Tool: Guiding Questions for Talent Policy

Tool: Guiding Questions for Talent Policy

This document contains guiding questions for district leaders draftingOpportunity Culture plans to:

1) identify excellent teacherswithin the district,

2) recruit and hire for reach-extended roles,

3) createevaluation and accountabilitytools and processes for teachersin these new roles,

4) reshape training, development,and teaching career paths.

See also theTeacher and Staff Selection Toolkit, and the Evaluation Guide.Edit to fit your needs.

District leaders also will need to redesign compensation to allow higher pay and to match new career paths. See compensation designresources and career advancement path resources on OpportunityCulture.org.

Definition of an Excellent Teacher

Measures and Standards (see table at end)

Excellent Teachers

Does your state and/or district have a teacher evaluation instrument that will be used to determine which teachers will be eligible for reach-extending roles?

Which specific measures will be used to determine eligibility for reach roles?

•For teachers of tested subjects

•For teachers of non-tested grades and subjects

•For teachers once they are in reach roles

For each measure above, what standard will be designated as “excellent”?

How much weight will each measure receive, including student growth scores and other measures?

Solid and/or Proficient Teachers

How will the district define other teacher performancelevels (e.g., “solid” or “proficient”teachers)?

What will the standard for each measure be to achieve at each level?

Willteachers receive different ratings for different subjects or courses (e.g., in elementary, excellent math/science, solid ELA/social studies; in secondary, excellent algebra I, solid algebra II)?

Process Questions

How many years musta teacher be rated “excellent” to qualify for reach-extended roles? We suggest two out of the previous three years in a specific grade/course/subject.

Will eligibility measures, standards, or weights differ forteachers entering from other states? How?

When will periodic review and revision of the processes and measures involved in defining and designating excellent teachers take place?

Will solid/proficient teachers be eligible for some reach roles, such as blended-learning teacher, but not others, such as multi-classroom leader? Which ones? Will the same pay differentials apply? Consider reduced savings to fund pay when academic support roles are needed for solid teachers.

Recruitment and Hiring

Recruitment

How will the district recruit excellent teachers from:

•within the district?

•within the state?

•outside of the state?

How will the district attract new, high-potential teachers from:

•within the district?

•within the state?

•outside of the state?

•undergraduate and graduate teaching programs?

•teacher and teacher-leader corps/fellows programs (e.g., TFA, TNTP Teaching Fellows, New Leaders’ Emerging Leaders,state-level programs, etc.)?

What is the annual timeline for recruitment: posting positions, job fairs, and other outreach?Earlier recruitment—winter or early spring—may result in a larger pool with more strong candidates.

Screening and Hiring

What will the hiring process look like for reach-extended teachers?

•How many phases will there be?

•What will each phase include?

•What will be the timeline for final hiring decisions?

•Can all teachers apply, or must the teacher meet certain “minimum requirements”?

Evaluation and Accountability

How will reach-extended teachers be evaluated?What are the specific measures and standards?Consider job responsibilities, behavioral competencies, and student outcomes. Click here to enter text.

When will evaluations occur? Who will have input? Who will receive reports of outcomes?Click here to enter text.

How will evaluations be used? For development? Continued eligibility for reach roles? Career advancement decisions? Pay other than that attached to reach roles?Click here to enter text.

What happens if student performance lags in the reach-extended teacher’s classrooms?

•Under what circumstances will reach-extended teachers lose their reach-extended roles if student performance lags?

•What will trigger a developmental intervention prior to losing a role for lagging performance?

•Under what circumstances would a midyear role change be necessary?

•When a role change is needed, what will the role-change process steps be?

What roles will reach-extended teachers play in evaluating teachers they lead? What information from evaluations will they see? What will they do with it? What will the principal do with it?

How will paraprofessionals be evaluated? By whom, using what rubrics, and when?

What roles will reach-extended teachers play in evaluating the paraprofessionals they lead?

Staff Training, Development, and Career Paths

Training

What preparation will the district offer to prepare reach-extended teachers, other teachers, and paraprofessionals for new roles, particularly those that differ significantly from traditional roles?

Who will design, deliver, and evaluate this training? When?

How will the critical competencies and job descriptions for each role be integrated into training?

Professional Development

How will teacher professional development be embedded in daily work on the job?

How will teachers recognized as excellent or highly effective be enabled to lead and develop other teachers on the job?

How will schedules change to allow frequent collaborative work and development?

How will the critical competencies and job descriptions for each role be integrated into professional development offerings?

How will paraprofessionals be developed on the job?

Career Paths

What new skills and performance levels will teachers and paraprofessionals need to move up from one level to the next on each career path? See more career path resources and matching compensation design resources on OpportunityCulture.org.

Table of Goals, Measures, and Standards for Teacher Reach Roles

Goal / Measures / Threshold for “Excellent” / Threshold for “Proficient” / Threshold for “Developing” / % Weight in Overall Rating
E.g., Student learning growth / Growth on MAP test from beginning to end of year / Minimum 1.25 years of growth on average.
No subgroup below 1.15 years of growth on average. / 1 year of growth on average; no subgroup below .95 average / .95 years of growth on average; no subgroup below .85 average