ARTICLE IX EVALUATION PROCEDURES
A. It is understood and agreed by the parties that their principal objective is to maintain or improve the quality of education in the District. It is further understood and agreed that this objective can be more readily achieved by the manifest willingness on the part of the District to assist all employees in improving their professional skills. The California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP), are the basic framework for the evaluation process (refer to Appendix C).
B. Evaluation Procedure
1. Every probationary employee shall be evaluated by the principal/designee, in writing, at least once each school year and have at least two (2) formal observations, which will be at least 30 minutes in length, and will have at least six (6) informal observations taking place (at least two (2) before the first formal observation and at least two (2) before the second formal observation).
2. Permanent employees will be evaluated at least every two (2) years and will have at least one (1) formal observation, which will be at least 30 minutes in length and completed by March 1, and will have at least four (4) informal observations taking place as needed (at least two (2) before the formal observation). Permanent employees may, upon submission of written request by the third week of school, receive an annual written evaluation. Permanent teacher evaluations will be completed by April 15 unless the teacher’s or principal/designee’s absence makes this impossible.
Effective July 1, 2015 and pursuant to Education Code 44664, employees with permanent status who have been employed at least ten (10) years with the school district, are highly qualified, if those personnel occupy positions that are required to be filled by a highly qualified professional by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301, et seq.), as defined in 20 U.S.C. Sec. 7801, and whose next evaluation rates the employee as meeting or exceeding standards, will be evaluated every five years. The certificated employee or the evaluator may withdraw consent at any time.
3. If a teacher receives a rating of “Needs Improvement” on the Summative Evaluation, the teacher will be evaluated again the following year. A rating of “Needs Improvement” for an additional year will require that the teacher participate in the Professional Teacher Support Program (PTSP). (Article XII, Section E, “Referred Teacher”)
4. Teachers receiving a rating of “Unsatisfactory” shall be mandated to participate in the Professional Teacher Support Program. (Article XII, Section E, “Referred Teacher”)
C. Evaluation Sequence 43 July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2018
1. General Conference: A general conference and staff orientation shall be held within the first 30 workdays of the school year to review the evaluation criteria, procedures, timelines and terms set forth in this article.
2. Goal Setting Conference: A goal setting conference between the principal/designee and the employee shall be held prior to the end of the seventh week of the school year or the teacher’s work year to discuss:
a. Objectives and standards to be achieved during the evaluation period as outlined on the Professional Goal Setting Form (Appendix C: Form B, Sections I – IV);
b. A schedule for formal observation, conferencing and the Summative Evaluation completion date. In the event of a disagreement over the objectives, goals, strategies, selected standards, evidence chosen and/or evaluation schedule, the teacher and the principal/designee shall:
i. Make a good faith effort to resolve the differences themselves.
ii. If the disagreement persists, either party may invite the superintendent/ designee to assist in resolving the differences, and/or to adjudicate the dispute.
iii. If the teacher disputes the superintendent/designee’s decision he/she may provide a written statement to be attached to the summative evaluation form.
c. The evaluatee may request, at any time, an additional formal observation by the principal/designee. If there is mutual agreement, an additional formal observation will be held.
3. Pre-observation conference: The pre-observation conference shall be arranged by the principal/designee and the employee to occur at least three (3) working days in advance of the formal observation. Prior to the formal observation, the principal/ designee and the employee shall discuss the elements of the lesson plan, including goals and objectives, on which the observation/evaluation is to be based. Teachers submit the Lesson Plan Outline, Pre-Observation, and Reflection Form at this time.
4. Formal Observations: The principal/designee will conduct formal observations that address the California Standards for the Teaching Profession.
5. Post-Observation Conferences: The post-observation conferences shall be held within five (5) working days following the scheduled formal observations. At least 48 hours prior to the post-observation conferences, the teacher will submit the Reflection section of the Lesson Plan Outline, Pre-Observation, and Reflection Form to the principal/designee. During the conference the principal/designee discusses the teacher’s reflection and the principal/designee observation. Within ten (10) working days of the post-observation conference the principal/designee will provide written feedback regarding the observation. The five (5) and ten (10) working day windows may be delayed if either party is absent for illness or district/school related business. 44 July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2018
6. Informal observations may be held at the discretion of the principal/designee with appropriate conferences, as needed any time during the year and as outlined in Article IX.B. The principal/designee will provide the teacher with written feedback if there are areas of concern within two (2) working days. At the teacher’s request, the administrator will meet within ten (10) days to discuss areas of concern.
