Brightway’s Blog
Articles and information about successful students, schools, families, and communities.
Growing Great Teachers: The Best Reason for Teacher Evaluation
What is the purpose of evaluating teachers? Most would agree that at its base level, it’s about making sure teachers are performing their minimum job requirements. But at the highest level, it’s about helping teachers self-reflect on their practices and supporting them to grow their best professional selves.
By Lisa “Kersch” Kerscher, Brightway Learning's Education Director
What is the purpose of evaluating teachers? Most would agree that at its base level, it’s about making sure teachers are performing their minimum job requirements. But at the highest level, it’s about helping teachers self-reflect on their practices and supporting them to grow their best professional selves.
In many cases, reaching the high ground has obstacles due to the nature of how evaluations are done: top-down, with little or late input from the teachers themselves. At statewide teacher conferences, I’ve heard teachers recount how they only see their evaluator once a year for a one-hour formal observation session. “And that’s what I get judged on,” one teacher lamented. “I have to be perfect in that one random hour out of the whole school year! How can I show all the great stuff I do during the rest of the year?”
So, it always gives me a boost to hear and see how this “old mindset” is shifting to truly polish best practices in our schools. It’s especially rewarding for me that our own software system - ClassBright Evaluate - is helping to lead the way.
Recently during fall in-services, I was training school staff on ClassBright Collaborate. A couple of veteran teachers - new to this district - were clearly apprehensive about the evaluation process. It was refreshing to me - and comforting to them - to hear others share their experiences from last school year.
“I found that [the evaluation process with ClassBright] actually validated my practice,” one teacher said, while her colleague nodded next to her in agreement. From there, a great and open discussion unfolded among the teachers and administrators. Veterans in the district talked about how ClassBright Collaborate allows them to give input in a variety of ways throughout the school year:
Adding evidence and examples of their practices to their own portfolios, shared with their evaluator; this is especially important for categories in the rubric where classroom observations aren’t applicable
Immediate transparency of observations made by their evaluator, often triggering in-time discussions together
Active reflection on and interacting with the evaluation rubric, sometimes leading to deeper discussions about best practices
“I feel like the evaluation process is something we do together,” another teacher noted, “rather than having something done to me. It actually helps me think more about what I’m doing.”
Every true professional, regardless of their career field, desires and needs the time and commitment in order to get better at what they do. In the education world, why not optimize the evaluation requirement to grow great teachers together? I’m proud to be part of the movement to help educational professionals do just that!
Why I Count on Brightways Learning for Our District's Key Needs
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.
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