Our school district is using the Marzano Teacher Evaluation Model. Luckily, we are not evaluated on all 41 indicators. My understanding is that it was never the intent that any teacher would be evaluated on all 41. I'm still new to all of this - so I'm curious what your school district is doing.
I will say, my district has done an AWESOME job helping teachers navigate through this new evaluation process and have really put an emphasis on GROWTH, not "gotcha".
Here are the 14 indicators that our district is focusing on:
I'll be honest, when I first heard about this model I freaked. I might have even shed a tear or two. But when it all came out in the wash; I realized what I'm being evaluated on - I already do, it's who I am as a professional. It's probably who you are too.
What I'm still a little nervous about is the amount of growth expected by my students and how my evaluation is growing increasingly more dependent on that. I'm sure you've seen the parody essay No Dentist Left Behind. When I read it, it just makes me go "yup, and that's MY reality". This is what keeps me up at night. I do the absolute best job that I can do, but there are factors out of my control that impact the growth {and lack of} of my students.
It seems that kids these days {Did I just say that? Does that mean I'm officially "old"?} come to us with video game trauma {i.e. teachers don't move as fast as a video game, so students can't focus on what they are saying], over-booked and over-cooked {football, soccer, travel ball, piano lessons...busy five nights a week}, hungry, unloved, angry, or tired. Not to mention that teaching children using the words subitizing, schema, viscous liquids and composing and decomposing numbers is WELL over their heads causing them to tune out....and if they don't show the expected growth...it's ALL on me.
What happened to "it takes a village"?
But I digress...
I've put my faith in God on this one. I work my butt off and I'm always trying to do more and do better. That's all I can do. That's all any of us can do, right?
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| My to-do list today and every day....I hope it's yours too! |
It seems that "data" is the new "developmentally appropriate" {Remember that concept? Yeah, I hardly do either} and we spend a good deal of our time talking about it. I'm not saying data is all bad. I just think it can be dangerous. Dangerous to the point that we might forget that we're actually teaching little, sweet, kind and THINKING human beings.
I hope I never forget.
Anyhoo...what got me pondering this on a Friday night was the form I made for my team to keep track of our PLT's {formerly known as PLC's} Here it is if you want it!
Happy weekend friends!
