Central Oregonian

Improving student achievement with CLASS

After reaching the third year of its Chalkboard project, CCSD has begun the implementation stage of the plan

RAMONA MCCALLISTER/CENTRAL OREGONIAN

Jim Bates, Cecil Sly Elementary School Principal, does an observation in Gretchen Stack’s fourth grade class. The district began putting the plan into action this year, which includes a new evaluation system.

Ramona McCallister

November 23, 2011

In the spirit of raising student achievement, Crook County School District is well into their third year of the Creative Leadership Achieves Student Success (CLASS) project.

The school district joined seven other districts in the 2009-2010 school year as part of a $24.4 million grant that encourages each district to implement their own version of the project and their own blueprint for improving student success. Crook County’s portion of that grant is $1.03 million over five years. One district opted out in 2011, and there are now six districts implementing the grant.

The grant, called the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), is a five-year research project, and encompasses four areas for the CLASS project. These include expanded career paths, rigorous performance evaluations, relevant professional development, and new compensation plans.

The work of the Chalkboard Project, the TIF, and the expectations from the state for implementing the House Bill for requiring an evaluation system — are all happening simultaneously in the district. All these components work hand in hand to accomplish a common goal-meeting the needs of all students.

“I think we are collaborating with staff around some real critical issues, like the improvement of instruction and how to meet the needs of all our students – trying to have a laser-like focus on determining students’ learning needs so we can be sure to provide exactly the intervention our students need,” said CCSD Superintendent, Duane Yecha.

CCSD Curriculum Director, Dennis Kostelecky said that looking at different ways to compensate personnel is necessary not only for motivation, but because of a new movement toward accountability for districts and teachers alike.

“It‘s not a merit-pay model,” emphasized Yecha. “Merit pay has not passed the test of time, and there are a number of studies that say that merit pay doesn’t work very well. Teacher incentive funds is a new approach that promotes instructional improvement, and promotes looking at how to get each individual child to show individual growth and a new measurement that we are called the value-added model-and how to show growth across an entire spectrum of students, from one classroom to the next.

During the 2009-2010 school year, the CCSD created the blueprint for the planning stage. A committee which consisted of teachers and administrators was formed, and the completed 40-page plan was drafted in June, 2010.

This year, the district has begun to put that plan into action. According to Cecil Sly Elementary Principal, Jim Bates, the district has begun implementing the plan this school year — which includes a new evaluation system.

“We are well under way with that evaluation system, for teachers, for principals, all certified staff and administrative staff,” said Bates. “We are already moving forward with what we expect to accomplish during the course of this year and ensuing years.

“Every year, we have a set of specific deliverables and timelines for those, and we make modifications as a group based on the feedback we get from the evaluators of the grant and from the proposals that we send in. We made modifications along the way – but it really all about improving practice.”

He emphasized that the new evaluation system is the biggest thing that has changed on a daily basis.

“It’s aggressive, and there is a lot of work associated with it, and there are new templates that we use and that we will continue to get training during the course of the year,” added Bates.

Upon doing his formal evaluations, Bates demonstrated his method of using an iPad as a tool. He is able to capture video of the class in session, and utilize multiple applications using this technology.

In regards to the evaluation system in general, Kostelecky said, “It’s a standardized process, and that is going to be really noticeable.”

He added that they are also using TIF funds to fund two instructional coaches in each building.

“We have two in each building, and we have two who are working with specialists,” said Kostelecky. “We have 12 instructional coaches who are all receiving additional stipends to support the evaluation system. There is also an amount of money set aside to pay for career opportunities for staff.”

“I see good things I believe, with the Chalkboard project — surrounding mentoring teachers, and I like the emphasis they are putting on increasing teacher leadership roles,” said Yecha. “We are working hard at implementing a Charlotte Danielson-based model (original author of teacher-evaluation model), and I feel like that is a really good product.”

Yecha said that the new work ties in very well on the district’s focus of making sure students are actively engaged in learning.

“I think the project is going to improve collaboration across the district,” concluded Kostelecky. “Everyone in the district will work together to improve achievement – whether that is teacher achievement, student achievement, or both.”