Hello Everyone,

This blog post will clarify some of the recommendations regarding the development of teacher evaluation goals. These recommendations have been previously discussed and promoted by the teacher evaluation committee.

1.  We recommend two to three goals in total per faculty member.  It is required that you align your goals with the building school improvement plan. We do not recommend more than 2 to 3 goals as having too many goals would actually be less effective and provide for an inability to focus professional performance. However, as mentioned in a blog post on September 24th by the teacher evaluation committee, teachers are not limited to being evaluated on just the goals. All standards of effective teaching are part of the overall evaluation regardless of the goals and all individuals in the school are also responsible for involvement in the School Improvement Plan. Here is the link to the referenced blog post.
https://blog.dearbornschools.org/humanresources/2012/09/19/teacher-evaluation-committee-meeting-september-18th-and-evaluation-timeline/

2. In some cases there might be an exception where individuals have four goals instead of 2-3. In that case they would have two professional growth goals and two student achievement goals. However, if 4 total goals were used then the growth goal and student achievement goal should be totally aligned and support each other directly with both the implementation of strategies and collection of data.

3.  We recommend a joint process where the teacher and administrator dialogue together regarding the goals. As mentioned, aligning them to the SIP process is an effective development model. The self evaluation using the Standards for Effective Teaching rubric should also be used to help determine goals. However, per state legislation the administrator does have the right to develop and implement the goals if a consensus is not reached after seeking teacher input.

4. We appreciate the hard work and the positive dialogue that has been occurring as teachers and administrators work together with the formulation of effective goals.  Here is a link to the HR evaluation page. You can scroll down to view sample goals. https://dearbornschools.org/hr-employment/hr-evaluation-tools

Glenn Maleyko, Director of Human Resources    Chris Sipperley, DFT President

Supported by the Teacher Evaluation Committee.

Hello, All!  Just a reminder that we are having another ORS miAccount Computer Workshop today until 7pm in Room 12 at the Administrative Service Center (ASC).  Help will be provided on a first come, first served basis.  The goal of the Workshops is to help employees access their miAccount.  Be sure to bring your 8 digit ID that was assigned by ORS, we do not know it.

Another Workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, October 17th from 2pm to 6pm in the lobby at ASC.

Please post this information for those employees near you who do not have district email.  ALL employees need to set up their miAccount so that they can make an informed choice on the upcoming retirement reform

-JW

From: Office of Retirement Services [mailto:ORS@public.govdelivery.com]
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2012 8:31 PM
To: Wade, Joanne L
Subject:ORSCallCenter Hours Extended

i-Learn Enrollment Instructions
Instructions for using i-Learn for the Mentor/Mentee ProgramBoth mentor and mentee need to enroll in the i-Learn class to receive e-mails.
Login to the Staff Resources page found on the district website:  https://dearbornschools.org
Scroll down on the Staff Resources page. You will notice a link for the New Teacher Mentor Program.  Click that link to enroll in the iLearn Course for submitting Communication Logs.  
You will need to enter your District ID and Password.  This is the same account as email and logging into computers.
You will now be prompted for an “Enrollment Key”.  This is a one-time password used to ensure other people do not enter the course.  YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN ONCE YOU ENROLL.  The password is    abc123   .  Enter abc123 and you should now be enrolled in the iLearn course.
Please follow the instructions in box 1 found in the iLearn course to enter your communication logs. Each month’s log should be entered before the last day of that month. Only one log per mentor pair needs to be submitted.
(HINT: I put this link on the staff resource page for easy reference.  Bookmark it or save it as a favorite for easy access in future)

Dave Rodgers from Northville is looking for an elementary PE teacher for a long-term sub position. Please contact dave at rodgera@northville.k12.mi.us if you know someone that is interested.

I attended with the Michigan Council for Educator Effectiveness in Garden City on October 3rd. They conducted a meeting which lasted about 1.5 hours and allowed individuals to observe their meeting. Following the official meeting there was a question and answer session.  Some of the discussion items during their meeting included administrtor evaluation tools, the state of the current pilot projects across the state, Student Growth measures, and potential vendors that could be hired to assist in data analysis.

