Evaluation Background & Guides

  • The Boston Public Schools is committed to ensuring that there is an effective teacher in every classroom and an effective leader in every school. We believe that leadership begins in the classroom; principals and headmasters take the baseline of instructional leadership skills developed in the classroom and in preparation programs to their new positions and continue to develop in their school leadership roles.

    The evaluation cycle is comprised of 5 steps:

    Plan Implementation (Artifacts, Observations) 
     
    This process  is most powerful when used in alignment with school-wide improvement goals and all regulations are designed first and foremost to promote leaders’ and teachers’ growth and development.  

    Background 

    On June 28, 2011 the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted new regulations to guide the evaluation of all educators serving in positions requiring a license – teachers, principals, superintendents, and other administrators. The Boston Public Schools (BPS) online evaluation system supports the continuous growth of educators and students. With multiple measures of educator effectiveness and a process for educators to chart their own growth, this system is at the cutting edge of educator performance evaluation. BPS is committed to ensuring that all evaluators are well-trained, and that those being evaluated understand the process because when you invest time in an educator evaluation, you:

    • promote more effective teaching and administrative leadership practices in your school, resulting in improved outcomes for students.  
    • provide a great opportunity for BPS central office and school leaders to target professional development resources toward areas of need, leading to more effective support for teacher professional growth.
    • cultivate a learning culture among all members of your school community.  
    • fulfill state regulations and the BPS-Boston Teachers Union (BTU) contractual requirements.

    Overview Resources

     
    Evaluation Cycle At-A-Glance
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Plan Timeline
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Overview Guidance    
     
     
     
    Contract Requirements  
    Contract Language on Evaluation (including number of required observations by plan type)
     
    District Priorities  
     
    evaltimeline