WEA Today Featured Articles and Current Events
Below are some articles featured in our June WEA Today newsletter. You can always click on the "WEA Today Issue Archives" button on the left-hand menu bar of this web page and read or print full issues from your computer. Click on an article to jump to it:
Balanced Calendar Begins August 7th
by Elaine Lancaster, Executivet Director
2013-14 begins the change to the balanced calendar for all schools (except Incline and Dorothy Lemmelson Stem Academy (Sierra Vista)). The reporting date is August 7th at your site,
August 8th is a PD day and August 9th at your site.
You can see the calendar on the district website. Fall break is October 14th - 18th, conference week is Ocvober 28th - November 1st. Thanksgiving Break is November 27th -
29th, with a teacher work day on December 20th.
Winter break is December 23rd - January 10th, Spring break is March 31st - April 11th, and the last day for teachers is June 16th.
Professional Development
by Elaine Lancaster, Executive Director
You will also find the Professional Learning Cafe Calendar on the district website. The professional development is strongly encouraged, but not mandatory.
There are several ways to get the PD,
such as being subbed out during the school day, attending on Saturdays or after school with pay. The PD is centered around CCSS and the evaluation process.
There will also be PD on early release Wednesdays.
Contract Corner - Moving Forward
by Chuck Fletcher, UniServ Director
Looking ahead to the 2013-14 school year, there will continue to be refinement in the evaluation structure and the skill of those doing the evaluations.
The evaluators will undertake training designed to have their evaluations be consistent from one person to another. The desired outcome would be to have any evaluator
observe any teacher and have the evaluations look very similar to one another as regards areas of the Standards.
Personal bias is one of the items addressed, and the participants look at potential areas of bias, how to recognize it,
and what to do to mitigate or eliminate it from the evaluation process. In this way, WCSD teachers can expect more consistent application of the WCSD Standards.
Some Areas Won’t Change
There are some expectations of the evaluators that will not change:
Pre-Observation Conference: This conference is to let the teacher know what specific areas the evaluator will be interested in observing.
This is considered to be a required part of the observation; it may encompass more than one observation.
Post-Observation Conference: This conference is to discuss the results of the observation, within a maximum of 5 days, preferably fewer.
The evaluator is to have comments done in writing to hand to the teacher. While the discussion will center on what changes could be made to raise the
level of performance, it should include what went well. These discussions should center on the rubrics, the elements of the components, and what this looks
like in the classroom. The teacher must ask questions where necessary as it is likely these items will appear on the next evaluation.
Walk-through Observations: These observations are generally less than 20 minutes in length and often will focus on school-wide expectations,
and possibly individual expectations. Many times the principal will announce what the focus will include in a meeting, PLC, or general faculty announcement.
The teacher should receive written feedback from these observations (if there was anything written).
WEA strongly encourages you to ask questions of your evaluator as to what is expected and how it fits into the overall evaluation. In this day,
it is better to uncover areas of concern and address them, than to be caught unaware at evaluation time.
Teacher Incentive Fund 4 (TIF 4) Initiative: Student Learning Objectives
by Alyson Kendrick, TIF Grant Coordinator
How does TIF 4 fit into the bigger picture?
One of the primary goals of TIF 4 is to improve student achievement by improving teacher and principal practice. We have been working towards this end
locally and at the state level. WCSD is uniquely positioned with TIF 4 to develop with educators a comprehensive system for effective compensation, while helping
the state and nation learn what works well in accomplishing this goal. The compensation system will be at only the TIF 4 schools. TIF 4 also aligns to other
district initiatives, such as rigorously evaluating observations of practice and emphasizing the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
education. Learn more about the goals of TIF 4 at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/teacherincentive/index.html
What are SLOs?
Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) are carefully planned, long-term goals for what students will learn over a period of time.
While a variety of approaches to SLOs are currently being used across the country in over 2000 districts to measure student growth at the classroom level,
key components of SLOs include the identification of students, standards, assessments, and strategies for attaining growth targets. SLO’s will be piloted in the nine
TIF 4 schools during 2013-2014 SY and District-wide during the 2014-2015 SY. Learn more about SLOs at http://www.ctacusa.com/studentlearningobjectives.html
How will SLOs impact me as an educator?
SLOs provide both a means for educators to demonstrate their expertise in numerous aspects of the profession, and also a means for educators to be supported by
administrators to improve their practice. TIF 4 stipulates that classroom-level student growth must comprise a significant portion of an educator’s evaluation, which coincides
with the direction of our State as well. How that looks exactly for WCSD is being decided by the TIF Steering Committee, with the input of a wide variety of WCSD stakeholders.
What training and support will schools receive?
The pilot schools have already received an overview of TIF 4, with orientations coming later this school year. Hands-on training for each participating site
will be provided this coming fall, with web- and video-enabled support as needed. The district has committed to providing several key support personnel specific to TIF 4,
given the scope and nature of the grant. Learn more about the training and support for TIF 4 at http://www.washoe.k12.nv.us/staff/teacher-incentive-fund.
TIF 4 schools: Sparks HS, Sparks MS, Agnes Risley ES, Lincoln Park ES, Florence Drake ES, Robert Mitchell ES, Alice Maxwell ES, Kate Smith ES
For more information contact, Alyson Kendrick, TIF Grant Coordinator.
akendrick@washoeschools.net
