Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Joint Educator Evaluation Committee (JEEC)


Yesterday afternoon was the JEEC meeting.  Paul Noble, Vicki Olsen, Debbie Atwood, and Christy Baker were in attendance.  The UETS-based JPAS pilot was successful and deemed valid and reliable, so those changes will go into effect for all teachers next year.  Changes were made on JPLS with the Educator Effectiveness on the Utah Effective Teaching Standards (UETS) being moved to the Interim.  The Interim was also changed based on feedback from teachers.  Teachers are allowed to keep paper evidence, uploading items on JPLS, or a combination of both.  The UEA Evaluation Toolkit is a great resource for keeping your documentation organized.  Watch for more JEA Evaluation trainings this fall.  My notes from the meeting are below.








Stakeholder input portion will be Utah Education Policy Center version. This is the group the state of Utah has been using.  Decided not to pilot this year. This online survey will be piloted around Spring PTC so parents can use computers at the school if needed. After reviewing survey results, principal meets with teacher to find out what the teacher has done to address concerns.

Student growth for tested subjects and grades will be from SAGE. Non-tested subjects and grades will use Student Learning Objectives (SLO). Jordan decided to make a proposal to the state to do their own SLO model. Jordan pulls in groups of subject matter teachers to write district wide SLOs. Professional development at the beginning utilizes information from the State Office of Education. More PD on how to write a quality assessment. Each group went through this process over two days. Teachers writing were to take the SLO back to their teams to get input, then met with writing team again for another day.  This process has not been easy.

The state expectation is two SLOs per teacher. Second SLO can be shared attribution. Some writing groups completed two, others only completed one. What has been written is excellent!  Modifications are still being made as the teachers see fit. This is two SLOs per teacher, not per subject.

The philosophical question is, do we want to track growth of all students, and if so, that would bring in one SLO per prep. By using Mastery Connect to gather data, it is very easy to compile a report that shows student growth. Teachers are already tracking student performance. An SLO just formalizes what teachers should be doing. We must consider the best interest of students.

JPAS scores have been very consistent for the past 20 years.  Continue to monitor evaluators. Shift next year in Domains IV and V and the Total score based on changes that were found valid and reliable through the pilot in 2013-14.

Pilot had 31 schools total, including schools in other districts that have been using JPAS. 900 teachers were part of the pilot. 86 of those teachers had a second evaluator participate in the interview portion to establish validity and reliability. Scores on Domains IV and V are comparable or slightly better on the pilot than on the original JPAS. Two different statisticians looked at the results and stated the same thing. Past cut scores between levels (highly effective 38.5%, effective 53.9%, minimally effective 5.6%, and not effective 2%) are the same on the pilot as on as the original JPAS, so those will be the cut percentages for the new UETS-based JPAS.

Because the pilot this year was successful and found to be reliable, for 2014-15, all teachers will be using the new UETS-based JPAS. If the school was not a pilot school in 2013-14, that school will be trained at the beginning of school.

The interim is changing. Self-evaluation portion will be done on the interim years, not on full UETS-based JPAS years. PD plan will be two goals, one based on Domain IV or V and one based on one of the UETS. End of year meeting will eventually be to review the student growth and stakeholder input portions, which will be added to JPAS rating from last full JPAS. The reflection portion is for the teacher, but can be discussed with the principal at the final meeting. Principal will decide on a due date.

Domains IV and V allows teachers to choose to document online or on the paper folder.  Both formats are laid out in the same way.

Active Shooter Training

Yesterday morning I was in a training with the majority of district and building administrators on what to do in the case of an active shooter in the school.  I found the situation to be realistic and the discussion to be thought provoking.  My notes are below.






Lockout, lockdown exercise - active shooter
JEA members in attendance: Cyndee Bowser, Paul Noble, Danny Drew, and several member principals

Use incident command system
Law enforcement will go in to locate and stop the shooter
Fire department handles fire, medical needs, HASMAT
School administration
--PA - lockdown, secure all interior doors, those in open areas should get away from the building
--Two cards in office to swipe
-- --Lockdown card puts doors back on regular door unlock schedule (inside school threat)
-- --Lockout card locks all exterior doors (outside school threat)
--district will notify surrounding schools to go into lockout as needed

Incident priorities
1. Life safety (keep students and employees safe)
2. Incident stabilization (law enforcement stops shooter and starts investigation)
3. Property conservation (protect the school)

Law enforcement will put out info to media through Public Information Officer (PIO).  It will be broad and brief so as not to hurt an investigation and to allow for next of kin to be notified on victims. Info on when and where to pick up students. A way for parents to get info and time to expect that info. Only put out info exactly as the PIO has said.

Try to monitor social media to stop inaccurate information.  Media will try to get to staff members for an emotional sound bite. Refer all media to the Public Information Officer.  Need to control the flow of info.

During response time, law enforcement will be stopping the threat. Once recovery time begins, law enforcement will slow down to interview students as needed for the investigation, account for all students, clear the building, then release students to parents.  Use student emergency contacts to get someone to pick students up.

Next day, get permission from superintendent to cancel school if needed.  Facilities department to assess damage.  Bring in food from another school if school is held. Communications to put out info on alternate location for school if needed. Need crisis team available for students and staff.  Hold staff debrief.  Hold parent meeting.