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504.1

Certified Staff Evaluation Process

Evaluation is intended to be a collaborative experience to support professional growth. There are several components to the evaluation process in the District, and certified staff engage in specific components of the evaluation process, depending on where they are in their profession.

Teachers
Teachers work with other teachers and building administrators to improve and reflect upon their practice and advance themselves professionally. All teachers regardless of their years of teaching will have an Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP) and participate in the Peer Review process each year.

There are several components to the evaluation process in the District and teachers engage in specific components of the evaluation process, depending on where they are in their profession.

Teachers are grouped as follows:

  • An initial licensed teacher is a teacher new to the profession of teaching, in their first or second year of teaching. Some new to the profession teachers may also be on an initial license in their third year of teaching. Teachers that are new to the District in their second or third year in the profession are also considered an initial licensed teacher
  • A career teacher is a teacher that is new to District and has several years of teaching experience
  • A veteran teacher is a teacher that has been in the District for several years, has surpassed the initial teaching license, and is on the evaluation cycle that includes a summative evaluation every three years

Initial Licensed Teachers

  • Will have at least one observation in each year
  • May be asked to provide additional supporting documents to verify their work under the eight Iowa Teaching Standards.
  • During the teacher’s first year of teaching, the evaluator will complete a summative evaluation on the teacher’s performance to that point on the eight teaching standards.
  • During the teacher’s second year, the administrator will complete a formal observation around the eight Iowa Teaching Standards
  • The evaluating Administrator will have a summative evaluation written after observation.
  • Teachers recommended for a third-year initial license will be evaluated with this same process.

Career Teachers

  • Are considered to be a veteran teacher on the third year of the evaluation cycle
  • Have a formal observation and reflection on the observation with the building administrator
  • Have an opportunity to reflect on their professional growth around the eight teaching standards
  • A summative evaluation is the product of this reflection and conversation.

Veteran Teachers
Veteran teachers in the 1st and 2nd year of the 3-year cycle

  • Will have a yearly IPDP meeting with their administrator to reflect on the previous year’s IPDP and develop an IPDP for the new school year.
  • The IPDP will be carried out as part of a peer review team but everyone has an individual IPDP
  • Progress may be discussed at the end of the school year or in the fall at the beginning of the school year.
  • IPDP plans can be modified at any time by mutual agreement.
    Veteran teachers in their 3rd year of the cycle require a formal evaluation. In addition, the teacher will have at least one observation and reflection around the eight teaching standards with their evaluator.

Timelines

  • For all teachers, the IPDP should be reviewed during the first 45 days of school and peer review teams established.
  • All observations must be completed and reviewed by May 1st of each year.
  • All evaluations must be discussed prior to the last 10 days of school and submitted to Human Resources by August 31st of each year.
  • Progress on IPDP is recommended to be reviewed in the spring.
  • It is recommended that teachers on a 3-year evaluation refer to the summative throughout the year and document supportive evidence.

Peer Review
In addition to the evaluative steps above, all teacher will also participate in the Peer Review process which became part of the Education Reform Legislation in 2013. This is a requirement for all certified teachers to engage in a collaborative process to support professional growth. The Peer Review Process is non-evaluative review of every teacher every year conducted by other teachers and is not tied to summative evaluation. The process will be documented each year on the teacher’s IPDP.

  • Approved: 11-10-14
  • Revised: 11-18-19
  • Documents: 504.1
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