Whitman Elementary - Tulsa Public Schools

Use of Performance Data for Hiring, Retention of Dismissal
Retention/Dismissal. As noted above, the District’s successful evaluation system (the TLE
Observation and Evaluation System) provides teachers with a performance ranking on a scale from 1-5.
The TLE evaluation system provides teachers with a five-tier support system for improvement, but when
they fail to improve, the District’s performance-based exit procedures go into effect and provide for
their timely release from the District.
In the months following the district-wide implementation of the
TLE evaluation system in 2010-2011, the Human Capital personnel successfully exited 57 teachers from
the District for poor performance through recommendations for non-renewal and termination
proceedings. These exits targeted teachers whose performance rankings were 1 or 2 (Ineffective or
Needs Improvement). Due process hearings, as applicable, were held throughout the summer of 2011
and all recommendations for non-renewal and termination were adopted by the Board. Many other
teachers were counseled out of the District for performance reasons prior to this time.
The District is aggressive in seeking performance-based exits, but it also recognizes that teachers
must be supported and provided a chance to improve prior to any removal from the District. As a
precursor to the District’s support/release program , over 130 Personal Development Plans (plans for
improvement) were issued for teachers. At least 29 teachers were also placed in an intensive
remediation-based mentoring program lasting 8 weeks.
It is notable that prior to the implementation of the TLE Evaluation System in 2010-2011, there
had been no performance-based exiting of teachers or principals and a very small number of personal
development plans. A significant support for this occurrence was the complete reorganization of the
District’s entire human capital department and the addition of a team of Human Capital Partners. The
human resource function at the District has been completely restructured, with a new approach to
recruitment, retention, and development. The addition of the Human Capital Partner position has
provided a cadre of HC liaisons to quickly respond to the staffing needs of every building principal, as
well as support the implementation of the new evaluation system and the necessary exiting procedures.
Human Capital Partners—experts in teacher-related human capital matters—are assigned to
specific schools and assist principals throughout the school year with regard to evaluation processes and
substantive personnel matters. They are the principal’s primary human capital (HC) contact. They
provide invaluable support to their clients by:
• Directing and coordinating evaluations;
• Providing assistance, guidance and review of PDPs (Personal Development Plans); and
• Assisting with the compilation of necessary documentation for employment actions,
including coordination with legal staff to satisfy procedural requirements for dismissal;
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