ClassBright: Simple and Effective Teacher Evaluation

Stories from an Alaska Superintendent - PART II

By Scott MacManus, Superintendent of Alaska Gateway School District

In 2013, the State of Alaska mandated that all school districts revamp their teacher evaluation systems to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Like many other - particularly rural - school districts, AGSD initially struggled with the requirements and the limited options available.  

We considered simply adopting one of the national models that the State had pre-approved. But after reviewing several options, we knew none were realistic for us.They were large systems that required a great deal of training and support, as well as a considerable software investment. And our most important teaching practice goals were not necessarily addressed.

So we considered building our own “hybrid” model; another option offered by the State. Even though we were initially daunted by the time, cost, and horsepower needed to devote to such a project, we ultimately concluded that it was in our best interest to develop our own model.  

Brightways Learning immediately came to mind as a good partner in this venture. From previous and ongoing experience with them for our curriculum management needs, we knew they would provide the innovative programming we needed for such a system.  

The goal was to develop an easy-to-use, online evaluation instrument that complied with the new laws, and would fairly and objectively evaluate teachers in a way that supported improvement and excellence in teaching and learning. It needed to share expectations and observations immediately and transparently, while facilitating collaboration and meaningful discussions.

The Brightways team latched on to our idea immediately, listened carefully to our needs, and delivered an exceptional online product called ClassBright Evaluate. This flexible system not only meets our district's specifications, but can easily be adapted to any other school district’s needs.

ClassBright Evaluate makes the process of performance evaluations much more collaborative and provides real, clear transparency to the teachers. There are no secrets. It's very data-driven, so it helps administrators make data-based performance decisions.

But most importantly, the ClassBright Evaluate system is creating a valuable dialogue between the evaluators and the teachers that is more productive and conducive to long-term teacher support. Ultimately, this will help our teachers become better educators to our students.

Now in the middle of our first year in full implementation of ClassBright Evaluate, we are actively meeting our evaluation goals: 

• to improve professional communication and growth between teachers and principals;

• to build and support best practices in teaching and learning;

• to receive information we can use to support our teachers; and

• to be manageable and efficient for our busy administrators.

In fact, we are so confident in ClassBright Evaluate, we plan next year to expand our use beyond the primary teaching staff to include all our supporting, certified, and classified staff within this single, easy-to-manage system.

Why I Count on Brightways Learning for Our District's Key Needs

Stories from an Alaska Superintendent - PART I

By Scott MacManus, Superintendent of Alaska Gateway School District

I'm not one to take cold calls from companies, but when Brightways Learning contacted me six years ago, my intuition - and their approach toward collaborative problem solving - told me to take a few minutes to listen. I'm glad I did. I would never have expected a small nonprofit organization based in Montana to be able to provide me with some of the vital keys that are contributing to the growing success of my school district.

At the time, I was Assistant Superintendent recently charged with improving school performance, and we had some poor performing schools. Because of having to deal with so much staff turnover, instruction that was driven by curricular fidelity was crucial. Developing ways to ensure that long-term fidelity without it becoming an impossible administrative task for our principals who also have teaching duties, was equally important. 

Like many rural school districts, our district struggles with issues that large technology companies rarely take the time to understand. Rural Alaskan schools, for example, must typically contend with diverse multi-grade classrooms, high teacher turnover, principals who also have classes, and the need to be flexible and adaptable to unpredictable conditions and often limited resources.

To help address those issues, my district began using ClassBright Curriculum Management system in Fall 2011. Like other lesson planning systems, our teachers can plan their weekly lessons and align them to our state and local education standards. Unlike other systems we have found,  it manages the district’s curriculum, and is able to adeptly monitor instructional progress. The important distinction about ClassBright is its flexibility to:

• handle multi-grade planning

• provide a way for our Curriculum Director to share our district's course materials for teacher integration

• track gaps in standards addressed, and

• offer a streamlined way for submitting and approving weekly plans

Ultimately, the bottom line is clear: Brightways Learning's customizable and flexible systems are increasing our staff efficiency, effectively supporting our district's objectives and goals, and keeping administrative costs down.

Next Month - Part II: Simple and Effective Teacher Evaluation