Cape May Special Services
Board of Education
Section: Teaching Staff Members
3221. EVALUATION OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF (M)
Date Created: January, 2007
Date Edited: January, 2007
3221- EVALUATION OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF (M)
M
The Board of Education believes that the effective evaluation of teaching staff members is essential to the achievement of the educational goals of this district, including each pupil’s achievement of the Core Curriculum Content Standards as reflected in his/her IEP. 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. A teaching staff member is defined as an employee in a position which requires him/her to hold an appropriate certificate issued by the Board of Examiners.
The Board encourages a positive working environment in which the professional growth which results from staff participation in the evaluation process is considered of major importance. Therefore, the administration shall develop evaluation instruments flexible enough to identify the needs, strengths, and improvement objectives of each staff member.
The Superintendent and administrators shall develop, in consultation with staff members, job descriptions for each staff member’s position and evaluation criteria for said positions based directly upon the job descriptions. The job description shall be concise, stating major responsibilities as briefly as possible. All job descriptions shall be presented to the Board for approval.
All teaching staff members shall be evaluated against criteria which evolve logically from the instructional priorities and program objectives of each staff member as specified in the job description for his/her position.
Criteria must include, but need not be limited to, consideration of pupil progress; instructional skills; subject knowledge; professional conduct and growth; human relations skills, and classroom management skills. Their criteria shall also apply to requirements for continuing education and shall be incorporated into each teaching staff member’s professional improvement plan (PIP).
Tenured teaching staff members shall be observed and evaluated at least once each school year by properly certified persons. Nontenured teaching staff members shall be observed and evaluated at least three times each school year by properly certified district staff.
The evaluation procedures shall provide continuous, constructive, cooperative interaction and communication between the teaching staff member and his/her supervisor/evaluator, thus ensuring a valid basis for performance review. All procedures for the evaluation of teaching staff members shall be in compliance with law and regulation.
All evaluative procedures shall include review of each teacher’s progress toward achievement of the State-required goal of 100 clock hours of professional development every five years. Evaluative procedures shall recognize that the purpose of this goal is to assist teaching staff in obtaining and maintaining the knowledge and skills essential to pupil achievement of the State’s Core Curriculum Content Standards. In any instance where an individual teacher fails to make annual progress toward meeting the 100-hour requirement, or where a professional fails to satisfy the requirement fully within the five-year period, the district administration shall take appropriate remedial action, applying sound and accepted principles of progressive supervision as well as by using existing laws and rules to the fullest extent.
The district administration shall recognize each teacher’s fulfillment of the continuing education requirement. For evaluative purposes, a teacher has fulfilled his/her professional improvement plan when his/her pupils have demonstrated satisfactory progress toward achievement of the curriculum standards, as well as the educational goals of this district.
At the end of the first five-year cycle, the district administration shall annually report all instances of noncompliance and actions taken to address them to the State Department of Education. The Board of Education shall cooperate with the County Professional Development Board and the County Superintendent in evaluating its program and progress toward goals.
The Superintendent shall report at least annually to the Board of Education on the effectiveness of the evaluation system and shall recommend means to improve it whenever desirable.
The Superintendent shall, in the implementation of this policy, develop procedures in consultation with staff members for:
1. The collection and reporting of data which is appropriate to the job description and minimally include the observation of classroom instruction;
2. Observation conferences between the staff member and the supervisor; the preparation of a written evaluation for each of three observations of non-tenured staff members and of each observation of tenured staff members;
3. The preparation of individual professional improvement plans that include specific guidance to the teaching staff member on activities that would contribute to his/her obtaining and maintaining the knowledge and skills essential to pupil achievement of the State’s Core Curriculum Content Standards;
4. The preparation by the supervisor of an annual written performance report which shall include the annual evaluation of the teacher, an individual professional improvement plan developed by the staff member and the supervisor, and a summary of the results of the formal and informal assessment of his/her pupils along with a statement of how these indicators relate to the effectiveness of the overall program and the performance of the staff member;
5. The conduct of the annual summary conference;
6. The signing of the annual written performance report by the properly certified supervisor/evaluator and the staff member.
All such procedures shall conform to law. This policy and related procedures shall be reviewed at least yearly, and any necessary revisions made before re-adoption by the Board.
N.J.S.A. 18A:27-3.1 et seq.
N.J.A.C. 6:3-4.1; 6A:9-8.6
Adopted: 16 January 2007
Copyright 2007 Strauss Esmay Associates, LLP
36 Washington Street, Suite 1A, Toms River, NJ 08753
ph:(732)349-0777 fax:(732)349-9330 |
