2130R Principal Evaluation Regulation

NORTHFIELD board of education FILE CODE: 2130

Northfield, New Jersey X Monitored

X Mandated

Regulation X Other Reasons

principal evaluation

GENERAL STATEMENT

The board of education directs the Superintendent to oversee the implementation of the evaluation process for all principals, vice-principals and assistant principals. The board recognizes that the procedures for the implementation of the evaluation process shall in part depend on the specific procedural instructions accompanying the board adopted evaluation rubrics and practice instruments. Therefore, the board directs the Superintendent to dedicate the supervisory staff necessary to conduct the evaluation process according to such instruction within the time frames detailed in law and board policy.

RESPONSIBLE POSITIONS

The following chart lists the positions responsible for the implementation of the regulation and summarizes their responsibilities:

Position	Summary of Main Responsibilities
Superintendent	General policy and procedure oversight within the district Developing and recommending for board adoption the evaluation rubrics and practice instruments Complete training and ensure all administrators conducting evaluations receive training on the evaluation process Conduct observations or and designate staff to conduct observations and post-observation conferences Report district evaluation data to the board
Building principal	General oversight of policy and procedures in the school Conduct observations and post-observation conferences of assistant and vice principals
Principal, vice principal, assistant principal	Receive training in observation, evaluation rubrics, practice instruments
Board of education	Approve evaluation rubric and practice instruments Annually readopt teacher evaluation policies and procedures

DEFINITIONS

“Observation” means a method of collecting data on the performance of a teaching staff member’s assigned duties and responsibilities. An observation for the purpose of evaluation will be included in the determination of the annual summative evaluation rating and shall be conducted by an individual employed in the school district in a supervisory role and capacity and possessing a school administrator, principal, or supervisor endorsement Short observations shall last at least 20 minutes. Long observations shall last at least 40 minutes or one class period, whichever is longer.

“Student growth objective” means an academic goal that teachers and evaluators set for groups of students.

“Student growth percentile” means a specific metric for measuring individual student progress on statewide assessments by tracking how much a student’s test scores have changed relative to other students Statewide with similar scores in previous years.

“Supervisor” means an appropriately certified teaching staff member, as defined in N.J.S.A. 18A:1-1, or superintendent employed in the school district in a supervisory role and capacity, and possessing a school administrator, principal, or supervisor endorsement.

“Teacher” means a teaching staff member who holds the appropriate standard, provisional, or emergency instructional certificate issued by the State Board of Examiners and is assigned a class roster of students for at least one particular course.

“Teaching staff member” means a member of the professional staff of any district or regional board of education, or any county vocational school district board of education, holding office, position, or employment of such character that the qualifications for such office, position, or employment require him or her to hold a valid, effective, and appropriate standard, provisional, or emergency certificate issued by the State Board of Examiners.

PROCEDURES

As part of the evaluation rubric, the board shall approve and adopt a principal practice evaluation instrument that appears on an approved list provided by the Department of Education or shall obtain Commissioner Approval to implement a district evaluation instrument.

Annually the Superintendent shall submit the evaluation rubric by June 1 for Commissioner Approval by August 1. The evaluation rubrics shall include all relevant minimum standards set forth in (N.J.S.A. 18A:6-123):

