Learning About Teacher Evaluations

An Esperanza Board member, Suzi Ramos, and I went to the Charter School Conference dinner last night and then Carmen Thompson, another Esperanza Board member, joined Suzi and me for the conference sessions today. All of the sessions were helpful, but my favorite session was the one titled "Conducting Effective Teacher Evaluations" presented by Dr. Joe Heywood. There were some points I especially want to remember:

• Answer the question: Why do we evaluate?



• Answer the question: What do we want the outcome of evaluation to be?



• Have the purpose of evaluation be "Wonderful growth!" rather than "Gotcha!"



• Create a Professional Development Plan with teacher evaluation: 1) Goals, 2) Conferences, 3) Trainings, 4) Peer Interactions (Projects, lessons, etc. in collaboration with other teachers) and mentoring beyond 3 years and sharing knowledge, 5) Observations



• Use multiple observation tools such as a running log with marginal notes and interview questions.



• A good administrator nurtures the growth of his/her teachers by 1) providing strong professional development opportunities, 2) work closely with teachers to improve teaching ability, and 3) care enough about each teacher as a person and a colleague.

Our attendance at the conference would have been worth it if this were the only session we attended. Many thanks to Dr. Heywood for sharing!