Melanie Paliotti

610 – Assignment 5

Supervision of Instruction

The opportunity to support teachers as they strive to further reflect upon and refine their craft
is a chance to impact the learning of students both now and in the years to come. In my current role as
Assistant Principal, I work to take care of many details behind the scenes that enable teachers to create
the magic in their classrooms with students. There are several purposes and goals of the observation of
teaching and learning and evaluations including recognizing strengths and good performances and
providing needed assistance and support. The process provides an open door for a two-way discussion
of expectations, achievements, and goals.

In December, I was able to observe our out-going principal as she met with teachers and
classified staff members for their Evaluation meetings. She provided a great example for me to follow
and I have continued with the staff on her list this semester. The former Assistant Principal (now
Principal) and I asked our district’s Director of Human Relations to come over and review the process
with us and give us some suggestions and tips. She provided us with needed insight into the process
and requirements for classified and certificated staff and the differences for permanent, probationary
and temporary staff. She shared a helpful presentation that was given to administrators earlier in the
year and her own examples and tips from when she was an administrator. The Vista Unified School
District’s “Certificated Evaluation Handbook” is the go-to document for checklists, forms and resources.
Many of the documents are online and I met with my principal and mentor to further discuss the
process. My mentor shared with me how she keeps a binder to keep all of the documentation in order
and I set up my binder to try the same method.

I inherited a list of 8 permanent staff members who needed an additional observation between
December and March and a final summary evaluation written before May 1, 2018. Of those, three
teachers have chosen to complete an alternative evaluation process where they have created their own
projects. I also have one Probationary Year 2 and one temporary certificated teacher to observe and
write summary evaluations for before March 1, 2018. In addition to that I have 4 classified staff to
complete evaluations for and these include Instructional Aides and our Library Media Tech. It has been
and will continue to be challenging as I have worked with these teachers as a teacher, coach,
coordinator and support provider. While many of those previous roles also allowed me the opportunity
to give them feedback it was not the same as an official district evaluation. In most cases, having a
prior relationship built on trust is a huge advantage – especially when giving constructive feedback.

The evaluations that are full of positive feedback and recognition of strengths and achievements
are certainly less stressful but are still an opportunity to discuss goals, next steps, and opportunities to
implement and add new tools to the teaching toolbox. Teaching is dynamic and not stagnant so
teachers are never “done” learning and growing. So far, all of these conversations have gone very well
and were well received. The more difficult are the conversations where there are significant issues, and
areas in need of improvement or correction. The first step is to ensure that all timelines and the official
process is met according to the contract. Grievances come from the process not from the feedback
given. There should be prior conversations so no surprises should come up at the evaluation meeting
that have not been previously discussed. If there are concerns, ignoring the issues will not make them
go away or improve. If issues are not addressed or identified prior to the district granting permanent
status, it becomes much more difficult and performance issues impact all staff and students, not just
that employee.

Some tips I have been given include: being accurate and not to inflate ratings, to avoid
evaluating based on recent events rather than the entire review period, to avoid the “halo effect” where
only positive or only negative actions are reported. I have been advised to discuss the following at the
pre-scheduled meeting: goals and future development, encourage success and address ways to improve,
allow for two-way communication – and remember – no surprises.

I feel that the most challenging will be to schedule pre- and post-conference meetings, and
observations that are not interrupted. I am called on the walkie-talkie very regularly throughout the day
to handle different issues around campus and student issues happen when they happen and not
according to schedule! I am concerned that when I schedule a time to go and observe, that I can
actually make it to the classroom at the allotted time and be able to stay to observe the lesson they
have planned and prepared for the whole 30-40 minutes. It is also a challenge to capture enough
evidence to align with each of the three standards that have been identified. The lesson moves quickly
and I try to script everything I can as fast as possible to keep up including information about room
environment, what the teacher and students said throughout the lesson, the movement, the time spent,
student understanding and demonstration of understanding and learning, the questions students ask,
how on task the students are, etc. It is also challenging to write evaluations for classified employees
who I do not regularly observe. I rely quite a bit on their own self-evaluation and the feedback and
evaluation provided by their direct supervisor. I am most nervous about the process for the teachers
who are completing an alternative project. I have never been a part of these before and I was not their
evaluator when they began to plan and implement the project earlier this year. I do not look forward to
“tough” conversations but know that they are part of what I will need to do. A “Requires Improvement”
or “Unsatisfactory” rating leads to a Certificated Assistance Plan (CAP) for probationary or temporary
teachers. If they have permanent status, an “Unsatisfactory” rating results in assignment to Peer
Assistance and Review (PAR.) I am not currently involved in any CAP or PAR at this time and I know that
they can be stressful!

Overall, I hope that I am able to effectively evaluate and provide all with helpful feedback and
meet all timelines. This process should be formative and should inspire teacher self-reflection, support
the teacher in their learning and should open the door for collaboration with open and honest
communication.