Teacher Growth, Supervision and Evaluation Policy
BACKGROUND
The Teacher Growth, Supervision and Evaluation Policy aims to ensure that each teacher’s actions, judgments and decisions are in the best educational interests of students and support optimum learning. School authorities, Early Childhood Services (ECS) operators, superintendents, principals and teachers are responsible for facilitating quality improvement through each teacher’s career-long professional growth.
| School authorities, ECS operators, superintendents, principals and teachers must work together to develop and implement policy to ensure that all teachers practice consistently in keeping with the Teaching Quality Standard. |
STATUTE
School Act
| s.18 | Teachers |
| s.20 | Principals |
| s.22 | School council |
| s.28(2) | Private schools |
| s.30(1)(2) | Early childhood services program |
| s.39(3) | Teacher evaluation |
| s.93 | Qualifications re supervisory position |
| s.94 | Certification of teachers |
| s.105 | Suspension of teacher |
| s.106 | Termination of contract |
| s.107 | Termination by board |
| s.108 | Termination by teacher |
| s.109 | Notice of termination |
| s.113(4) | Superintendent of schools |
REGULATIONS
DEFINITIONS
In this Policy,
(a) "ECS operator" means a board or person approved under section 30 of the School Act to provide an early childhood services program;
(b) "evaluation" means the formal process of gathering and recording information or evidence over a period of time and the application of reasoned professional judgment by a principal in determining whether one or more aspects of the teaching of a teacher exceeds, meets or does not meet the teaching quality standard;
(c) "notice of remediation" means the written statement issued by a principal to a teacher where the principal has determined that a teacher’s teaching does not meet the teaching quality standard, and such a statement describes:
(i) the behaviours or practices that do not meet the teaching quality standard and the changes required,
(ii) the remediation strategies the teacher is advised to pursue, and
(iii) how the determination will be made that the required changes in behaviour or practice have taken place, applicable timelines, and the consequences of not achieving the required changes including, but not limited to, termination of a teacher’s contract of employment;
(d) "Policy" means this Teacher Growth, Supervision and Evaluation Policy approved by the Minister;
(e) "policy" means the policy implemented by a school authority or ECS operator under Procedure 1.
(f) "principal" means
(i) a principal as defined in the School Act,
(ii) a superintendent or designee in respect to fulfilling obligations under section 113 of the School Act, or for purposes of making recommendations under the Certification of Teachers Regulation, or
(iii) the teacher of an accredited private school designated or a teacher named by a private ECS operator to carry out the duties of a principal in respect to teachers and teaching.
(g) "school authority" means a school board, a person or society that operates a charter school or an accredited private school;
(h) "supervision" means the on-going process by which a principal carries out duties in respect to teachers and teaching required under section 20 of the School Act and exercises educational leadership;
(i) "teacher" means
(i) an individual who is required to hold a certificate of qualification as a teacher and who is responsible for the provision of instruction or supervision under section 18 of the School Act, or
(ii) an individual whose qualifications are approved by the Minister and is employed to teach under section 28(2)(b)(iii) of the School Act.
(j) "teacher professional growth" means the career-long learning process whereby a teacher annually develops and implements a plan to achieve professional learning objectives or goals that are consistent with the teaching quality standard;
(k) "teaching quality standard" means the authorized standard and descriptors of knowledge, skills and attributes and any additional standards or descriptors consistent with the Teaching Quality Standard Ministerial Order and the mission of the school authority or the program statement of the ECS operator.
PROCEDURES
General
1 Each school authority and ECS operator shall implement a policy consistent with this Policy that:
(a) applies to all teachers unless otherwise stipulated in this Policy,
(b) provides a review mechanism,
(c) is consistent with the teaching quality standard,
(d) is readily available to the public, and
(e) details when and how often information summarizing implementation of the policy will be reported to the public.
2 The policy referred to in Procedure 1 shall be developed and implemented in consultation with the teachers of the school authority or ECS operator.
Teacher Growth
3 A teacher employed by a school authority or ECS operator:
(a) under a probationary contract or continuing contract, or
(b) under other provisions of the School Act if required by the policy of the school authority or ECS operator,
is responsible for completing during each school year an annual teacher professional growth plan that:
(i) reflects goals and objectives based on an assessment of learning needs by the individual teacher,
(ii) shows a demonstrable relationship to the teaching quality standard, and
(iii) takes into consideration the education plans of the school, the school authority and the Government, or the program statement of an ECS operator;
(c) must submit for review or approval at a time specified in the policy that annual teacher professional growth plan to:
(i) the principal, or
(ii) a group of teachers delegated by the principal, if such delegation is provided for in the policy.
4 An annual teacher professional growth plan:
(a) may be a component of a long-term, multi-year plan; and
(b) may consist of a planned program of supervising a student teacher or mentoring a teacher.
5 At a time specified in the policy, a teacher must provide a completed annual teacher professional growth plan to the principal or to the persons referred to in Procedure 3(c) for review and the person or persons conducting the review, in consultation with the teacher, must make a finding whether the teacher has completed an annual teacher professional growth plan that complies with Procedure 3.
6 If a review under Procedure 5 finds that a teacher has not completed an annual teacher professional growth plan as required, the teacher may be subject to disciplinary action as defined in the policy.
7 Unless a teacher agrees, the content of an annual teacher professional growth plan must not be part of the evaluation process of a teacher under Procedures 9(c) and 10.
8 Despite Procedure 7, a principal may identify behaviours or practices that may require an evaluation under Procedure 9(c) provided that the information identified is based on a source other than the information in the annual teacher professional growth plan of the teacher.
Supervision
(a) providing support and guidance to teachers;(b) observing and receiving information from any source about the quality of teaching a teacher provides to students; and(c) identifying the behaviours or practices of a teacher that for any reason may require an evaluation.
Evaluation
10(1) The evaluation of a teacher by a principal may be conducted:
(a) upon the written request of the teacher;
(b) for purposes of gathering information related to a specific employment decision;
(c) for purposes of assessing the growth of the teacher in specific areas of practice,
(d) when, on the basis of information received through supervision, the principal has reason to believe that the teaching of the teacher may not meet the teaching quality standard.
(2) A recommendation by an authorized individual that a teacher be issued a permanent professional teaching certificate or be offered employment under a continuing contract must be supported by the findings of two or more evaluations of the teacher.
11 On initiating an evaluation, the principal must communicate explicitly to the teacher:
(a) the reasons for and purposes of the evaluation;
(b) the process, criteria and standards to be used;
(c) the timelines to be applied; and
(d) the possible outcomes of the evaluation.
12 Upon completion of an evaluation, the principal must provide the teacher with a copy of the completed evaluation report.
13 Where, as the result of an evaluation, a principal determines that a change in the behaviour or practice of a teacher is required, the principal must provide to the teacher a notice of remediation and may stipulate that the remediation strategies stated in that notice replace the obligation of the teacher to develop and implement an annual teacher professional growth plan.
Other
(a) a principal from taking disciplinary or other action, as appropriate, where the principal has reasonable grounds for believing that the actions or practices of a teacher endangers the safety of students, constitutes a neglect of duty, a breach of trust or a refusal to obey a lawful order of the school authority or ECS operator, or(b) a board, a charter school board or a superintendent from taking any action or exercising any right or power under the School Act.
