Professional Growth
and Evaluation Newsletter
This is the second Professional Growth and Evaluation Newsletter for the 2020-2021 school year
Welcome back from Mid-Winter Break. Hopefully you were able to rest and recharge in preparation for the next few months. Living through a pandemic, teaching from home, worrying about your students and their families is overwhelming to say the least. Remember to take time during the weeks ahead to find joy where you can.

The current issue of the PG&E newsletter contains important dates from the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), as well as information about the updated student growth rubrics and new reflection prompts.
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Introduction
Have you wondered who is behind this newsletter and how the information is vetted?

My name is Alison Bishop. I am an SPS educator, an SPS parent, and I am an SEA member. In my 20 years as an educator, I have been a 4th and 5th grade teacher, a math specialist, and a technology teacher. For the past 5 years, I have been the Teacher Principal Evaluation Program (TPEP) PD Specialist for SPS. I have facilitated trainings around the district on TPEP, the Danielson Framework, and eVAL.

This newsletter was born in partnership between SEA and SPS. I wanted to take contract language and evaluation information and put it in the hands of educators. After I lay out the content, both parties (SEA and SPS) vet the information so there is a consistent message to members. The intention behind this newsletter has always been to empower educators with knowledge so that they can engage in thoughtful conversations with their evaluators, access training information & dates, and understand the contract.
Upcoming Evaluation CBA Timelines
IMPORTANT DATE: June 5, 2021
Certificated Employees Year-End Conferences Completed
  • By June 5, you should have met with your evaluator to discuss your end-of-year summative performance rating.
  • The performance rating must be determined by the preponderance of evidence over the course of the school year. This evidence is gathered through observations and artifacts.
  • If an evaluator does not rate an employee [performance] as Distinguished in a domain and the employee believes [their practice] is Distinguished, the employee will have the burden of proof.
  • If an evaluator believes that an employee [performance] as Basic or Unsatisfactory in a domain, the evaluator will have the burden of proof to show evidence for the rating.

IMPORTANT DATE: June 10, 2021

Certificated Employees Summative Evaluations Completed
  • All evaluations of certificated employees must be completed by June 10.
  • For classroom teachers on eVAL: Click on View Report in eVAL (this serves as your digital signature)
  • For non-classroom educators: Reports must be viewed. You should receive your summative report in an email for your review. A reply of acknowledgment of the report serves as your digital signature.
UPDATED Student Growth Rubrics
For this year of remote learning, OSPI issued new rubrics for student growth components 3.2 and 6.2.
Instead of evaluating teachers on the achievement of student growth, the updated rubrics evaluate teachers on their reflection of the growth students made during the school year. The rubrics above contains the Proficient language for 3.2 and 6.2. Click on the graphic to see more information from OSPI.

Classroom teachers need to gather feedback from students about student learning and share their reflection with their evaluator, specifically how that information allowed them to modify their instruction during remote learning. In order to elicit feedback from students, teachers will need to use surveys, questionnaires, or other ways to get student feedback.
Reflection Questions for 3.2 and 6.2:
  • What are the assets students bring to their learning?
  • What are some possible factors that may impeded students learning? How do you know? (If the student(s) didn't show up, why not?)
  • What do you believe worked for students who met/exceeded learning targets?
  • What do students have to say about how they experienced their learning? What do students see as important to their success? What do they see as factors that may have impeded their learning?
  • With these understandings in mind, what are your next steps to ensure they access this learning?
  • What are your takeaways as a teacher for the instruction/assessments? What will you do again? Stop doing? Do differently?
Student Growth 8.1 Update:
Although the rubric for Student Growth 8.1 did not change this year, the Professional Growth and Educator Support (PGES) committee drafted and reviewed suggested reflection questions for you to use to reflect on your work in 8.1. The responses to these reflection questions can provide evidence that will allow your evaluator to score your work in 8.1. These questions will be uploaded into eVAL soon.
Reflection questions will be loaded into eVAL and may be sent to you by your evaluator. You can respond to the questions in eVAL or share your reflections with your evaluator during the summative conference conversation.

Since the language in the rubric specifically addresses teacher reflection, reflecting on these questions is a crucial piece of the evaluation of student growth goals for this school year. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your work with students and speak to the great work you are doing everyday.
Questions regarding information found in this newsletter?

Try asking someone in your building first. Who can you ask?
  • Your principal/evaluator
  • Your STAR Consulting Teacher
  • Colleagues
  • Your SEA building rep

Still stuck?
  • For assistance with eVAL, send your question(s) to eValHelp@seattleschools.org
  • For assistance with TPEP or the Danielson Framework, send an email to Lindsay Berger, PGES Program Manager or Alison Bishop, TPEP PD Specialist
  • For assistance beyond your SEA building rep, contact your SEA Uniserv Rep



This section is for certificated classroom teachers. You will find information to support and help you manage the evaluation process in eVAL. 
Uploading Artifacts in eVAL
As you monitor progress toward your student growth goals, you may have artifacts you'd like to upload into eVAL to use as evidence in your evaluation. This video will walk you through the process of uploading evidence into eVAL. If you have a Smart Card, it can be helpful when aligning your evidence to the Danielson components. Remember to share your artifacts with your evaluator when ready.
Upcoming eVAL Webinars:

WHO: Teachers who are new to using eVAL or those who want a refresher.
WHAT: Webinars that cover basic eVAL information. These eVAL webinars will focus on uploading artifacts, the YTD Evidence tab, and Student Growth Reflection Prompts.
WHEN:
  • March 31 4:30-5:30pm
  • April 6 4:30-5:30pm
  • April 8 4:30-5:30pm
WHERE: Teams. Limited spots available in each webinar in order to make it more interactive. (Each training is the same; sign up for the one that works best for you).
HOW: Sign up for the webinar you want here. You will be sent a link to the webinar the morning of the training. Extra time pay will be provided for all attendees.
Find More Information At:
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Seattle Public Schools
Professional Growth & Educator Support/TPEP
Phone: 206-743-3542

These newsletters are archived on the HR website