Mount Laurel Schools - Staff Evaluation Process

Staff Evaluation Process

IntroductionTop of Page

As part of the federal requirements for the states receiving funding under Phase 2 of the State Fiscal Stabilization Funds Program, all school districts in New Jersey are providing information to the public on the procedures they use to evaluate teachers and principals. The information presented below will help you understand Mount Laurel's policies and procedures for evaluating certified staff.

The mission of the Mount Laurel Township School District is to prepare all children to be successful citizens and workers in the 21st Century. As aligned with the 2004 revised New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, this includes educating students to read with comprehension, write clearly, compute accurately, think critically, reason, discover, innovate, collaborate, and use information to solve problems. Evaluation of our professional staff directly relates to this mission.

Confirming excellence and providing support is critical to student success. All teachers must have the pedagogy needed to meet all student academic and emotional needs, content knowledge to support the NJ Core Curriculum Standard requirements and a sense of their own efficacy and professional needs. Our educational leaders need these same skills and must also be able to translate visions and goals into actions, support learning and teaching within their schools and respond to the affective needs of students, staff, parents and community.

Evaluation data allows for the school system to make decisions about how best support our staff and to achieve it's mission. Expecting, maintaining and supporting high levels of competency in our educational staff fosters a learning environment where all can achieve.

Teacher Evaluation System: All certified staff in Mount Laurel Schools are formally evaluated at least annually with teachers who have completed less than three full years (non-tenured teachers) being formally evaluated a minimum of three times per year. Evidence of teacher effectiveness is gathered from many sources: formal and informal observations, monthly administrative walk-through visitations, pre and post conferences during the formal evaluation process, completion of the teacher's individual professional growth plan and professional development hours and narrative reports.

This information is used to determine district-wide and school based professional development programs and the support teachers need to implement district curricula. It guides administrators in providing individual assistance to novice teachers and ultimately helps determine a teacher's assignment and continuing employment. A teacher's performance data is used to determine the focus for his annual professional development plan.

The formal evaluation program in Mount Laurel is based on researched instructional "best practices", specific job descriptions and district initiative implementation. It is conducted in is a three step process. The administrator and the instructor hold a pre-conference during which the teacher shares lesson plans and critical information about the needs of the students. The principal or supervisor visits the classroom and conducts a detailed observation taking note of the teaching strategies used, classroom management and climate and student responses, participation, behavior and engagement. This data is discussed with the teacher at a post-conference and then is written in a narrative report with copies sent to the teacher and personnel.

The annual review for teachers is conducted at the end of each school year. It is a narrative compilation of the information gathered from formal observations, student academic success measures and the professional activities in which the teacher was involved. An overall rating of PC=professional competent, NI=need improvement or U=unsatisfactory is given at the end of the report.

Mount Laurel Principal Evaluation SystemTop of Page

Principals, Assistant Principals and the Director of Child Study Team Services in Mount Laurel Schools are formally evaluated at least annually with administrators who have completed less than three full years (non-tenured administrators) being formally evaluated a minimum of three times per year.

Evidence of administrator effectiveness is gathered from many sources: formal and informal observations, monthly central administrative walk-through visitations of individual buildings, formal evaluation process, completion of the principals' individual annual goals and individual quarterly meeting with the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. This information is used to determine administrative professional development programs and the support principal's need to advance district curricula. It guides central administrators in providing individual assistance to novice principals and ultimately helps determine continuing employment.

The formal administrative evaluation program in Mount Laurel is based on researched instructional "best practices", specific job descriptions and district initiative implementation. It is conducted by the Assistant Superintendent and the Superintendent as they meet with each administrator to discuss progress towards annual goals, student achievement, school initiatives and parent and community relations. The annual review for administrators is conducted at the end of each school year. It is a narrative compilation of the information gathered from formal observations, student academic success measures, building walk-throughs and the professional activities in which the principal was involved.

There is no single, overall rating given in the process.