A new way to grade faculty

A new appraisal system for Elgin Area School District U-46 faculty members starting next year will replace one used by the district for the past 25 years.

Based on Charlotte Danielson's book, "Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching," the system is structured around encouraging both professional dialogue and performance in the classroom evaluation, committee co-chairman Bill DuBois told the school board last week.

Unlike the old plan, which evaluated teachers, school nurses, school psychologists and social workers with the same criteria, the new one will differentiate between positions, DuBois said.

Nontenured teachers will be evaluated every year, tenured teachers every other year, director of staff development Sherry Hullinger said. Professional growth, classroom observations and conferences between administrators and faculty members are components of both types of evaluations.

The current system doesn't feature many opportunities for teachers and administrators to sit down and talk, Hullinger said. "It's just not built for that."

More opportunities, Hullinger believes, "will make a difference in the quality of feedback and the level of reflection (by evaluators). It's very difficult to do a good evaluation if you don't know ahead of time what the goals are."

Evaluation committee co-Chairman DJ Donner said a skeleton of the plan was first laid out in June. Training will begin in February. Donner said officials hope the system will be used districtwide by fall 2011.

Superintendent Jose Torres called the system "possibly the most important task the district is going to take on."

Teachers union president Tim Davis has expressed support for the plan.