4116 Evaluation

THE NORTHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION FILE CODE: 4116

Northfield, New Jersey X Monitored

X Mandated

Policy X Other Reasons

EVALUATION OF TEACHING STAFF MEMBERS

The Northfield Board of Education believes that the effective evaluation of teaching staff is essential to the achievement of the educational goals of this district, including student achievement of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. The purpose of this evaluation shall be to promote professional excellence and improve the skills of teaching staff members; improve pupil learning and growth; and provide a basis for the review of staff performance.

The board is committed to establishing educator evaluation rubrics for the evaluation of teaching staff members’ effectiveness to further the development of a professional corps of State educators and to increase student achievement. The district evaluation system shall facilitate:

1. Continual improvement of instruction;
2. Meaningful differentiation of educator performance using four performance levels;
3. Use of multiple valid measures in determining educator performance levels, including objective measures of student performance and measures of professional practice;
4. Evaluation of educators on a regular basis;
5. Delivery of clear, timely and useful feedback, including feedback that identifies areas for growth and guides professional development; and
6. District personnel decisions.

Definitions

For the purpose of this board policy the following definitions shall apply:

“Corrective action plan” means a written plan developed by a teaching staff member serving in a supervisory capacity in collaboration with the teaching staff member to address deficiencies as outlined in an evaluation. The corrective action plan shall include timelines for corrective action, responsibilities of the individual teaching staff member and the school district for implementing the plan, and specific support that the district shall provide.

“Post-observation conference” means a meeting, either in-person or remotely, between the supervisors who conducted the observation and the teaching staff member for the purpose of evaluation to discuss the data collected in the observation.

“Teaching staff member” means a member of the professional staff holding office, position, or employment of such character that the qualifications for such office require him or her to hold a valid, effective, and appropriate standard, provisional, or emergency certificate issued by the State Board of Examiners. Teaching staff members include the positions of school nurse and school athletic trainer. There are three different types of certificates that teaching staff members work under:

1. An instructional certificate (holders of this certificate are referred to in this chapter as “teachers”);
2. Administrative certificate; and
3. Educational services certificate (N.J.A.C.6A:9B-14.1 et seq.).

This definition of teaching staff member includes certified staff positions that have instructional responsibilities as well as certified staff positions that have no instructional responsibilities. Some examples of teaching staff member positions without instructional responsibilities include supervisor, director, school nurse, athletic trainer, principal, vice-principal, student assistance counselor, school psychologist, and guidance counselor.

It is important to note that there are different requirements in this policy and in the law for the training, observation and observation conferences of classroom teachers with instructional responsibilities and those certified staff members who have no instructional responsibilities. This also includes differences in the educational rubrics adopted by the board and approved by the commissioner. The requirements of this policy and law for other aspects of teacher evaluation apply to staff with and without instructional responsibilities (teaching staff members) including reports, personnel records, professional development plans and corrective action plans.

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

Board Responsibilities

The board shall:

1. Ensure that evaluation rubrics are submitted to the commissioner by June 1 for approval by August 1. The board shall annually adopt evaluation rubrics for all teaching staff members that have four defined annual ratings: ineffective, partially effective, effective, and highly effective. The evaluation rubric that has been approved by the Commissioner of Education shall not be subject to collective negotiations. No collective bargaining agreement or other contract entered adopted after July 1, 2013 shall conflict with the district’s educator evaluation system;
2. Annually adopt policies and procedures developed by the Superintendent on the evaluation of all teaching staff members.
3. Annually adopt, by June 1, Commissioner-approved educator practice instruments and notify the New Jersey Department of Education which instruments will be used as part of the school district’s evaluation rubrics;
4. Ensure the principal of each school within the school district has established a School Improvement Panel. The panel shall be established annually by August 31 and shall carry out the duties and functions described below and in N.J.A.C. 6A:10-3.2;
5. Ensure data elements are collected and stored in an accessible and usable format. Data elements shall include, but not be limited to, scores or evidence from observations for the purpose of evaluation and student growth objective data; and
6. Ensure that the Superintendent or his or her designee certifies to the New Jersey Department of Education that any observer who conducts an observation of a teaching staff member for the purpose of evaluation meets the statutory observation requirements as described below and in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:6-119, N.J.S.A. 18A:6-123.b(8), and N.J.S.A. 18A:27-3.1. Additionally the Superintendent or his or her designee shall certify that a teacher member of the School Improvement Panel conducting observations for the purposes of evaluation has the agreement of the majority representative, has the appropriate supervisory certification and has the approval of the principal who supervises the teacher being observed. A teacher member of the School Improvement Panel who participates in the evaluation process shall not serve concurrently as a mentor.
7. Ensure that the Superintendent annually notifies all teaching staff members of the adopted policies and procedures by October 1. The board shall also notify each teaching staff members at the beginning upon commencement of employment.
8. Prior to the 2018-19 school year, the board shall establish a District Evaluation Advisory Committee to oversee and guide the planning and implementation of the board’s evaluation policies and procedures. Beginning with the 2018-19 school year, the District Evaluation Advisory Committee shall no longer be required.

