A.C.C.E.S.S. is taking a summer break!

This will be the last issue of the ACCESS newsletter for this school year. We'll give your inbox a rest in June and July, so look for your next issue in early August. We’ll be focusing that issue on preparing for the new school year, including helping teachers set goals and also strategies for you preparing to complete DPAS-II observations. If you want to catch up on past issues, you can access all newsletters on the Educator Evaluation homepage . Have an idea or request for a topic that we should cover this fall? Please email us!

That's a Wrap: Preparing for Spring and Summative Evaluation Conferences

Learning and development starts with reflection on progress, and identification of strengths and growth areas. There are two opportunities for teachers to engage in this formal reflection.  All teachers participate in a spring conference every year. This conference is an opportunity to review student learning compared to Growth Targets set in the fall and to determine Component 5 ratings. Novice teachers participate in a Summative Evaluation Conference each year. Experienced teachers participate in a Summative Evaluation Conference every 2 years. The Summative Evaluation Conference is an excellent opportunity to reflect with teachers on their practice over the course of the cycle, to identify and celebrate areas of strength, and to make plans for areas of focus for the next year. Your goal as an administrator is to use the evidence you’ve collected throughout the cycle to share a summary of the teacher’s performance on all components of the Delaware Framework for Teachers. At the conclusion of the conference, teachers should have a clear understanding of where they stand in terms of their DPAS-II evaluations and a clear picture of which skills you are supporting the teacher to improve on in the coming school year.

Preparing Component 5 and The Summative Evaluation Rating Every teacher receives a Component 5 rating every year; no teacher is exempt from Component 5. During the spring conference, the teacher and administrator review the growth targets set in the fall as well as the actual student data from the course of the year. Ratings for each Measure are determined by the “Exceeds”, “Satisfactory,” and “Unsatisfactory” targets set in the fall. An overall Component 5 rating is then decided based on the following possible measure rating combinations.

You are encouraged to review the DPAS-II Guide for Teachers to ensure full understanding and accurate implementation of Component 5. The Guide specifically includes a table to aide in determining Component 5 ratings for Experienced teachers in preparation for their Summative Conference held every other year. The spring conference to determine Component 5 must happen before the Summative Evaluation Rating and Conference. A productive Summative Conference requires careful preparation. Make sure that you have gathered and reviewed all of the evidence you’ve collected over the course of each observation, as well as the ratings you assigned on the framework. You should also review notes from pre- and post-observation conferences, as well as any other formative feedback that you’ve provided to the teacher. Align the evidence you’ve collected throughout the cycle to the Criterion in the Delaware Framework for Teaching, and assign a performance rating for each Criterion based on the evidence. Make sure that you can cite examples from evidence to back up your ratings and to help the teacher clearly understand what is driving a particular rating.

Then, based on the preponderance of evidence on each Criterion, assign a rating for each Component. The DPAS-II Summative Evaluation rating is determined through a formula that incorporates each Component rating. Each of the Components (Component 1-4 on the Delaware Framework for Teaching and Component 5 on student improvement) is worth up to 4 points. The point scale is in the table to the left.

Once all Component ratings are assigned, add them all up to determine the final Summative Evaluation Rating. The point ranges are in the table.

The goal of feedback is not to judge the quality of a teacher, but to find the most effective way for the teacher to improve. While the Summative Evaluation Rating is important to share with the teacher, equally as important is the summary of evidence and overall headlines about the teacher’s performance. During your preparation time, be sure to document specifically which areas of strength the teacher exhibited throughout the cycle, and how those areas of strength translate to Criterion on the Delaware Framework for Teaching and the ratings the teacher received. Also be sure to clearly identify growth areas for the teacher. Be careful not to overwhelm the teacher, but instead identify two or three areas that, with focus and practice, would lead to significant improvement in teaching and student learning.

Helping Teachers Prepare A successful Summative Conference requires preparation and focus from both the administrator and the teacher. While the DPAS-II system does not require any specific type of preparation from teachers, you can support your teachers to reflect and plan prior to the conversation to ensure that it is a positive experience. There are a few steps teachers can take to prepare: Review past observations, notes and feedback to refresh on trends from the cycle. Review the Delaware Framework for Teaching, and self-assess on each Criterion. Conduct an honest self-assessment based on the evidence and feedback from the course of the cycle. Identify growth areas and support needed from the administrator in order to grow. Consider these questions: What do you see as some of the strengths in your teaching practice? What are areas in which you want to grow and develop? In what areas of your instruction do you feel you’ve made improvement over the course of this year? What contributed to that improvement? How can we push that improvement further?