7. Summative Evaluations: Probationary teachers will have at least one (1) Summative Evaluation that will include ratings. The Probationary 2 Summative Evaluation shall be completed by February 15. The Probationary 1 and all other probationary and temporary teacher Summative Evaluations shall be completed by April 15. Permanent teachers being evaluated will have one (1) Summative Evaluation that will include ratings. This Summative Evaluation shall be completed by April 15. By the dates outlined above, the principal/designee and teacher shall meet to review the teacher’s job performance and progress, and to sign the Summative Evaluation document.
a) Informal observations, formal observations, and adherence to professional assignments and responsibilities will be considered in the Summative Evaluation.
b) The Summative Evaluation should reflect evidence, data and information gathered by the administrator, and will be collected from observable behavior and/or written documentation (lesson plan forms, teacher logs, student work, observation notes, etc.) This information will be discussed with the teacher in a timely manner and prior to the Summative Evaluation.
c) A teacher may present or the principal/designee may request additional logs, records and other evidence to support adherence to the CSTP.
d) Pursuant to Education Code 44664, the evaluation shall include recommendations, if necessary, as to areas of improvement in the performance of the employee. If an employee is not performing his or her duties in a satisfactory manner according to the standards prescribed by the governing board, the employing authority shall notify the employee in writing of the fact and describe the unsatisfactory performance. The employing authority shall thereafter confer with the employee making specific recommendations as to areas of improvement in the employee’s performance and endeavor to assist the employee in his or her performance.
e) The teacher’s signature shall not imply concurrence, only that he/she has had an opportunity to review and discuss the content.
f) The teacher may file a written response and such response will be filed with the evaluation document.
8. Professional Goal Setting Conference: Either during the teacher’s Summative Evaluation Conference or by June 1, the teacher will review their Reflection of the Professional Goal Setting Form with the principal/designee and discuss recommendations for future goals. 45 July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2018 D. Both the certificated employee and the principal/designee shall take action to correct any cited deficiencies. Such action may include direct assistance in implementing such recommendations or release time for the certificated employee to visit and observe other similar classes in other schools.
E. Bargaining unit members will not be required to do formal Summative Evaluations of other unit members’ evaluations.
F. Evaluations shall not be predicated upon information or material of a derogatory or critical nature which has been received by the principal/designee from students, parents and/or citizens unless the following procedures have been followed:
1. Any student, parent or citizen complaint about a teacher shall be reported to the teacher by the administrator receiving the complaint, within ten (10) days of receipt, if the complaint may be used against the teacher.
2. Should the involved teacher or administrator believe allegations in the complaint warrant a meeting, a meeting shall be scheduled during the teacher workday. If the complainant refuses to attend the meeting, the complaint shall be considered withdrawn.
3. If the matter is not resolved at the meeting to the satisfaction of the complainant, he/she shall put the complaint in writing and submit copies to the teacher and the immediate supervisor. The teacher shall be given time during the work day, without salary deduction, to review the complaint.
4. If the teacher believes the complaint is false, a grievance may be initiated to determine the validity of such complaint. If no written complaint is received, the matter shall be dropped.
5. Complaints which are withdrawn, or shown to be false, or are not sustained by the grievance procedure shall neither be placed in the teacher’s personnel file nor utilized in any evaluation or disciplinary action against the teacher.
G. Nothing contained in these evaluation procedures shall be construed as prohibiting the District from giving employees other forms of feedback, suggestions, or direction regarding the performance of their duties and responsibilities.
H. The term “designee” in “principal/designee” as used in this Article shall mean a certified employee of the District.
I. After a period of five years, a teacher may request to have derogatory or negative information/contents (other than evaluations) removed from his/her personnel file.
J. Counselors Up to four (4) District administrators and up to four (4) members appointed by the Association will work together to align an evaluation with the American School Counselors Association national standards model with the goal of an approved new evaluation process within four (4) months after the ratification of this Article by both NTA and Natomas Unified 46 July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2018 Board of Trustees. Once agreement is reached it will be included in the contract as Appendix F.
See Counselor Evaluation – Appendix F.
K. Psychologists See Psychologist Evaluation – Appendix G.
Natomas Teachers' Association 