Four defined annual ratings: ineffective, partially effective, effective, and highly effective;
The evaluation rubric must be partially based on multiple objective measures of student learning that assess student growth from one year’s measure to the next year’s measure;
The district may determine the methods for measuring student growth, in grades in which a state test is not required;
Multiple measures of practice and student learning are used in conjunction with professional standards of practice using a comprehensive evaluation process in rating effectiveness with specific measures and implementation processes;
Standardized assessments shall be used as a measure of student progress but shall not be the predominant factor in the overall evaluation of a teacher;
The rubric is based on the professional standards for that employee;
The performance measures used in the rubric are linked to student achievement;
The employee receives multiple observations during the school year which shall be used in evaluating the employee;
At each observation of a teacher, either the principal, his or her designee who is employed by the district in a supervisory role and capacity, and who possesses a school administrator certificate, principal certificate, or supervisor certificate, the vice-principal, or the assistant principal shall be present. The staff member who will be observing shall receive training on the use of the teaching practice observation instrument. The training shall be completed before the evaluator conducts the observation;
An opportunity for the employee to improve his or her effectiveness from evaluation feedback;
Guidelines regarding training and the demonstration of competence on the evaluation system to support its implementation;
A process for ongoing monitoring and calibration of the observers to ensure that the observation protocols are being implemented correctly and consistently
A performance framework, associated evaluation tools, and observation protocols, including training and observer calibration resources;
A process for a school district to obtain the approval of the commissioner to utilize other evaluation tools; and
A process for ensuring that the results of the evaluation help to inform instructional development.
The Superintendent shall ensure that the Board approved evaluation rubric is filed with the Commissioner of Education on or before June 1 of each school year.

Training

The Superintendent shall ensure that all principals, vice principals, assistant principals and supervisors successfully complete the required training detailed in board policies 2130 Principal Evaluation and 4116 Evaluation of Teaching Staff Members.

The Superintendent is directed to:

Complete annual training on the evaluation rubric for all principals being evaluated in the school district. Training shall include all evaluation rubric components including detailed descriptions of student achievement components, and all aspects of the principal practice and principal observation components of the evaluation instruments. Such training shall be completed before the Superintendent conducts his or her first observation.
Complete training on the educator practice instruments for the evaluation of teaching staff members.
Complete annual updates and/or refresher training on the educator practice instruments for the purpose of increasing accuracy and consistency among observations.
Annually, the Superintendent shall certify to the Department of Education that all supervisors of teaching staff members who are utilizing educator practice instruments have completed training on the instrument and its application and have demonstrated competency in applying the educator practice instruments.

The Superintendent is further directed to:

Establish a training program that includes instruction on each component of the Commissioner approved evaluation rubric for all principal, assistant principal, and vice-principal who are being evaluated, with more comprehensive training for any principal, assistant principal, and vice-principal who is being evaluated for the first time. The training shall include detailed descriptions of all evaluation rubric components including detailed descriptions of student achievement measures, principal practice and principal observations.
Provide training on the Commissioner approved principal practice instrument for any supervisor who will conduct observations for the purpose of evaluating teaching staff members. Training must be completed before the supervisor conducts his or her first observation for the purpose of evaluation.
Annually provide updates and refreshers on the approved educator practice instruments for each supervisor who will observe educator practice for the purpose of increasing accuracy and consistency among observers.
Annually require each supervisor who will conduct observations for the purpose of evaluation of a teacher to complete two co-observations during the academic year.
1. Co-observers shall use the co-observation to promote accuracy in scoring, and to continually train themselves on the instrument.
2. A co-observation shall count as one required observation for the purpose of evaluation pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:10-4.4, as long as the observer meets the requirements set forth in N.J.A.C. 6A:10-4.3 and 4.4

The Superintendent shall notify all teaching staff members of the adopted policies and procedures by October 1 of each academic year. The board shall also ensure that the Superintendent notifies newly hired staff of the evaluation policies and procedures within the first ten days of employment and that all teaching staff members are notified of any revisions to policy or procedure within ten days of adoption or issuance.

Measurements of the Principal Evaluation Rubric

Measures of student achievement (N.J.A.C. 6A:10-5.2) shall be used to determine impact on student learning and the approved principal evaluation rubric shall include the following student achievement components:
The school-wide student growth percentile, where applicable, of all students assigned to the principal;
The average of the student growth objective scores of every teacher assigned to the principal; and
Administrator goals set by principals, vice principals, and assistant principals in consultation with their supervisor which shall be specific and measurable, based on student growth and/or achievement data.