Responsibilities of the Superintendent

The board shall ensure through the Superintendent or his or her designee(s) that the following requirements are met:

1. The Superintendent shall direct the development of and oversee the development, revision, and implementation of district evaluation policies and procedures requiring the annual evaluation of all teaching staff members. The Superintendent may consult with the District Advisory Evaluation Committee or representatives from School Improvement Panels. The Superintendent shall ensure:
2. The assignment of roles and responsibilities for implementation of evaluation policies and procedures;
3. The development of job descriptions  and evaluation rubrics for all teaching staff members, the process for calculating the summative ratings and each component, and the evaluation regulations set forth in N.J.A.C. 6A:10-1.1 et seq.;
4. The application of methods of data collection and reporting appropriate to each job description, including, but not limited to, the process for student attribution to teachers, principals, assistant principals, and vice principals for calculating the median and school-wide student growth percentile;
5. Processes for observations for the purpose of evaluation and post-observation conference(s) by a supervisor;
6. Process for developing and scoring student growth objectives;
7. The process for preparation of individual professional development plans (see board policy 4131/4131.1 Staff Development); and
8. The process for the preparation of an annual written performance report by the teaching staff member’s designated supervisor and an annual summary conference between the teaching staff member and his or her designated supervisor.
9. The Superintendent shall notify all teaching staff members annually of the adopted evaluation policies and procedures no later than October 1. If a staff member is hired after October 1, he/she shall be notified of the policies at the beginning of his or her employment. All teaching staff members shall be notified of amendments to the policy within 10 working days of adoption;
10. The principal of each school within the school district has established a School Improvement Panel. The panel shall be established annually by August 31;
11. Data elements shall be collected and stored in an accessible and usable format. Data elements shall include, but not be limited to, scores or evidence from observations for the purpose of evaluation; and
12. The Superintendent or his or her designee in the district shall certify to the New Jersey Department of Education that any observer who conducts an observation of a teaching staff member meets the statutory observation requirements (N.J.S.A. 18A:6-119, 18A:6-123.b(8), and 18A:27-3.1) and shall further certify that the teacher member of the School Improvement Panel meets the requirements detailed below and according to law (N.J.A.C. 6A:10-3.2); and
13. The Superintendent shall develop policies and procedures that ensure student performance data on the Statewide assessment, is, upon receipt, promptly disseminated to teaching staff members who were primarily responsible for instructing applicable students in the year the assessment was administered, as well as to teachers who will be primarily responsible to instructing applicable students in the upcoming school year.

Training for Teaching Staff Members and Supervisors

The Board of Education shall ensure, through the Superintendent that the following training procedures are observed when implementing the evaluation rubric for all teaching staff members and, when applicable, applying the Commissioner-approved educator practice instruments:

1. Teaching Staff Members

Annual training shall be provided on and descriptions provided of each component of the evaluation rubric for all teaching staff members who are being evaluated. More thorough training shall be provided for any teaching staff member who is being evaluated for the first time. Training shall include detailed descriptions of all evaluation rubric components, including, when applicable, detailed descriptions of student achievement measures and all aspects of the educator practice instruments;

1. Supervisors of Classroom Teachers

“Supervisor” means an appropriately certified teaching staff member, employed in the school district in a supervisory role and capacity, and possessing a school administrator, principal, or supervisor, endorsement as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-12.1 et seq.:

1. Annually provide updates and refresher training for supervisors who are conducting evaluations in the district and more thorough training for any supervisor who will evaluate teaching staff members for the first time. Training shall be provided on each component of the evaluated teaching staff member’s evaluation rubric before the evaluation of a teaching staff member;
2. Each supervisor who will conduct observations for the purpose of evaluation of a teacher shall complete two co-observations annually, during the academic year:
3. Co-observers shall use co-observation to promote accuracy and consistency in scoring;
4. A co-observation may count as one required observation for the purpose of evaluation as long as the observer meets the requirements of law and this policy (see Teacher Observation and Observation Conferences below). The co-observation shall not count as two or more required observations. If a co-observation counts as one required observation, the score shall be determined by the teacher’s designated supervisor.

