Teacher Principal Evaluation Systems
Educator Evaluation Information
As part of federal requirements for states receiving funding under Phase 2 of the State Fiscal Stabilization Funds Program, all school districts in New Jersey are providing information to the public on procedures they use to evaluate teachers and principals. The information presented below will help you understand the Greenwich Township School District’s policies and procedures for evaluating principals.
Description of the Teacher Evaluation System
The evaluation framework identifies four critical domains: Planning and Preparation, Classroom Environment, Instruction and Professional Responsibilities of effective teaching. Using a range of feedback mechanisms, the district evaluates each educator based on performance within these domains. Said mechanisms include classroom observations, teacher and student work samples, pre and post conferencing, and other relevant artifacts. Tenured teachers are evaluated once or more a year while non-tenured teachers are evaluated three or more times a year.
Since the Greenwich Township schools typically perform well by standardized measures, we have not included test scores or similar assessments in the evaluation process. If there was a significant drop in student achievement, then we would revisit that issue. In the meantime, the public should be assured that we challenge ourselves by setting new goals on an annual basis and are making every effort to ensure that all students in the system are successful.
Description of the Principal Evaluation System
The Greenwich Township School District’s certified principals are evaluated in accordance with state laws and regulations, as well as Board policy and regulations. Principal evaluations reference the New Jersey Professional Standards for School Leaders and contain the following evidence: Portfolio/work samples, school climate indicators, self-leadership assessment/evaluation, school/community communications, student performance/achievement outcomes, documented, completed teacher evaluations, goal setting, progress and completion reporting.
Evaluations are narrative and include opportunities for pre and post conferencing. The narrative includes comments, commendations, recommendations, goals-progress and completion, and a summative statement. Performance evaluation is informed through the written paragraphs and includes specific, as well as summative performance evaluation. Tenured Principals are evaluated formally once a year while non-tenured principals are evaluated three times a year.
Results inform the following areas: professional development, individual Professional Growth Plans, tenure decisions, recommendation for continued employment, selection of specific roles for duties, and principal placements.
The Greenwich Township School District believes that the evaluation of a principal is a serious and complex matter. There are a multiple issues that enter into the evaluation process. Some of the criteria such as student discipline records and test scores are much more tangible than other items which include climate and culture in the school, along with staff and student morale. Since the Greenwich Township Schools typically perform well by standardized measures, we have not included test scores or similar assessments in the evaluation process. If there was a significant drop in student achievement, then we would revisit that issue. In the meantime, the public should be assured that we challenge ourselves by setting new goals on an annual basis and making every effort to ensure that all students in the system are successful.