EDUCATOR EVALUATION SPRING CONVENING: CONNECTING POLICY, PRACTICE, AND PRACTITIONERS
MAY 29, 2013
THE SPRINGFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
EDUCATOR EVALUATION PROJECT
Introduction to the project
In July 2012, Cambridge Education partnered with the Springfield Public Schools
(SPS) to provide 130 administrators and district staff with Inter-Rater Reliability
training to calibrate themselves to the new Massachusetts Educator Evaluator
Rubric. It was a priority for the SPS to build confidence in the new system.
Cambridge Education, in partnership with the district, designed and delivered a
customized approach. The approach consisted of:
The Springfield Public Schools goal
is to have effective instruction in
every classroom, every day. The
SPS knows that effective teachers
aren’t just born but are developed
by caring and talented mentors,
colleagues, and supervisors who
create a supportive environment
that uses effective evaluation
and professional development to
improve practice. The Springfield
Public Schools partnership with
Cambridge Education provides
administrators the support to
develop effective educators that
provide effective instruction in
every classroom, every day.
“I learned how to give more
specific, measurable feedback to
educators that they can
implement tomorrow to make a
teachers best even better.”
Principal in the Springfield Public
Schools
“Learning with my colleagues
and establishing the standard
of instruction through the use of
the rubric. The best professional
development I have ever had.”
Assistant Principal in the Springfield
Public Schools
■ Co-facilitating Inter-Rater Reliability training sessions in a large group setting,
providing an overview of the rubric and some initial calibration using videos.
■ ‘Live’ classroom observations in groups of 4 participants to 1 trainer. Practice
gathering evidence by completing two unannounced observations, using the
rubric to provide feedback.
■ Calibration training in groups of 2 participants to 1 trainer, including pre and
post conference discussions and two announced observations.
Challenges
■ To develop a rating distribution that mirrors student learning outcomes.
■ Applying the rubric consistently across the district.
Successes
■ The Springfield Public Schools and Cambridge Education trained administrators
in gathering evidence and in applying that evidence to the rubric.
■ District administrators have been pushed out of their comfort zone through onsite training with targeted feedback.
■ The shift in the quality of feedback to teachers has been a major success for
the district. Rather than focus on an exhaustive list of improvement areas,
administrators concentrate on providing initial feedback on 1 or 2 areas.
■ Cambridge Education provides feedback forms on each of the administrators
they train.
■ The district is now able to provide more targeted professional development
which is customized to meet the requirements of individual administrators.
■ Ongoing communication and open dialogue between the district and
Cambridge Education has been critical in enabling the project to be customized
to the individual requirements of the district and the changing needs of the
participants.
Next Steps
■ Support evaluation of administrators.
■ Continue to support and train existing and new administrators.
Contact
Katie O’Sullivan
Senior Administrator of Educator Effectiveness
Springfield Public Schools
(413)787-7134
Email:
osullivank@sps.springfield.ma.us
Daniel Patton
Educator Evaluation Program Lead
Cambridge Education
(413)787-7134
Email:
daniel.patton@camb-ed-us.com