The Superintendent shall annually certify to the Department of Education that all supervisors of teaching staff members in the school district who are utilizing evaluation rubrics have completed training on and demonstrated competency in applying the evaluation rubrics.

District Evaluation Advisory Committee

The board of education shall establish a District Evaluation Advisory Committee to oversee and guide the planning and implementation of the district’s evaluation policies and procedures. The District Evaluation Advisory Committee shall include representation from the following groups:

1. Teachers from each school level represented in the school district;
2. Central office administrators overseeing the teacher evaluation process;
3. Supervisors involved in teacher evaluation, when available or appropriate; and
4. Administrators conducting evaluations, including a minimum of one administrator conducting evaluations who participates on a School Improvement Panel.

Members also shall include the Superintendent, a special education administrator, a parent, and a member of the district board of education. The Superintendent may extend membership on the District Evaluation Advisory Committee to representatives of other groups (N.J.A.C. 6A:10-2.3). (Note: the District Evaluation Advisory Committee is not required after the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year but may be continued at the discretion of the district.)

School Improvement Panel

The principal of each school shall establish a School Improvement Panel. The panel shall include the principal, a vice-principal, and a teacher who is chosen by the principal in consultation with the majority representative. If an assistant principal or vice principal is not available to serve on the panel, the principal shall appoint an additional member who is employed in the district in a supervisory role and capacity. The principal may appoint additional members to the panel as long as all members meet the following criteria and teachers on the panel represent at least one-third of its total membership.

The building principal annually shall choose the teacher(s) on the School Improvement Panel through the following process:

1. The teacher member shall be a person with a demonstrated record of success in the classroom and who has demonstrated a record of success with an evaluation rating of effective or highly effective in the most recent available annual summative rating;
2. The majority representative may submit to the principal teacher member nominees for consideration;
3. The principal shall have final decision making authority and is not bound by the majority representative’s list of nominees.

The teacher member shall serve a full academic year, except in case of illness or authorized leave, but may not be appointed more than three consecutive years. All members of the School Improvement Panel shall be chosen by August 31 of each year.

Duties of the School Improvement Panel

The School Improvement Panel shall (N.J.A.C. 6A:10-3.2):

1. Oversee the mentoring of teachers according to board policy 4112.2 Certification and support the implementation of the district mentoring plan;
2. Conduct evaluations of teachers according to board policy and law (N.J.A.C. 6A:10-2.4 and 4.4);
3. Ensure corrective action plans for teachers are created in accordance to N.J.A.C. 6A:10-2.5(j) and conduct the mid-year evaluations for teachers who are on a corrective action plan; and
4. Identify professional development opportunities for all teaching staff members based on the review of aggregate school-level data, including, but not limited to, educator evaluation and student performance data to support school-level professional development plans described in N.J.A.C. N.J.A.C. 6A:9C-4.2 (see board policy 4131/4131.1 Staff Development);
5. To conduct observations for the purpose of evaluation, the teacher member shall have:
6. Agreement of the majority representative;
7. An appropriate supervisory certificate; and
8. Approval of the principal who supervises the teacher being observed.
9. The teacher member who participates in the evaluation process shall not serve concurrently as a mentor (N.J.A.C. 6A:9C-5.2(a) 3).

