County educators evaluated

MINERAL COUNTY – Teachers across the state of Montana and in Mineral County will be evaluated for educational proficiency using a new system this school year and one local administrator said the new system should compliment past methods for judging how educators perform.

The new criteria for determining the success of educators was implemented for the 2014-2015 school year and is being well received by administrators. While there have been evaluation systems in place at Mineral County schools in the past, the new guidelines will provide administrators with a cohesive process that involves multiple steps including observations, planning, feedback and more observations.

Superior High School Principal Allan Labbe said almost half of the teaching staff would be evaluated this year.

He said the new system was implemented state-wide and there were four primary parts, or “domains,” to the process.

“The first domain is planning and preparation,” Labbe said. “How well do they (teachers) plan? How well do they prepare? The second is the learning environment. How well do they manage their classroom? How is their classroom organized? The third domain is instructional effectiveness. We want to make sure we are measuring what the students understand. The last domain is how professional they are in the classroom.”

Labbe said, while the new system isn’t much different from his previous evaluation methods, it does do a better job of explaining to educators themselves what administrators are looking for in their performance.

He said the goal of evaluations was to help teachers identify areas where they could use improvement and create a plan for attaining those goals.

“Successful evaluation should never be about getting rid of someone,” Labbe said. “It should always be about helping them improve as instructors. Every teacher is going to have strengths. Some have more than others. If we do identify weaknesses, we want to make them better.”

According to Labbe, the new system has already been a benefit to him and his staff.

With a series of observations and consultations throughout the process, he said the level of communication and dialogue has improved.

“To me, this is better,” Labbe said. “We are looking at what they are trying to accomplish. They are an active participant in the process and I like that. Together, we can grow.”