This may be the best TIP you will get all year! If you take it, you will have a much better, and productive, school year. Hundreds of SAM teams swear this is true! This TIP works for principal supervisors, too!
Remember last March when you were frantic to complete the formal teacher evaluations? How would you like to get a head-start?
Every district requires teachers to be formally evaluated. These formal evaluations can be valuable if coupled with the frequent observations and feedback great SAM principals do every week.
Why not get a head start and schedule each of the required pieces in TimeTrack right now? Sit down as a SAM team and determine what each teacher has to have as part of the formal evaluation. For most systems there are four things you will want to schedule for each teacher:
1. Pre-conference (A time for the principal and teacher to discuss concerns, what the principal will be looking for during the formal observation and what the teacher can share about the lesson to be taught/observed.)
2. Observation (The set amount of time the principal will observe the teacher.)
3. Office Work/Prep (The time the principal will need to complete the formal evaluation paperwork and think through the message(s) he/she wants to give the teacher. Hint: If your principal says: “I’ll do all of the office work at home.” Suggest he/she do one or two at school. This will make for a happier and more effective principal. Really.
4. Post-conference (A time for the principal to share the formal evaluation paperwork and discuss points of celebration, directive and non-directive feedback to help the teacher improve.)
Keep in mind that the number of observations vary in most systems based on the teacher’s experience and past performance. Start with the “regular” teachers and get them entered in TimeTrack. This will make it so much easier for you to stay on track and complete this formal part of evaluation. It will also allow you to begin scheduling the more frequent informal observation and feedback sessions that we know best help teachers improve.
Don’t forget to use the automatic reminder in TimeTrack to let teachers know in advance of the scheduled sessions.
Does scheduling all of the teachers seem overwhelming? If so, start with a single grade level or department and get the teachers in that group scheduled.. ..then do a second grade level/department next week. This will give you a much happier and smoother year. By the way, a new TimeTrack upgrade will appear mid-year that will allow you to automate this process: select the teachers, set the time frame, and TimeTrack will pre-schedule for you.
Can’t wait!
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