Components of Teacher Evaluation

The components of teacher evaluation shall include the following:

1. Evaluation rubrics for all teaching staff members shall be adopted by the board annually. The evaluation rubrics shall have four defined annual ratings: ineffective, partially effective, effective, and highly effective. The evaluation rubrics for teachers, principals, vice principals, and assistant principals shall include all other relevant minimum standards as stated in board policy and law (N.J.S.A. 18A:6-123). Evaluation rubrics shall be submitted to the Commissioner by June 1 for approval by August 1 of each year.
2. Board adopted practice instruments for teaching staff members;
3. Observations for the purposes of evaluation and post observation conferences by the supervisor;
4. A professional development plan (PDP);
5. An annual summary conference between designated supervisors and teaching staff members shall be held before the written performance report is filed. The conference shall be held on or before June 30 of each year and include:
6. The performance of the teaching staff member based upon the job description and the scores or evidence compiled using the teaching staff member’s evaluation rubric, including, when applicable, the educator’s practice instrument and available indicators or student achievement measures such as student growth objective scores and student growth percentile scores;
7. The progress of the teaching staff member toward meeting the goals of the individual professional development plan or, when applicable, the corrective action plan;
8. The preliminary annual written performance report.

If any scores for the teaching staff member’s evaluation rubric are not available at the time of the annual summary conference due to pending assessment results, the annual summative evaluation rating shall be calculated once all component ratings are available.

1. An annual performance report shall be prepared by the designated supervisor. The annual written performance report shall include, but not be limited to:
2. A summative rating based on the evaluation rubric, including, when applicable, a total score for each component;
3. Performance area(s) of strength and area(s) needing improvement based upon the job description, and components of the teaching staff member’s evaluation rubric;
4. The teaching staff member’s individual professional development plan or corrective action plan from the evaluation year being reviewed in the report.

The teaching staff member and the designated supervisor shall sign the report within five working days of the review.

The board shall include all performance reports and supporting data, including, but not limited to, written observation reports and additional components of the summative evaluation rating as part the teaching staff member’s personnel file, or in an alternative, confidential location. If reports and data are stored in an alternative location, the personnel file shall clearly indicate the report’s location and how it can be easily accessed. The records shall be confidential and 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.)

Teacher Evaluation Rubric

The evaluation rubrics for all classroom teachers shall include the requirements described in N.J.S.A. 18A:6-123, including, but not limited to:

1. Measures of student achievement:
   1. Median student growth percentile for teachers who:
      1. Teach at least one course or group within a course that falls within a standardized-tested grade or subject;
      2. Teach the course or group within the course for at least 60 percent of the time from the beginning of the course to the day of the standardized assessment; and
      3. Have at least 20 individual student growth percentile scores attributed to his or her name during the academic year of the evaluation. If a teacher does not have at least 20 individual student growth percentile scores in a given academic year, the student growth percentile scores attributed to a teacher during the two academic years prior to the evaluation year may be used in addition to the student growth percentile scores attributed to the teacher during the academic year of the evaluation.
   2. Student growth objectives which are academic goals that teachers and designated supervisors set for groups of students. Student growth objectives and the criteria for assessing teacher performance based on the objectives shall be determined, recorded, and retained by the teacher and his or her supervisor by October 31 of each school year, or within 25 working days of the teacher’s start date if the teacher begins work after October 1;
2. Measures of teacher practice component rating which shall be based on the measurement of the teacher’s performance according to the district’s Commissioner-approved teacher practice instrument. Observations pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:10-4.4 shall be used as one form of evidence for the measurement;
3. Teacher observation.

Teacher Practice Instrument

The teacher practice instrument shall be approved by the Department of Education and shall:

1. Include domains of professional practice that align to the New Jersey Professional Standards for Teachers (N.J.A.C. 6A:9-3);
2. Include scoring guides for assessing teacher practice that differentiate among a minimum of four levels of performance, and the differentiation has been shown in practice and/or research studies. Each scoring guide shall:
3. Clearly define the expectations for each rating category;
4. Provide a conversion to the four rating categories: highly effective, effective, partially effective, and ineffective;
5. Be applicable to all grades and subjects; or to specific grades and/or subjects if designed explicitly for the grades and/or subjects; and
6. Use clear and precise language that facilitates common understanding among teachers and administrators;
7. Rely, to the extent possible, on specific, discrete, observable, and/or measurable behaviors of students and teachers in the classroom with direct evidence of student engagement and learning; and
8. Include descriptions of specific training and implementation details required for the instrument to be effective.

