Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District

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BERNE - KNOX- WESTERLO WINTER/SPRING 2013 CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BKW’s APPR plan approved by NY State Plan lays out guidelines for teacher, principal performance evaluations and scores In mid-January, BKW’s Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) plan received approval from the New York State Education Department. The approval satisfies a requirement of the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) education initiative and makes BKW eligible to continue receiving federal Race to the Top and state education aid. BKW’s Teacher Score Makeup 20% 20% 60% BKW’s Principal Score Makeup 20% 20% 60% Student growth based on state tests or comparable measures when state testing growth is not available for a specific grade. District developed assessments and/or achievement on the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress). Multiple measures aligned with the New York State Teaching Standards including administrator observations, peer observations, and lesson plan evaluations, among other factors. The District and the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Teachers Association have chosen the Danielson’s Framework for Teaching (2007 Edition) as the rubric for this portion of the score. Student growth based on state tests or comparable measures when state testing growth is not available for a specific grade. Achievement on the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments by NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association). Multiple measures aligned with the New York State Leadership Standards. The District and the Helderberg Administrators Association have chosen the Multidimensional Principal Performance Rubric as the rubric for this portion of the score. The approval is the result of months of collaboration between the BKW administration, the BKW Teachers Association, the Helderberg Administrators Association and the BKW Board of Education to craft the district’s APPR plan. What is APPR APPR is a teacher and principal evaluation system that rates educators at the end of every school year with a number grade that represents the effectiveness of the educator. The number grade is between 0 and 100 points and is calculated based on a set of standards developed by the district in coordination with requirements mandated by the New York State Board of Regents. For the first time ever, New York state requires that a portion of teacher evaluation is directly tied to student performance. APPR is just one of the many reforms put in place by the New York State Board of Regents (NYSBOR) to improve student learning. It was developed to improve the state’s educational system and support the professional growth of educators in APPR Score Ranges 4 the state, which, according to the NYSBOR should ultimately lead to students being better prepared for college and career. What is in BKW’s APPR plan BKW has had an APPR plan in place since September 2011, but has, with the guidance of the State Education Department, updated and refined the plan to its current form. As mentioned, New York now requires that student performance on state exams factor into individual teachers’ evaluations. Other factors will include growth in students’ work and assessment of classroom skills through observations by a trained evaluator. Administrator evaluations will consider factors like growth toward determined goals, a supervisor’s (or other trained evaluator’s) assessment of leadership and management, and other additional benchmarks. When will the APPR scores be released Although the New York State Education Department has said teacher ratings will be released to the parents of students in each teacher’s classroom (or in each principal’s school), it is not yet clear how the release of these ratings will be implemented by NYSED. The ratings for the 2012-13 school year are anticipated in the fall of 2013. Read BKW’s full APPR plan at: http://bkwschools.org/Academics/PDFs/ BKWAPPRPlan.pdf 0-64 Ineffective (Performance is Unacceptable) 65-74 Developing (Not Performing at Level Expected) 75-90 Effective (Performing at Level Expected) 91-100 Highly Effective (Performing at a Higher Level)
BERNE - KNOX- WESTERLO www.bkwschools.org CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT What is APPR 10 things to know about the new teacher evaluation system CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 evaluation is directly tied to student performance. There are many details to understand about APPR, so here are 10 helpful facts: 1. In order to receive federal Race to the Top and state education aid, all school districts in New York were required by Jan. 17, 2013, to have adopted and received state approval of APPR plans. BKW’s APPR plan was approved by the Board of Education on Nov. 28, 2012, and by New York State in early January. 2. Each teacher and principal in grades K-12 will receive a rating of either: highly effective, effective, developing or ineffective – every year. 3. Teacher ratings will be based on a 100-point score. A score between 0-64 would classify a teacher as “ineffective.” Those with a rating of 65-74 points are “developing,” and 75 to 90 points signifies “effective.” A rating from 91-100 means a teacher is “highly effective.” 4. The 100-point score will be based on observations of teachers in the classroom, student growth based on state tests OR progress made toward meeting studentlearning objectives (a.k.a. SLOs) and on other measures of student achievement determined by the Board of Education, the BKW Teacher’s Association and New York State Education Department (NYSED). To find out what specific items make up the BKW 100-point teacher score, read the accompanying APPR story in this newsletter or visit the district website for the full APPR plan: http://bkwschools.org/ Academics/PDFs/BKWAPPRPlan.pdf. 5. The exact details of the ratings will vary by district as a result of district policies and negotiations that are included in local teacher and administrator contracts. So, ratings for BKW teachers may not be based on exactly the same measures as other districts in the area. 6. The majority of the APPR must be bargained locally, but must also follow the extensive regulations from the NYSED. 7. For subjects without a state assessment test, teachers must use a Student Learning Objective (SLO) to gauge student growth. This is an academic goal for students set at the start of a course that represents the most important learning of the year. SLOs must be based on student learning that is measurable, and must also be aligned to New York state’s Common Core Learning Standards. 8. Teachers will be observed at least twice a year by the building principal or a trained administrator, and one of those observations must be unannounced. 9. All APPR plans must include improvement plans and an appeals process for those who are rated as ineffective. 10. Although the NYSED has said teacher ratings will be released to parents, it is not clear how the release of these ratings will be implemented. The ratings for the 2012-13 school year are anticipated in the fall of 2013. Cheerleaders take on national competition CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 total of 30 other teams, among them were 5 previous national champions. BKW made a strong showing, finishing 24th and missed the finals by only a few points. “Cheerleading does not have a defined season in most states, so we were competing with teams that have been cheering since August for football,” said Allen. “There were also teams in our division from schools more than twice our size and we were also dealing with injuries and illness. Having only ran our routine a week prior to leaving, I am very proud of how well the routine came together, the effort the girls made and how well they showed at the competition. All the teams did extremely well!” After the competition, the BKW cheerleading team celebrated by going to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. On their last day in Florida, they watched the finals of the competition and finished off the trip with a visit to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. “I’m so unbelievably proud of the work and dedication of our squad,” said Allen. “Not just of their dedication to practice and pride in their community, but the hard work they had to put in just to make this trip happen. It was certainly a time to remember.” Want to see the BKW cheer squad’s routine at the national competition Visit our website: http://bkwschools.org/secondary/morenews/20 1213/120214cheernationals.cfm 5
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Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District

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