Student Growth Percentiles

The school-wide student growth percentile score shall be included in the annual summative rating of principals, assistant principals, and vice principals who are assigned to a school as of October 15 and who are employed in schools where student growth percentiles are available for students in one or more grades. If a principal, assistant principal, or vice principal is employed in more than one school, the Superintendent shall assign to the administrator, as appropriate, the school-wide student growth percentile from one school and shall notify the administrator at the beginning of the school year of the school student growth percentile assignment.

The New Jersey Department of Education shall calculate the school-wide student growth percentile for principals, assistant principals, and vice principals.

Average Student Growth Objective Scores

The average student growth objective (SGO) scores of all teachers, as described in law and board policy and regulation (N.J.A.C. 6A:10-4.2(e); see 4116 Teacher Evaluation, policy and regulation for more specific information on SGO) shall be a component of the principal’s annual summative rating. The average student growth objective scores for assistant principals or vice principals shall be determined according to the following procedures:

The principal, in consultation with the assistant principal or vice principal, shall determine prior to the start of the year, which teachers, if not all teachers in the school, shall be linked to the assistant principal and vice principal’s average student growth objective score;
If the assistant principal or vice principal does not agree with the list of teachers linked to his or her name for the purposes of this measurement, the principal shall make the final determination.

Administrator Goals

Administrator goals for principals, assistant principals, or vice-principals shall be developed and measured according to the following procedures:

1. The Superintendent shall determine for all principals, assistant principals, or vice principals, the number of required administrator goals which shall reflect the achievement of a significant number of students within the school. By April 15 prior to the school year in which the evaluation rubric applies, the Department shall provide on the Department’s website the minimum and maximum number of required goals, which will be at least one goal and no more than four goals;
2. Principals, assistant principals, or vice-principals shall develop in consultation with their designated supervisor, each administrator goal.
3. Each vice principal and assistant principal shall set goals specific to his or her job description or adopt the same goals as his or her principal. If the principal, assistant principal, or vice principal and his or her supervisor do not agree upon the administrator goal score, the principal, assistant principal, or vice principal’s supervisor shall make the final determination.
4. Administrator goals and the criteria for assessing performance based on those objectives shall be determined, recorded, and retained by the principal, vice principal, or assistant principal and his or her designated supervisor by October 31 of each academic year, or within 20 25 work days of the principal, vice principal, or assistant principal’s start date if he or she begins work after October 1.
5. The administrator goal score shall be calculated by the designated supervisor of the principal, vice principal, or assistant principal. The principal, vice principal, or assistant principal’s administrator goal score, if available, shall be discussed at his or her annual summary conference and recorded in his or her personnel file.

Measures of Principal Practice

Measures of principal practice shall include a measure determined through a Commissioner-approved principal practice instrument, and may include a leadership measure determined through the Department-created leadership rubric.

Principal practice component rating shall be based on the measurement of the principal, assistant principal, or vice principal’s performance according to the school district’s Commissioner-approved principal practice instrument. Observations pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:10-5.4 shall be used as one form of evidence for this measurement.

Leadership practice shall be determined by a score on a leadership rubric, which will assess the principal, vice-principal, or assistant principal’s ability to improve student achievement and teaching staff member effectiveness through identified leader behaviors. The rubric will be posted on the Department of Education’s website and annually maintained.

Principal, Assistant Principal, and Vice Principal Observations

The Superintendent, or his or her designee, shall conduct observations for the evaluation of principals.

A principal, or a Superintendent or his or her designee, shall conduct observations for the evaluation of assistant principals and vice principals.

For the purpose of collecting data for the evaluation of a principal, assistant principal, or vice principal, an observation may include, but is not limited to: building walk-through, staff meeting observation, parent conference observation, or case study analysis of a significant student issue.

