Target 2 – Leadership in a Student Centered Learning Environment. FWSU will foster development of teacher & student leaders who provide innovative opportunities for local and global student-centered learning.
Action Step -Redefine high performance in a
student-centered, collaborative, technologically rich learning environment.Indicator of Success -Teachers embrace role of coach, facilitator and co-learner in a student-centered learning environment.
Recently the FWSU Evaluation Committee started its third year of work to redefine how teaching and learning is evaluated in all schools within Franklin West Supervisory Union. The basis for the formation of this working group is in response to the FWSU Board of Directors’ request for a comprehensive review of our teacher evaluation model. They charged the administration to make adjustments or revisions where necessary with a focus on measuring student growth and student outcomes.
This is our second year of implementation of the system in all FWSU schools emphasizing professional growth and effectiveness of our educators. Our model is based on the Vermont Guidelines for Teacher & Leader Effectiveness which was developed by the Vermont Agency of Education in 2012. Here are some of the highlights of the system:
- Professional performance rubric, including a rubric on family and community engagement, based on the work of Kim Marshall
- Yearly observations and evaluations of all teachers through the use of the mini-observation model
- Online professional portfolio
- Peer to peer collaborative feedback
- Stakeholder feedback
This year our committee is again comprised of teachers and administrators from all of our schools: John Viau (BFA), Heather Sikorsky (GEMS), Jenny Blackman (FES), Mary Lynn Riggs (FWSU), Jensen Welch (BFA), Ned Kirsch (FWSU), Karen Lehning (GEMS), Mary Fitzgerald (BFA), Chris Dodge (FES), and Juliet King (BFA). Committee membership is open to all teachers and administrators in FWSU.
Last year the committee’s primary focus was to create a mechanism for gathering stakeholder feedback to incorporate in the evaluation process. Working with our partners at Panorama Education, the committee designed and piloted school and classroom surveys. In December, students and parents throughout FWSU will be asked to participate in a survey about their classroom and school experiences. The information collected from the surveys will be used to improve instruction and enhance how our schools serve the communities of Fletcher, Georgia, and Fairfax.
This year the major work of the committee is to develop a method for integrating student learning objectives into the evaluation model. A Student Learning Objective (SLO) is a measurable, long-term, academic growth target that a teacher sets at the beginning of the year for all students or for subgroups of students. SLOs demonstrate a teacher’s impact on student learning. You can learn more about SLOs here.
As in the past, the committee will continue to use feedback from teachers and principals to make adjustments to our system. If you are interested in learning more, read the full evaluation process document.
Read more about the history of this committee and its work in blog posts featured here.
The FWSU Story 