Is your district interested in strengthening evaluation systems and practices?
Join ESE’s Professional Learning Network for Supporting Evaluator Capacity!
What is it?
ESE’s Professional Learning Network (PLN) for Supporting Evaluator Capacity is an opportunity for districts to partner
with ESE and other districts to explore, develop, and refine methods for supporting evaluators throughout the
evaluation cycle. ESE will select a group of 6-8 districts to engage over the 2014-15 school year to study current
practices for increasing evaluators’ capacity and efficiency; identify opportunities to expand, improve, and implement
these practices in the context of a MA district; try out potential approaches to improve district systems for managing
educator evaluation implementation; and conduct cross-site visits to observe and learn from other districts in the PLN.
What are the goals and outcomes?
The goal is for districts to strengthen practices in at
least one of the following areas: conducting
evaluation observations, providing timely,
actionable feedback, collecting and analyzing
evidence of educator performance, and managing
and utilizing evaluation data. Through cross-district
innovation and collaboration, ESE seeks to identify
evaluation processes that support efficiency, and to
share important lessons and useful practices with
all MA districts.
What are the district benefits for
participating in the PLN?
Interested in joining?
Interested districts must register and apply through the
bid posted on the state’s Commbuys system.
Attachment A includes the application components:
 Team composition: Names and roles of five
representatives, including at least one teacher, one
district administrator, and one school administrator
with evaluator responsibilities.
 Statement of readiness: description of current
strategies and systems in place to promote evaluator
efficiency and effectiveness.
 Goals: description of the district’s expected outcomes
from participating in the PLN, including the district’s
vision related to improving evaluator capacity and the
efficiency of the district’s overall educator evaluation
implementation.
In addition to becoming part of a network of peers
interested in collaborating to identify opportunities
to increase evaluator capacity to implement the
educator evaluation framework efficiently and
effectively, participating districts will receive the
Submissions due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12th.
following benefits:
Bid Solicitation: BD-15-1026-DOE02-DOE01-00000001350
 A $5,000 stipend to cover the costs of
Trouble
accessing the bid? Email EducatorEvaluation@doe.mass.edu.
travel expenses, substitutes, and other
costs associated with participation.
 A partner district.
 Opportunities to learn about and implement practices to develop evaluator efficiency and effectiveness.
 Direct support and feedback from ESE staff.
What are the participation requirements?
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Participating districts must be willing to implement at least one new evaluator capacity initiative during the
2014-2015 school year.
A team of five educators must be established to represent the district for the duration of the PLN (October
2014-July 2015). Teams should include at least one teacher, one district administrator, and one school
administrator with evaluator responsibilities.
Commitment includes: monthly calls with ESE staff; two in-person meetings in Malden: October 17th 9:00am4:00pm and February 9th 9:00am-1:00pm (snow date: February 26th); conducting at least one set of cross-site
visit with another participating PLN district to observe components of an evaluator’s role (observations,
feedback conversations, an overview of the systems used to manage evaluation data, etc.); presenting at the
ESE Spring Convening in Marlborough May 27th and 28th; and conducting a webinar “office hour” in July 2015 to
share information with other interested Massachusetts districts.
ESE is looking for a range of districts to participate (district type: urban, suburban, rural; district size; stage of
implementation, etc.).
Questions? Email EducatorEvaluation@doe.mass.edu.