Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Teachers Attend Training Session
NEW EVALUATION SYSTEM AIMS TO PROVIDE CONSISTENCY
FARMINGTON — About 500 school administrators from the area attended training sessions last week at the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative to learn about the state’s new teacher evaluation system.
The Arkansas Teacher Excellence Support System (TESS) is based on state Act 1209, approved in the 2011 legislative session.
Farmington Assistant Superintendent Terri Strope said the system is a “pretty inclusive evaluation system” that is designed to improve instruction in the classroom.
According to the Arkansas Department of Education website, the new evaluation system is intended to provide a consistent evaluation system across the state, with feedback and support for teachers on strengths and areas for growth.
“It is an effort to help teachers improve education at all performance levels,” the website states.
Under the law, any administrators who will evaluate teachers are required to attend a one-day training session, follow-up with about 20 hours of online learning and pass a test to be eligible to evaluate teachers. In all, administrators have to log in 36 training hours and must pass the certification test by Aug. 31.
The department of education has contracted with two retired educators to serve as consultants for the training and both led the first round of workshops last week in Farmington. Five day-long sessions were held during the week and administrators who participated included superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals and other district staff from school districts in Washington, Benton and Madison counties.
From Farmington, consultants Diann Gathright and Jim Johnson will travel to the state’s other coops to train staff in those areas.
The new evaluation system will be piloted across the state in 2013-14 and goes into effect in 2014-15.
The timeline for the law shows that the one-day training for administrators will be held across the state in January and February. In March, administrators will receive training on leading face-toface workshops with teachers. Teachers will attend an initial three-hour training this summer and then must complete about 21 hours of online training by May 31, 2014. The new evaluation system does not require teachers to take an assessment test.
Gathright said the Arkansas teacher evaluation system is based on an education model designed by Charlotte Danielson, an internationally recognized expert in the area of teacher effectiveness. Danielson’s framework divides a teacher evaluation into 22 components with four major areas: planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibilities.
Teachers will be scored in each component on a rubric that gives grades of unsatisfactory, basic, proficient or distinguished. A teacher’s professional growth plan will be based on the evaluation.
Missy Hixson, Prairie Grove’s curriculum coordinator, said last week’s session gave an overview of the law, guidelines for implementing the law and instructions on taking the comprehensive exam. She said the online test for administrators has two parts and each part takes about three hours to complete.
Hixson said she likes the new evaluation system, noting it will be a model that is the same across the state. She pointed out an evaluation in Little Rock would be the same as an evaluation in Prairie Grove.
Her concern, she said, is “the rush we have to get it done.”
She pointed out that the second semester is a busy time for administrators because of spring testing, graduation and other school activities.
“We’re not complaining about the system. It’s just finding the time to get it done,” Hixson said.
Prairie Grove already uses an evaluation system similar to the Charlotte Danielson model, so implementing the new evaluation program should not be difficult for Prairie Grove, Hixson said.
Strope said Farmington’s goal is for all administrators to finish their on-line training and take the assessment by the end of the school year.
The teacher’s initial threehour training will be held in June and then group sessions will be held during the summer. She said the district hopes that all teachers will be able to complete their online training by the end of the summer so they will not have to worry about it during the school year.
Strope said Farmington already uses an earlier version of Danielson’s model. The new state law is based on Danielson’s second edition model.
She said teachers are a “little nervous” about the new law but added, “Once they get into training, I think they’ll be fine.”