Each tenured principal, assistant principal, and vice principal shall be observed at least two times during each school year. Each non-tenured principal, assistant principal, and vice principal shall be observed at least three times during each school year, as required by N.J.S.A. 18A:27-3.1. During the first year of employment, the three required observations shall be completed by April 30. The number of required observations shall be prorated if the principal, assistant principal or vice principal has been employed for less than one academic year on April 30.

Post-observation conferences shall include the following procedures:

The supervisor who is present at the observation shall conduct a post-observation conference with the principal, assistant principal, or vice principal being observed. A post-observation conference shall occur no more than 15 teaching staff member working days following each observation;
The post-observation conference shall be for the purpose of reviewing the data collected at the observation, connecting the data to the principal practice instrument and the principal, assistant principal, or vice principal’s individual professional development plan, collecting additional information needed for the evaluation, and offering areas to improve effectiveness;
With the consent of the observed principal, assistant principal, or vice principal, post-observation conferences for individuals who are not on a corrective action plan may be conducted via written communication, including electronic communication;
One post-observation conference may be combined with the principal, assistant principal, or vice principal’s annual summary conference as long as it occurs within the required 15 teaching staff member working days following the observation;
A written or electronic evaluation report shall be signed by the supervisor who conducted the observation and post-observation and the principal, assistant principal, or vice principal who was observed;
The principal, assistant principal, or vice principal shall submit his or her written objection(s) of the evaluation within 10 working days following the conference. The objection(s) shall be attached to each party’s copy of the annual written performance report.

An additional observation and post-observation conference shall be required as part of the corrective action plan for any principal, assistant principal or vice-principal who has been rated ineffective or partially effective on the annual summative evaluation, as measured by the evaluation rubrics.

Professional Development Plans

The Superintendent shall oversee and review for each principal and supervisor, professional development that links to individual, school, and district professional development goals and the school district’s professional development plan.

Each school leader shall create, implement, and complete an individual professional development plan (PDP) that:

Aligns with the Professional Standards for School Leaders (N.J.A.C. 6A:9-3.4) and the Standards for Professional Learning (N.J.A.C. 6A:9C-3.3);
Derives from the results of observations, evidence, and recommendations included in the annual performance evaluation of the school leader;
Identifies professional goals that address specific individual, school, or district goals; and
Grounds professional learning in objectives related to improving teaching, learning, and student achievement, and aligns to the school and/or school district plan for professional development; and
Includes training on: school law, ethics, and governance; and other statutory requirements related to student safety, bullying and harassment, and well-being.
The Superintendent/designee shall:
1. Review each school leader’s individual PDP and individual training needs to ensure alignment to district goals and the school district’s plan for professional development;
2. Meet with the principal, supervisor, or other school leader at mid-year to assess progress toward his or her PDP’s completion or modification; and
3. Review the individual PDP’s status as part of the principal’s, supervisor’s, or other school leader’s annual performance evaluation.

Note: see board policy 4131/4131.1 Staff Development

Corrective Action Plans

A principal, assistant principal and vice principal are included in the definition of teaching staff member, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:10-1.2 Definitions.

For each principal, assistant principal or vice principal rated ineffective or partially effective on the annual summative evaluation, as measured by the evaluation rubrics, a corrective action plan shall be developed by that principal, assistant principal or vice principal and their designated supervisor. If the principal, assistant principal or vice principal does not agree with the corrective action plan’s content, the designated supervisor shall make the final determination. The corrective action plan shall be developed according to the procedures detailed in board policy 2130 Principal Evaluation and 4131/4131.1 Staff Development.
The corrective action plan shall be developed and the principal, assistant principal or vice principal and his or her designated supervisor shall meet to discuss the corrective action plan by October 31 of the school year following the year of evaluation;

C. When the ineffective or partially effective summative evaluation rating is received after October 1 of the school year following the year of evaluation, a corrective action plan shall be developed, and the principal, assistant principal or vice principal and his or her designated supervisor shall meet to discuss the corrective action plan within 25 teaching staff member working days following the school district’s receipt of the teaching staff member’s summative rating;

