Hi. My name is Ashley. And today's lesson is titled Aligning Professional Development Plans to School and District Goals.
In today's lesson, we will review how schools and districts align their goals to the evaluation process and identify how student learning objectives are involved in the evaluation process.
How do schools and districts align their goals to the evaluation process? Most school districts have a strategic plan that maps out the focus areas and initiatives of the district for up to five years. These goals should be considered when deciding professional growth goals. Many schools also have a school improvement plan. This is another good resource to use when considering your own personal professional goals.
When deciding on whether your goals are aligned with district goals and plans, ask yourself the following questions. What initiatives are outlined? Do I have the necessary skills in those areas? Are there any initiatives that I would like to have a leadership role in where I can receive training and development?
What are the goals that I have for my students? What can I do to help my students reach these goals? What kind of training would I need to help me reach my goal? Teachers who are unable to answer these questions, possibly teachers new to the district, may benefit from working with a coach, principal, or team member when establishing or reviewing goals.
How are student learning objectives involved in the evaluation process? Student data is included in the evaluation process. This data is normally derived from standardized assessments. In other cases, teachers establish annual student objectives that are based on the curriculum and are tied to the school improvement plan or the district's strategic plan. Student learning objectives identify what students are supposed to know by the end of the school year.
Let's say you give a baseline writing prompt. 25% of the students are at proficient. 50% of students are below proficient. And 25% of students are way below the proficient level. The goal is that by the end of the year, each student would have increased at least one proficiency level.
Learning objectives require a baseline to be given in order to identify each student's current level of performance. Opportunities for practice are given throughout the year, with a final assessment at the end of the year to assess growth. Learning objectives are most often aligned closely to the school improvement plan. School improvement plan goals include all of the data from all of the students in the building. Student learning objectives that are created by the teachers are based on data and includes students as a subset of the entire school.
Let's recap what we have discussed in today's lesson. When considering your goals for your evaluation process, consider goals and initiatives of your school or district. These goals may be identified on the school improvement plan or the district's strategic plan.
We also discussed how learning objectives are also involved in the evaluation process. When establishing learning objectives, first provide your students with a baseline assessment to identify their current level of performance. This will allow you to show growth throughout the year that will also be reflective of your teaching practices, which will be needed for your evaluation.
How can you ensure that your professional development plans are aligned to school and district goals? As you reflect on how this information can be applied, you may want to explore the Additional Resources section that accompanies this video presentation. This is where you'll find links to resources chosen to help you deepen your learning and explore ways to apply your newly acquired skill set.
Overview
(00:00 - 00:13) Introduction
(00:14 - 00:33) What Will You Learn Today?
(00:34 - 01:51) How do Schools and Districts Align their Goals to the Evaluation Process?
(01:52 - 03:22) How are Student Learning Objectives Involved in the Evaluation Process?
(03:23 - 04:05) What Did You Learn Today?
(04:06 - 04:32) Reflection
Quick Reference Guide: Educator Evaluation & Professional Development
This reference guide from the Massachusetts Department of Education is a useful tool when aligning professional development to district and school goals.
http://www.doe.mass.edu/edeval/resources/qrg-profdev.pdf
Professional Development: Learning from the Best
This useful toolkit, although an older resource, includes relevant processes and templates for aligning professional development goals to district and school goals and objectives.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED438255.pdf