Leadership Matters - February 2013

Legally Speaking ———————–————————————

(Continued from page 21)

23 Ill. Adm. Code 50.120(a)(1) (internal citation omitted). The effect of this provision is to require that districts carefully address their evaluation plans so that the evaluation of each teacher reflects the instruction for which they are actually responsible ( e.g. , so that a P.E. teacher is not evaluated based upon math performance and a math teacher is not evaluated based upon athleticism). When bargaining about the evaluation plan, be sure to agree only to implementation of those components of the plan for which the administration is prepared to live. According to the Code, the whole State Model plan need not be implemented, but that does not mean the union won’t punish a board (read: litigation) for failing to agree on a model (particularly if the union likes the State Model better). This is the prime importance of determining how implementation will occur at the outset of meetings or during collective bargaining. Define when the 180- day clock will begin, and what exactly will happen when it runs. Bargaining Committee Once the RIF and Evaluation joint committees have completed their work, the union may request to negotiate the impact of the evaluation process. Even when the school district is up against a deadline to

the details of Common Core? The use of student growth data for performance teacher evaluation purposes will be minimized as both teachers and the public figure out that there is not a direct “causation” between the classroom teacher and student test scores. There are so many more variables that affect student learning, one important variable being the economic status of the parents, than the classroom teacher. Courts will have a hey day as teachers are dismissed due to non-valid and non-reliable student growth data. As an expert on data analysis told me when I was discussing student growth data with him, “I can make the data say whatever you want, so what do you want it to say.” implement its evaluation plan, the district is required to discuss the procedural components of the implementation of that evaluation plan. The best advice for any district beginning negotiations regarding the process of evaluation is to define -- clearly and in writing -- the committee which is meeting, the people who are present, and what will happen in the event of impasse or in the event that agreement is not reached by the date of mandatory implementation. Now is the time to begin these discussions. Do not wait until the implementation deadline to hastily attempt to comply with the law.

Voltz Column ———————–—————————————————————————

(Continued from page 18)

22