Observation: Tenured and Nontenured Classroom Teachers

For all teachers, at least one of the required observations shall be announced and preceded by a pre-conference, and at least one of the required observations shall be unannounced. The Superintendent shall decide whether additional required observations are announced or unannounced, if applicable. The following additional requirements shall apply:

1. Each observation required for the purpose of evaluation shall be conducted for at least 20 minutes;
2. Non-tenured teachers shall be observed at least three times each school year but not less than once each semester. Evaluations shall take place before April 30 each year. The evaluations may cover that period between April 30 of one year and April 30 of the succeeding year. In the case of the first year of employment all three evaluations must be completed prior to April 30. The number of required observations and evaluations may be reduced proportionately when an individual teaching staff member’s term of service is less than one academic year. Each evaluation shall be followed by a conference between that teaching staff member and his or her superior or superiors. The purpose of this procedure is to recommend as to reemployment, identify any deficiencies, extend assistance for their correction and improve professional competence:
   • 1. To earn a teacher practice score, a non-tenured teacher shall receive at least three observations;
     2. If a non-tenured teacher is present for less than 40 percent of the total student school days in a school year, he or she shall receive at least two observations to earn a teacher practice score;
3. Tenured teachers shall be observed at least two times during each school year. Observations for all tenured teachers shall occur prior to the annual summary conference, which shall occur prior to the end of the academic school year;
4. If a tenured teacher was rated highly effective on his or her most recent summative evaluation and if both the teacher and the teacher’s designated supervisor agree to use this option, one of the two required observations may be an observation of a Commissioner-approved activity other than a classroom lesson. The Department shall post annually to its website a list of Commissioner-approved activities that may be observed in accordance with this section;
5. Teachers on a corrective action plan shall receive one additional observation, including a post-observation conference.
6. Upon receiving a final summative evaluation that necessitates a corrective action plan any remaining required observation(s) shall not be conducted until the corrective action plan has been finalized;
7. A written or electronic observation report shall be signed by the supervisor who conducted the observation and post-observation and the teacher who was observed;
8. The teacher shall submit his or her written objection(s)of the evaluation within 10 teaching staff member working days following the conference. The objection(s) shall be attached to each party’s copy of the annual written performance report. The district may consider and address the objections in the teacher’s corrective action plan.

Observation Conferences for Teachers

The following procedures shall apply to teacher observation conferences:

1. A supervisor who is present at the observation shall conduct a post-observation conference with the teacher being observed. A post-observation conference shall occur no more than 15 teaching staff member working days following each observation;
2. The post-observation conference shall be for the purpose of reviewing the data collected at the observation, connecting the data to the teacher practice instrument and the teacher’s individual professional development plan, collecting additional information needed for the evaluation of the teacher, and offering areas to improve effectiveness;
3. If agreed to by the teacher, one required post-observation conference and any pre-conference(s) for observations of tenured teachers who are not on a corrective action plan may be conducted via written communication, including electronic;
4. One post-observation conference may be combined with a teacher’s annual summary conference, as long as it occurs within the required 15 teaching staff member working days following the observation for the purpose of evaluation; and
5. A pre-conference, when required, shall occur at least one but not more than seven teaching staff member working days prior to the observation.

Annual Written Performance Report for Teachers

The annual written performance report shall be prepared by the designated supervisor. In the case of a teacher, the annual written performance report shall be prepared by the teacher’s principal, or his or her designee, and shall include, but not be limited to:

• 1. A summative rating based on the evaluation rubric, including, when applicable, a total score for each component as described in N.J.A.C. 6A:10-4.2 including the median student growth percentile, student growth objectives, the teacher practice component, and teacher observation. The four summative performance ratings are:
     1. Highly effective;
     2. Effective;
     3. Partially effective;
     4. Ineffective.
  2. Performance area(s) of strength and area(s) needing improvement based upon the job description and components of the teaching staff member’s evaluation rubric; and

The teaching staff member’s individual professional development plan or corrective action plan from the evaluation year being reviewed in the report.

The teaching staff member and the designated supervisor shall sign the report within five working days of the review.

Annual Summary Conference for Teachers

The annual summary conference between designated supervisors and teaching staff members shall be held before the annual performance report is filed. The conference shall occur on or before June 30 of each year and include, but not be limited to, a review of the following:

1. The performance of the teaching staff member based upon the job description and the scores or evidence compiled using the teaching staff member’s evaluation rubric, including the educator’s practice instrument and available indicators or student achievement measures such as student growth objective scores and student growth percentile scores;
2. The progress of the teaching staff member toward meeting the goals of the individual professional development plan or, when applicable, the corrective action plan;
3. The preliminary annual written performance report.

