Teacher and Certificated staff evaluation is controlled by the TEACH-NJ Act. The Act mandates the creation of a District Evaluation & Assessment Committee (DEAC) to create the district evaluation procedures within the confines of the law and a School Improvement Panel (ScIP) to evaluate professional development needs at each school. Each teacher is given a yearly summative rating. The rating is the combination of the observations and the SGO scores. A yearly rating of 2.65 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) is required for Effective ratings. Any rating under that necessitates the creation of a Corrective Action Plan (CAP). Anyone less than Effective for two consecutive years can face tenure charges (loss of job). The district received a waiver from the NJ Dept. of Education in 2016-17 to lower the number of observations to 2 for all who are currently proficient and not on corrective action plans. As regulations change often, it is recommended that you consult Achieve NJ, the Dept. of Ed.'s resource page periodically for updated and definitive information. Do not rely on what the rumor mill or word of mouth tells you.
For most teachers, observations count as 85% of their annual summative rating. For ALL 15% is from SGOs. For teachers of grades 4-8 language arts and 4-7 mathematics, 55% is from observations and you also receive a student growth percentile (SGP) which is 30% of the annual summative rating. For more information see this NJEA resource page.
Please Click on the following links for additional information and to download documents:
- NJEA Teacher Evaluation Resource Guide: TeacherEvalResourceGuide
- NJ Dept. of Educ. Teach NJ Guide: TeachNJGuide
- NJEA's 2014 Advisory on TEACH-NJ changes: Advisory on Proposed Evaluation Regulation Changes 8-14
- NJEA's 2013 SGO / Evaluation Powerpoint (large file): SGOFall2013
- NJEA ScIP Advisory: ScIP Advisory final 8 22 13 - Please read if you are on a ScIP.
- Post Conference Questions: Post-Conference Questions004
- Contract Observation Procedures: contract observation procedures004
- Rebuttal Guidelines: rebuttal guidelines035-2
- Evaluation Guidelines: VPS_DEAC_Evaluation_Guidelines
The VEA has DEAC Representatives from every level and additional representation for special ed. The administrative representation is as yet undefined, and changes with each meeting. Only Nate Frey consistently attends as the administration. Only one meeting was held in 2016-17, for the purpose of selecting Domain 4 objectives. No meetings were held in 2015-16 despite VEA requests. Meetings were frequent in the beginning and planning stages. We believe further meetings and coordination are necessary to fine tune the Danielson rubric and the evaluation procedures though we are being met with administrative resistance.
Understanding the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching is the key to proficient and distinguished ratings. Everyone should read up on it and understand it's philosophy and indicators. It is a change in philosophy for many.
District Evaluation Rubrics:
- Counselors/Therapists/CST members: CST_OT_PT_Speech_Guidance_Social_Services
- K-12 Teachers: Teacher Evaluation Rubric 2016-2017 (1)
- Librarian-Media Specialist: Library_-_Media_Specialist_Rubric_2013
- Pre-School Teachers: Preschool_Rubric
VEA Teacher Observation Form
- Follow this link to fill out the VEA Teacher Observation Form.