The content of the corrective action plan shall replace the content of the individual professional development plan required in N.J.A.C. 6A:9C-4.3(a) and 4.4(a) and shall:
1. Address areas in need of improvement identified in the evaluation rubric;
2. Include specific, demonstrable goals for improvement;
3. Include responsibilities of the evaluated employee and the school district for the plan’s implementation; and
4. Include timelines for meeting the goal(s).
The principal, assistant principal or vice principal’s designated supervisor and the teaching staff member on a corrective action plan shall discuss the principal, assistant principal or vice principal’s progress toward the goals outlined in the corrective action plan during each required post-observation conference, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:27-3.1 or N.J.A.C. 6A:10-4.4. The principal, assistant principal or vice principal and his or her designated supervisor may update the goals outlined in the corrective action plan to reflect any change(s) in the teaching staff member’s progress, position, or role.
Progress toward the principal, assistant principal or vice principal’s goals outlined in the corrective action plan shall be documented in the teaching staff member’s personnel file and reviewed at the annual summary conference and the mid-year evaluation. Both the teaching staff member on a corrective action plan and his or her designated supervisor may collect data and evidence to demonstrate the teaching staff member’s progress toward his or her corrective action plan goals.
Progress toward the teaching staff member’s goals outlined in the corrective action plan may be used as evidence in the school leader’s next annual summative evaluation; however, such progress shall not guarantee an effective rating on the next summative evaluation.
Responsibilities of the evaluated employee on a corrective action plan shall not be exclusionary of other plans for improvement determined to be necessary by the teaching staff member’s designated supervisor.
A Superintendent, or his or her designee, and the principal, as appropriate, shall conduct a mid-year evaluation of any school leader pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-121(c), where the school leader was rated ineffective or partially effective in his or her most recent annual summative evaluation. The mid-year evaluation shall occur approximately midway between the development of the corrective action plan and expected receipt of the next annual summative rating. The mid-year evaluation shall include, at a minimum, a conference to discuss progress toward the school leader’s goals outlined in the corrective action plan. The mid-year evaluation conference may be combined with a post-observation conference.

The Superintendent shall ensure principals, vice principals and assistant principals with a corrective action plan receive one observation and a post-observation in addition to the observations required in N.J.A.C. 6A:10-5.4 for the purpose of evaluation, as described in N.J.A.C. 6A:10-1.2 and 5.4.

The corrective action plan shall remain in effect until the teaching staff member receives his or her next summative evaluation rating.

There shall be no minimum number of teaching staff member working days that a teaching staff member’s corrective action plan can be in place.

Records

All information contained in written performance reports and all information collected, compiled, and/or maintained by employees of the district for the purposes of conducting the educator evaluation process pursuant to this chapter shall be confidential. Such information shall not be subject to public inspection or copying pursuant to the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Department of Education from, at its discretion, collecting evaluation data pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-123(e) or distributing aggregate statistics regarding evaluation data.

All information contained in annual performance reports and all information collected, compiled, and/or maintained by employees of a district board of education for the purposes of conducting the educator evaluation process, including, but not limited to, digital records, shall be confidential. Such information shall not be subject to public inspection or copying pursuant to the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. Nothing contained in this policy shall be construed to prohibit the New Jersey Department of Education or the district from, at its discretion, collecting evaluation data or distributing aggregate statistics regarding evaluation data.

REGULATION HISTORY

Effective Date: February 2018

Date of Review/Revision:

CROSS REFERENCES

2131 Superintendent

4116 Evaluation of Teaching Staff Members

4116 Evaluation of Teaching Staff Members, Regulation

4131/4131.1 Staff Development

4131/4131.1 Staff Development, Exhibit

RESOURCES

The Commissioner list of approved practice instruments can be found here

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