If any scores for the teaching staff member’s evaluation rubric are not available at the time of the annual summary conference due to pending assessment results, the annual summative evaluation rating shall be calculated once all component ratings are available.

Teaching Staff Members other than Teachers, Principals, Vice Principals and Assistant Principals

Some examples of teaching staff member positions without instructional responsibilities may include supervisor, director, school nurse, athletic trainer, student assistance counselor, school psychologist, and guidance counselor.

The components of the teacher evaluation rubric shall apply to teaching staff members other than a teacher, principals, vice principals and assistant principals and the district shall determine the components of the board adopted rubric that apply to staff without instructional responsibilities.

Observations include, but are not limited to: observations of meetings, student instruction, parent conferences, and case-study analysis of a significant student issue. The observation shall:

1. Be at least 20 minutes in length;
2. Be followed within 15 teaching staff member working days by a conference between the supervisor who made the observation and the non-tenured teaching staff member;
3. Be followed by both parties to the conference signing the written or electronic evaluation report and each retaining a copy for his or her records; and
4. Allow the non-tenured teaching staff member to submit his or her written objection(s) of the evaluation within 10 teaching staff member working days following the conference. The objection(s) shall be attached to each party’s copy of the annual written performance report. The district may consider and address the objections in the teacher’s corrective action plan.

All tenured teaching staff members shall receive at least one observation per school year.  All non-tenured teaching staff members shall receive at least three observations.

Personnel Records of Teaching Staff Members

The board shall include all written performance reports and supporting data, including, but not limited to, written observation reports and additional components of the summative evaluation rating as part of the teaching staff member’s personnel file or in an alternative, confidential location. If reports and data are stored in an alternative location, the personnel file shall clearly indicate the report’s location and how it can be easily accessed. The records shall be confidential and shall not be subject to public inspection or copying according to the Open Public Records Act (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.) and board policy 4112.6/4212.6 Personnel Records.

Teacher Professional Development Plans

Each teacher shall be guided by an individualized professional development plan (PDP), which shall include at least 20 hours per year of qualifying activities. The 20-hour annual requirement shall be based on the length of full-time employment and reduced by a pro rata share reflecting part-time employment, or an absence, including the use of family or medical leave.

The content of each PDP shall be developed by each teacher’s supervisor in consultation with the teacher and shall align with the Professional Standards for Teachers in N.J.A.C. 6A:9-3 and the Standards for Professional Learning in N.J.A.C. 6A:9C-3.3. The individual PDP shall be effective for one year and shall specify, at a minimum:

1. One area for development of professional practice derived from the results of observations and evidence accumulated through the teacher’s annual performance evaluation;
2. One area for development of professional practice derived from individual, collaborative team, school, or school district improvement goals.

Progress on the individual PDP shall be discussed at the annual summary conference as detailed in board policy 4116 Evaluation of Teaching Staff Members and law (N.J.A.C. 6A:10-2.4). Evidence of progress toward meeting the requirements of the teacher’s individual PDP may be provided by the teacher and/or his or her supervisor, and shall be reviewed as part of each annual summary conference.

Each teacher’s individual PDP shall be updated annually no later than October 31. If the teacher is hired after October 1, the PDP shall be developed within 25 working days of his or her hire. A teacher’s individual PDP goals may necessitate more than the recommended minimum requirements of 20 hours of professional development annually. Additional hours of qualifying experiences may be required for teachers in low-performing schools, as determined by the Commissioner.

The board of education shall ensure that all teachers receive the necessary opportunities, support, and resources to engage in ongoing professional learning and to complete the requirements of their respective PDPs.

Corrective Action Plans for Teaching Staff Members

When a teaching staff member is rated ineffective or partially effective on the annual summative evaluation, as measured by the evaluation rubrics, a corrective action plan shall be developed by the teaching staff member and the Superintendent or the teaching staff member’s supervisor.

A corrective action plan shall be developed by the teaching staff member and the teaching staff member’s designated supervisor when the teaching staff member is rated ineffective or partially effective on the annual summative evaluation, as measured by the evaluation rubrics. If the teaching staff member 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 and the teaching staff member 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. However, if 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 teaching staff member 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 until the next annual summary conference.