Having the Conversation Summative conferences should be scheduled at a time that both the teacher and the administrator can adequately focus on the discussion. Choose a space that is quiet, and limit interruptions as much as possible. This document includes a sample protocol for a 30-minute conversation. While your summative conference does not have to proceed in exactly this way, the protocol may help you to plan and structure the conversation to be successful. The DPAS-II Guide for Teachers has all of the required forms and documents you need to implement summative conferences. There are five recommended parts to the conversation: Framing: This brief but important step allows you to frame the purpose of the conversation to be about both reflection and on developing going forward. It also allows you to preview the structure of the conference for the teacher and to make sure that you both are aligned in what will be covered. Sharing the Summative Evaluation Rating: After framing, you should share the Summative Evaluation with the teacher. Highlight key points in the report, and provide the teacher time to review and ask any questions Reviewing Student Progress Towards Goals: Next, you should bring the conversation back to how students have performed in the teacher’s class this year. You may look at data from assessments, or dig specifically into Component 5 during this portion Reflecting on Instructional Practice: The meat of the conversation is when you and the teacher reflect on what went well in the classroom over the cycle, and identify one or two growth areas going forward. This is the opportunity for you and the teacher to synthesize the Summative Evaluation ratings and student progress to build off of successes and address areas for growth Closing: The meeting closing is just as important as the other sections. It provides an opportunity to plan for next year, and what you will focus on with the teacher. It also allows you to reinforce areas of strength and how much you appreciate the teacher’s work. What tools or resources have you used in the past to prepare for and implement Summative Evaluation Conferences? Please share them with us!

Practice Perfect: Six Steps to Effective Feedback

While the summative conference is a major milestone in the DPAS-II process, it is built on data collected over a number of observations and on feedback shared at post-observation conferences throughout the year. Effective feedback is feedback that both recognizes a teacher’s strengths and that helps a teacher understand the core action step that will have the most positive effects on student learning. These professional development session and materials are designed for administrators and/or coaches of teachers who are frequently providing feedback. The session describes a method for identifying a specific action step, and then the steps to sharing feedback and that action step effectively. It is grounded in a feedback model that works best for a post-observation debrief but can apply across instances of providing feedback. It includes a series of video clips that showcase what each step might look and sound like in an actual debrief conversation. You can share this with other administrators and coaches of teachers or simply read through the slides and view the videos in service of your own development.

PowerPoint with Video Observation Debrief Planning Guide Observation Debrief Planning Guide Sample Do you have a great resource for crafting action steps or sharing feedback? We'd love to highlight it! Please email us!

What's on the agenda?

What should be on your DPAS-II to-do list this month: Complete all Experienced Educator observations Complete Novice Educator observations #3 or #4 Finish spring conferences and Summative Evaluation Conferences Find relevant resources and information you need at the Educator Evaluation homepage on the DDOE website. Start planning your 2018-2019 DPAS-II PD; read more below about the sessions we have planned!

Providing Quality Recommendations and Developing and Implementing Expectations and Improvement Plans PDMS Course #25977 Government Support Services Building, Dover May 10

DPAS-II for Teachers/Specialists 5-Day Boot Camp Training Required to become a credentialed observer PDMS Course #26990 Dates offered July-October

DPAS-II Teacher Framework Calibration Webinars Ensure a common understanding of what practice looks like at different performance levels Offered monthly beginning in October, 2018 PDMS Course #26995

DPAS-II Component Deep Dive Professional Development Series Component 1 PDMS Course #26991 Component 2 PDMS Course #26992 Component 3 PDMS Course #26993

DPAS-II Systems Refresher Discuss updates to policies and the guide, examine ways to collect evidence and use your evaluation data to plan PD, review and calibrate on rubrics and feedback, and discuss processes for observations and conferences. July 10 - New Castle County; July 11 - Kent County; July 12 - Sussex County July 31 - New Castle County; August 1 - Kent County; August 14 Sussex County PDMS Course #26998

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