During the question and answer session, some of the pilot districts expressed concerns regarding their progress and the support/complexities involved. Some of those concerns included the administration of growth measure, and the timeline for evaluations. I went up to the microphone and make the following comments.

1. I first thanked the committee for their hard work as I recognized (as I believe most of us do) regarding the huge task that has been given to the committee.

2. I mentioned that although Dearborn was initially interested in the pilot, we could not afford to change to a new system because we have been vested in a system that is aligned with the Danielson Framework. I further commented that we have a system of positive communication and have developed a working relationship with our stakeholders including union groups where input is valued by all. This has allowed us to come up with a better evaluation model for both teachers and administrators.

3. I asked if they have any recommendations on what we should do to get ready for next year. Areas of need include the student growth assessment piece as we are obligated to weight evaluation by 25% in that area for the 2013-14 school year. I mentioned that we might need to adopt a norm referenced assessment. The pilot districts are using NWEA in grades k-6. Explore, plan and ACT are being used at the high school level.

4. I asked if the recommendations would be a framework or if they were going to recommend a specific model that we must use. If they endorse a specific model then much of the work that we have done the past 7 years will be eliminated.

Here is the link the website for the Michigan Council for Educator Effectiveness. They are thinking of adding a blog to their site. https://www.mcede.org/

Click on the link below to download a file that provides information on the 4 day work week survey results.

4 day Work Week Survey

Dearborn Public Schools has scheduled job recruitment fairs for Tuesday October 2^nd from 5 to 8 pm and Wednesday October 3^rd from 11 am to 4 pm.  The fairs are located at:

Dearborn Public Schools

Administrative Services Building

18700 Audette

Dearborn, Michigan 48124

We will be attempting to recruit Bus Drivers, Bus Attendants, Custodians, and Food Service Workers. 

We will have computer stations available for applicants to access the Dearborn Public Schools Applicant Central on-line application system.  HR and other staff will be available to answer questions about positions, assist with the online application process and give preliminary interviews to interested candidates.

A list of current vacancies and job descriptions listing minimum qualifications is available on line at https://hr.dearborn.k12.mi.us/job_list.aspx?cat=3

Interested candidates can apply 24 hours a day 7 days a week at https://hr.dearborn.k12.mi.us/New_Account.aspx

All candidates must fill out an online application in order to be hired by Dearborn Public Schools.

For additional information contact

• September 24, 2012Retirement Reform Seminar coming to your area October 4 Encourage your staff to attend one of the Retirement Reform Seminars coming to Canton High School on Thursday, October 4. We’ll explain the recent changes to the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System. The seminar lasts about an hour. When: Thursday, October 4, 2012 Two sessions: 4 p.m. & 6 p.m. Where: Canton High School Little Theatre 8415 Canton Center Road Canton, MI 48187 You’ll find a flyer with the seminar information attached. Please feel free to forward it to your staff and print copies to post in your buildings. Preregistration is required to assure we have enough seats and materials for seminars – go to www.michigan.gov/orsschools and click on Tutorials, Webinars, and Seminars in the left navigation bar. Live online webinars are also available.

I recently spoke to a reporter from the Detroit Free Press and she used one of my statements that was published in the front section of the Detroit Free Press on September 20th.  Here is the link to the article which is a response to a recent report by the education trust.  https://www.freep.com/article/20120920/NEWS06/309200269/-1/7daysarchives/Most-teachers-found-effective-rating-system-questioned

They used teacher evaluation data from dearborn in their report.  The report is definitely flawed as there is no link to achievement data or any other data to support their opinion other than the fact that the authors believe more teachers should be rated at an ineffective or minimally effective level.

Here is the link to the Education Trust Report. https://www.edtrust.org/sites/edtrust.org/files/publications/files/Strengthening%20Michigan%27s%20Teaching%20Force_0.pdf

I was responding to this article with my statement in the Detroit Free Press.