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Saturday, August 22, 2015

The Washington Teacher: Rockin' IMPACT: How to Improve Your Teacher Evaluation Score

The Washington Teacher: Rockin' IMPACT: How to Improve Your Teacher Evaluation Score:

Rockin' IMPACT: How to Improve Your Teacher Evaluation Score





By Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

Great teachers are not born, they're made. It takes time to become a great teacher.

We are more than just the sum of our teacher evaluation (IMPACT) scores. But let's face it, IMPACT scores determine whether teachers remain in our school system or get fired. I've seen great teachers get forced out of DC Public Schools because they didn't really have a good grasp of the Teach standards by which teachers are judged. Not to mention the training that has been provided in recent years by DCPS has been less than adequate.

It seems like a 'no-brainer' to me that professional development is one of the main ingredients to turning around teachers' effectiveness. Not just any professional development but specific training on the Teaching and Learning Framework (TLF), Common Core state standards and job-embedded professional development.

When I learned of the Masted Educator led professional development series on IMPACT last year, I began encouraging many of the teachers I knew to sign up for a workshop after school. After all, getting training on strategies to improve your teaching practice from the very people that evaluate you- couldn't hurt, in my opinion.
I hope all new DCPS teachers and any teacher who has received a Developing or Minimally Effective IMPACT evaluation score last school year will sign up for one of the Master Educator Led professional development sessions, - Setting Up For Success.

This year, Master educators will host Teach Sessions to introduce and deepen understanding of the Teaching & Learning Framework. Four series (General Education, Special Education, Language Acquisition and Early Childhood) will be provided starting on August 24.

All participants must register for each session they will attend on PD Planner at dcps.schoolnet.com or complete the Google Survey at https://goo.gl/5dfsKP. Participants will receive 2 PLUs for each session. For more information, please see the  “Setting Up For Success PD Sessions" flyer below or reach out toimpact.dcps@dc.gov or contact them on 202-719-6553.

Hope you will share the flyer with your colleagues and encourage them to sign up as well. Use the scroll bar on the right of the flyer to see the entire flyer. Here’s to a successful year and Rockin' your Impact evaluation!