STANDARD FOUR
Standard 4: Human Resource Leadership
Principals will ensure that the school is a professional learning community. Principals will ensure that process and
systems are in place which results in recruitment, induction, support, evaluation, development and retention of high
performing staff. The principal must engage and empower accomplished teachers in a distributive manner, including
support of teachers in day-to-day decisions such as discipline, communication with parents/guardians, and protecting
teachers from duties that interfere with teaching, and must practice fair and consistent evaluations of teachers. The
principal must engage teachers and other professional staff in conversations to plan their career paths and support
district succession planning.
Principals will ensure that the school is a professional learning community. Principals will ensure that process and
systems are in place which results in recruitment, induction, support, evaluation, development and retention of high
performing staff. The principal must engage and empower accomplished teachers in a distributive manner, including
support of teachers in day-to-day decisions such as discipline, communication with parents/guardians, and protecting
teachers from duties that interfere with teaching, and must practice fair and consistent evaluations of teachers. The
principal must engage teachers and other professional staff in conversations to plan their career paths and support
district succession planning.
Element 4a. Professional Development/Learning Communities:
The principal ensures that the school is a professional learning community.
The principal ensures that the school is a professional learning community.
I designed and presented professional development focusing on Cold Call. I based the professional development on the book Teach Like A Champion (Lemov, 2015). The first session was specifically for DSA Beginning Teachers. The second session was open to any member of the staff who signed up to attend. I chose to focus the professional development on Cold Call strategies due to the types of questions I was seeing teachers use during my classroom observations. My data collection indicated that Cold Call could significantly increase the amount of student engagement and rigor in the classrooms.
When designing the Professional Development, I used the following questions to guide my planning:
1. What research-based instructional strategy could significantly increase the level of rigor in the classroom?
2. How can I design a session that captures the main ideas of Cold Call and gives teachers strategies that they can immediately use in their own practice?
These questions were helpful as I completed my research and planned the sessions. I was also intentional about collecting feedback from the teachers as well. At the conclusion of the presentation, I included a link to a Google Form which gave teachers the opportunity to submit a survey that provided helpful information to help me grow in my own practice.
When designing the Professional Development, I used the following questions to guide my planning:
1. What research-based instructional strategy could significantly increase the level of rigor in the classroom?
2. How can I design a session that captures the main ideas of Cold Call and gives teachers strategies that they can immediately use in their own practice?
These questions were helpful as I completed my research and planned the sessions. I was also intentional about collecting feedback from the teachers as well. At the conclusion of the presentation, I included a link to a Google Form which gave teachers the opportunity to submit a survey that provided helpful information to help me grow in my own practice.
Element 4b. Recruiting, Hiring, Placing and Mentoring of Staff:
The school executive establishes processes and systems in order to ensure a high-quality, high-performing staff.
The school executive establishes processes and systems in order to ensure a high-quality, high-performing staff.
I participated in the hiring process for the Restorative Practices Coordinator position. This is a list of questions we asked the candidates throughout the interview. This experience taught me how to conduct an interview and collaborate with a team to select the best individual for the job. This job is particularly important since the Restorative Practices Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that students complete required classwork and that the RPC classroom has established norms, processes, and procedures.
Element 4c. Teacher and Staff Evaluation:
The principal evaluates teachers and other staff in a fair and equitable manner with the focus on improving performance and, thus, student achievement.
The principal evaluates teachers and other staff in a fair and equitable manner with the focus on improving performance and, thus, student achievement.
I was given the responsibility of observing nine teachers (Two B Teachers and Seven C Teachers) using the NC Educator Evaluation System (NCEES). I used this spreadsheet to document my progress throughout the academic year.
I completed the following throughout the academic year: Pre-Observation Conferences, Observations, and Post-Observation Conferences. At all meetings, I facilitated conversations focusing on the teacher's particular strengths and items to consider. Over time, I got better at being able to link the teacher's actions to student achievement. An example would be my focus on using Cold Call strategies as a way to increase engaged accountability and rigor in the classroom (Lemov, 2015). I recommended Cold Call to several of my teachers after I had conducted their observation and noticed the kinds of questions that were being used throughout the lesson. This highlights my ability to directly use the teacher evaluation process to have a direct impact on student achievement.
I completed the following throughout the academic year: Pre-Observation Conferences, Observations, and Post-Observation Conferences. At all meetings, I facilitated conversations focusing on the teacher's particular strengths and items to consider. Over time, I got better at being able to link the teacher's actions to student achievement. An example would be my focus on using Cold Call strategies as a way to increase engaged accountability and rigor in the classroom (Lemov, 2015). I recommended Cold Call to several of my teachers after I had conducted their observation and noticed the kinds of questions that were being used throughout the lesson. This highlights my ability to directly use the teacher evaluation process to have a direct impact on student achievement.