descriptors for other categories of staff on teaching contracts, refer to the following examples developed by the Cedar Rapids CSD at http://www.education.uiowa.edu/CR842/evaluation/index.html.

 

4.     Stipends for completion of evaluator approval.

 

All stipends for district personnel that successfully completed all components of evaluator approval training will be distributed by June 30, 2003.  Stipends for those that completed expectations in the fall of 2002 have been distributed to districts.  The stipend provision for district personnel sunsets June 30, 2004.

 

Districts must deduct the individual share of FICA and IPERs from the stipend.  The district cannot deduct the district's share of FICA and IPERS from the stipend.

 

5.     AEA Toolkit for facilitating decision-making as districts update local teacher evaluation systems.

 

The AEA system, in collaboration with SAI, IASB and the Department, will unveil a resource guide that will assist local districts as they revise/update local teacher evaluation systems to meet expectations under the Teacher Quality legislation. Additionally, each AEA will have a contact person to support the use of this resource guide.  This resource guide/toolkit should be available sometime in the late spring or early summer.  Local districts must revised teacher evaluation systems to meet Teacher Quality expectations by July 1, 2005.