No. 18

The evaluation of teachers and other certificated employees is one of the most important responsibilities of management personnel. Your cooperation is essential to ensure that significant, challenging objectives are established; that the degree of achievement is carefully evaluated; and that the process takes place within the time limits established.

Please consider the following points as you administer this year's evaluation cycle:

1. All probationary and temporary contract employees on your staff (leave replacement, restricted, intern, and emergency status) must be evaluated. Permanent employees whose performance has previously been evaluated as effective, are evaluated at least every other year. Probationary employees are evaluated each year.

2. Refer to the evaluation Article 14 in the Collective Negotiations Contract for the Certificated Bargaining Unit before beginning the evaluation process.

4. Written formal evaluations for permanent certificated staff, first-year probationary, leave replacements, interns, restricted, and emergency status employees must be completed on or before the last work day of April (April 30, 2001). This timeline may be extended up to May 15, 2001, for unit members assigned to year-round sites. For specific evaluation timelines, including dates, please see Attachment 1.

Earlier timelines are established for evaluation of teachers whose performance has been evaluated as "requires improvement" or "unsatisfactory" during the previous school year (see certificated contract – Article 14.8 – Special Evaluation).

5. Any employee who may receive a less-than-effective rating on ANY aspect (element) of his/her regular evaluation MUST be counseled on the specific objective(s) and criteria where progress is necessary and MUST be provided with a written progress check and remediation plan which includes the supervisor's role in assisting the employee and a timeline for monitoring the employee's progress. This conference must be held no later than December 15, 2000, for second-year probationary teachers and no later than March 1, 2001, for other certificated staff being evaluated. Please refer to the evaluation article in the Collective Negotiations Contract for specific contractual requirements. The appropriate staffing administrator for your school should be contacted as soon as the evaluator suspects that an employee may receive a less-than-effective evaluation. Please note that remediation plans are required for any employee receiving less-than-effective in any of the 1-6 elements. Failure to issue a progress check and remediation plan will result in the evaluatee receiving an overall effective evaluation.

6. There are no district-approved classroom observation forms. You are advised to use a blank sheet of paper and to write down what you see and what you hear. Be specific in your comments and remember to put the date, time, and length of your observation on each page. Remember to discuss your observation with the employee and provide him/her with a copy of your observation notes (within approximately 10 work days of your observation); the employee should sign and date the supervisor's copy of the observation.

8. For staff undergoing alternative evaluation, items a. through e. below should be followed. Refer to Section 14.7 of the Collective Negotiations Contract (page 78) for information on who may participate. See Attachment 2 for a sample evaluation worksheet.

a. Evaluator and evaluatee complete appropriate sections of page 2 of Evaluation Worksheet - Alternative Evaluation and sign.

b. For Item 6 of Section I (Summary Evaluation Report - Achievement of stated objectives), evaluator adds after "objectives" the following: "alternative evaluation." For evaluators using the Summary Evaluation Report for nonclassroom certificated staff, the change should be made to Section I.4.f.

c. Evaluator attaches Evaluation Worksheet - Alternative Evaluation to the district Summary Evaluation Report form, completes Sections I through III of the Summary Evaluation Report and signs. (Consistent with Section 14.7 of the Collective Negotiations Contract, the evaluatee, while completing an alternative evaluation, retains responsibility for evaluation components 1-6 of Section I; consequently, these components are to be completed.)

d. Evaluatee reviews Summary Evaluation Report form, completes Section IV, if appropriate, signs and retains copy.

e. Evaluator retains copy and forwards original to HRSD consistent with regular procedures.

9. Human Resource Services Division is developing accurate records of certificated staff requiring evaluation. Because of the large volume of staffing that occurs at the conclusion of summer, including post and bid, there will be errors in lists of certificated staff supplied to the site/department managers. The list of certificated staff to be evaluated for the 2000-01 school year list will be sent to you after September 15. Temporary staff (leave replacement, restricted status and emergency status) are not included on this initial list; evaluation materials for temporary employees will be sent at a later date. It is important to remember that all probationary and temporary employees must be evaluated as soon as assignments are firm to commence the evaluation process.

10. Once received, please review the list of certificated staff at your site to be evaluated. Please check your list for any of the following errors:

a. Employee listed has transferred, resigned, retired, gone on leave of absence, changed name, or is a permanent employee evaluated as effective during the previous year.

b. List lacks name of certificated staff member(s) at your site not evaluated during previous year, or certificated staff member(s) new to your site who were not evaluated the previous year at their former site(s).