This week, our new interim principal decided to review our tier of support that are provided for our teachers by instructional coaches. At my schools, teachers are placed in 1 of 4 tiers with tier 1 teachers needing the least amount of support and tier 4 teachers, the most intensive support. My assignment was to create the instructional rounds/focus walk protocol and share with the team and also participate in the focus walks. The team used a focus walk document that I had already created to evaluate the teachers and place them in these tiers. This process was completed over the course of two days with discussion times in between. We discovered that we had only a handful of teachers in our building who truly needed the intensive support and that there were best practices happening all over our building.
As a team, we decided that our coaches would provide support as follows:
a. Tier I: One focus walk per week from coach with feedback, Meet with teacher at least 1x each quarter to discuss goals, progress toward goals, etc.
b. Tier II: Two focus walks per week from coach with feedback. Meet with teacher at least 2x each quarter to discuss goals, progress toward goals, etc.
c. Tier III: Two focus walks per week from coach with feedback. Meet with teacher at least 3x each quarter to discuss goals, progress toward goals, etc.
d. Tier IV: Three focus walks per week from coach with feedback. Weekly meeting with teacher to discuss goals, progress toward goals, etc
As a result of the 2-day instructional rounds, we have selected some teachers that will be highlighted during weekly "Spotlight" videos as exemplars for other teachers.
Kemi,
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea! We have something similar in place for our new teachers and their instructional coach. But we do not have it tiered like you do . I might in fact steal this idea. My school could do this with the entire staff instead of just new teachers. Thank you for sharing this! You could also have those teachers who are struggling take time to observe the exemplar teachers in action. Find a teacher that excels in the area of need, such as instructional planning, and have them take notes a reflect on what they saw.
Kemi,
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. I have a few questions. How receptive are the teachers to this new tier system? Will this be apart of the teachers yearly review? I know that most teachers are very protective of their craft. Sometimes going into a teacher's classroom frequently can present a problem. They may feel picked on. Thus creating a hostile environment. How will you combat that possiblity? In addition, some teachers prefer hands on feedback. That means collaborating with the teacher during the class time to co-teacher instead of just observing them. I wish you the best on this.
Omar
DeleteI will tell you that, thankfully, I have found the opposite when visiting classrooms. Teachers have appreciated others visiting classrooms and observing what is going on. I have had teachers ask my thoughts, how to make the lesson better, suggestions for different ways to teach. Established relationships with teachers allows this process to be much easier.
Great. I think the key to this being a success is building relationships.
DeleteKemi,
ReplyDeleteI, too, like this idea of Tier Support. I have heard of this approach in area schools and from what I understand, the teachers who are struggling appreciate the support. I guess my question would be, as an administrator, do you have time in the day for the focus walks? How much time is spent in each class during the focus walk?
It's great that you only had a few teachers that needed intense support. We have a lot of new teachers this year, so I do feel this idea may help our teachers as well. If possible, maybe your veteran/experienced teachers, those that have shown success, could get into those classrooms and observe. Then they could collaborate and talk about best practices.
I know this project took you some time to work through but I am sure will see success!
Paula and Omar,
DeleteThe teachers were informed of their tier placement by an administrator so that removes the "being picked on" issue. They understand the reason they get so many visits from their coaches is for support and not evaluative. The focus walks typically lasts from 5 - 10 minutes and they receive immediate electronic feedback from their observer with next steps - I will be happy to share our focus walk document. Right now, the coaches are training our department chairs to assist in the focus walks and providing support for the struggling teachers.
I make in my day for focus walks. The goals is to visit at least 3 classes or more a day. It is a struggle on some days but most days I am able to get in the classroom even if it is just a quick "look-see" visit.
Kemi,
ReplyDeleteMy high school does not have instructional coaches or a system like you describe in your blog. I have a few questions. Your team that placed the teachers on the tiers - were they instructional coaches or administrators? Also, would there tier level tie directly in with the TKES evaluation? Finally, was a relationship already established with the struggling teachers where they would be more receptive to the feedback?
I could see this idea either really doing well or really creating a negative environment at my high school. Right now, struggling teachers are meeting with their AP to improve their best practices. It is kind of kept in secret who these teachers are. This way the teacher can "save face" while they improve.