The content of the corrective action plan shall:

• 1. Address areas in need of improvement identified in the educator 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 teaching staff member’s designated supervisor and the teaching staff member on a corrective action plan shall discuss the teaching staff member’s progress toward the goals outlined in the corrective action plan during each post-observation conference. The teaching staff member 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 teaching staff member’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 or 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 teaching staff member’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 supervisor.

Mid-Year Evaluation of the Corrective Action Plan

The School Improvement Panel shall ensure teachers with a corrective action plan receive a mid-year evaluation. The mid-year evaluation shall occur approximately midway between the development of the corrective action plan and the expected receipt of the next annual summative rating. The mid-year evaluation shall include, at a minimum a conference to discuss progress toward the teacher’s goals outlined in the corrective action plan. The mid-year evaluation conference may be combined with a post-observation conference.

The School Improvement Panel shall ensure teachers with a corrective action plan receive one observation, including a post-observation conference, in addition to the observations required as part of the teaching staff member evaluation process.

Tenured teachers with a corrective action plan shall be observed by multiple observers.

Implementation

This policy and related procedures shall be reviewed at least yearly, and any necessary revisions made before re-adoption by the board.

The board shall ensure that the Superintendent notifies each teaching staff member of the board adopted evaluation policies and procedures no later than October 1. If a staff member is hired after October 1, the teaching staff member shall be notified of the evaluation policies and procedures at the beginning of his or her employment. All teaching staff members shall be notified of amendments to the policy within 10 working days of adoption.

Adopted: October 6, 1997

NJSBA Review/Update: November 2009; December 2010

Readopted: October 24, 2011

Key Words

Evaluation, Teacher Evaluation, Personnel Evaluation, Evaluation Advisory Committee, School Improvement Panel; Evaluation Rubric

Legal References: N.J.S.A. 18A:11‑1 General rule‑making power

N.J.S.A. 18A:6‑10 et seq. Dismissal and reduction in compensation of persons

under tenure in public school system

N.J.S.A. 18A:6-117 et seq. Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children See particularly: of New Jersey (TEACHNJ) ACT

N.J.S.A. 18A:6-119 Definitions relative to the TEACHNJ Act

N.J.S.A. 18A:6-120 School improvement panel

N.J.S.A. 18A:6-121 Evaluation of principal, assistant principal, vice-principal

N.J.S.A. 18A:6-122 Annual submission of evaluation rubrics

N.J.S.A. 18A:6-123 Review, approval of evaluation rubrics

N.J.S.A. 18A:6-128  Ongoing professional development; corrective action plan

N.J.S.A. 18A:27‑3.1 Evaluation of nontenured teaching staff

through ‑3.3

N.J.S.A. 18A:27-10 et seq. Nontenured teaching staff member; offer of employment for next succeeding year or notice of termination before May 31

N.J.S.A. 18A:28‑5 Requirements for tenure

N.J.S.A. 18A:29‑14 Withholding increments; causes; notice of appeals

N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-12.1 Purpose of requirements of administrative certification

N.J.A.C. 6A:9C-1.1 et seq. Required professional development for teachers

and school leaders

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-1.1 et seq. Educator effectiveness

See particularly:

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-1.2 Definitions

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-1.4 Educator evaluation data, information and written reports

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-2.2 Duties of the district board of education

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-2.3 District evaluation advisory committee

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-2.4 Evaluation procedures for all teaching staff members

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-3.1 School improvement panel

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-4.1 Components of Teacher evaluation

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-4.2 Student achievement components

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-4.3 Teacher practice components

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-4.4 Teacher observations

N.J.A.C. 6A:10-6.1 Evaluation of teaching staff members other than teachers, principals, vice principals and assistant principals

N.J.A.C. 6A:32-4.1(e) (f) Employment of teaching staff

N.J.A.C. 6A:32-5.1 et seq. Standards for determining seniority

Lacey Township Bd. of Ed. v. Lacey Township Education Association, 130 N.J. 312

(1992), aff’g 259 N.J. Super. 397 (App. Div. 1991)

Possible

Cross References: *2130 Principal evaluation

*2131 Superintendent

4000 Concepts and roles in personnel

4010 Goals and objectives

*4112.6 Personnel records

*4115 Supervision

*4117.41 Nonrenewal

*4131/4131.1 Staff development; in-service education/visitations/conferences

*4215 Supervision

*4216 Evaluation

*6143.1 Lesson plans

*6200 Adult/community education

*Indicates policy is included in the Critical Policy Reference Manual.