3220 - EVALUATION OF PERSONNEL

Administrative Personnel

The continuing evaluation of administrative staff members is necessary to enable the Board to monitor the effectiveness and competence of administrative staff members and to assist them in the improvement of their professional performance.

The work of each administrator shall be evaluated annually by the immediate supervisor utilizing the State approved leadership evaluation . Each evaluation shall relate, but not be limited to, the duties specified in the job description.

1. The evaluation shall be completed and on file in accordance with the time schedule established by the Superintendent.
2. An evaluation shall be submitted at the time an administrator leaves the District if services terminate prior to annual evaluations.
3. Administrators may be required to take recognized examinations as the Superintendent or designee deems necessary to evaluate their health, competence, and/or performance. Refusal to take required examination(s) shall be grounds for immediate dismissal. The Board shall pay the cost of the examination(s).

Instructional Personnel

Pursuant to State law, evaluations shall be conducted for the purpose of increasing student learning growth by improving the quality of instructional services in the District. Except for classroom teachers who are newly hired in the District and excluding substitute teachers, a performance evaluation must be conducted for each instructional staff member at least once per year. Newly hired teachers must be observed and evaluated twice during their first year of teaching in the District.

The Principal is responsible for the performance of all personnel employed by the Board and assigned to the school to which the Principal is assigned. The Principal shall appropriately and effectively apply the personnel evaluation system that has been recommended by the Superintendent and approved, as required by State law, by the Florida Department of Education.

Instructional Personnel Evaluation System

The performance evaluation of instructional personnel must be based upon the performance of students assigned to their classrooms. The performance evaluation system must be based upon sound educational principles and contemporary research in effective educational practices. The District's performance evaluation system is not limited to basing the unsatisfactory performance of instructional personnel and school administrators solely upon student performance, but may include other criteria to evaluate instructional personnel and school administrators' performance, or any combination of student performance and other criteria. All personnel must be fully informed of the criteria, data sources, methodologies, and procedures associated with the evaluation process before the evaluation takes place. Additionally, the Principal shall assist the teachers within the school to use student assessment data, as measured by student learning growth gains pursuant to State law for self-evaluation and improvement. 

The evaluation system for instructional personnel will:

1. be designed to support effective instruction and student learning growth, and performance evaluation results must be used when developing District and school level improvement plans;
2. provide appropriate instruments, procedures, timely feedback, and criteria for continuous quality improvement of the professional skills of instructional personnel, and performance evaluation results must be used when identifying professional development;
3. include a mechanism to examine performance data from multiple sources;
4. identify those teaching fields for which special evaluation procedures and criteria are necessary;
5. differentiate among four (4) levels of performance as follows:
    
   1. highly effective
   2. effective
   3. needs improvement or, for instructional personnel in the first year of employment who need improvement, developing
   4. unsatisfactory
6. provide for training and monitoring programs based upon guidelines provided by the Department of Education to ensure that all individuals with evaluation responsibilities understand the proper use of the evaluation criteria and procedures.

Instructional Personnel Evaluation Procedures and Criteria

Evaluation procedures and criteria must comply with, but are not limited to, the following: 

1. Performance of Students
   
   At least one-third (1/3) of the performance evaluation of instructional personnel must be based upon the data and indicators of student performance of the teacher's students as determined by the District in accordance with F.S. 1012.34(7). The performance of students shall also include growth or achievement data of the teacher's students for at least three (3) years or, if less than three (3) years is available, the years for which data are available. The proportion of growth or achievement data may be determined by instructional assignment.
   
   For classroom teachers of grades and subjects for which their students' performance is assessed by Statewide standardized assessments, the District may measure student learning growth using the formulas approved by the Commissioner and the standards for performance levels adopted by the State Board for courses associated with the Statewide, standardized assessments administered under F.S. 1008.22 no later than the school year immediately following the year the formula is approved by the Commissioner (see F.A.C. 6A-5.030 and 6A-5.0411).
   
   For classroom teachers of grades and subjects for which their students' performance is not assessed by Statewide standardized assessments, the District shall use the methodology set forth in the District's evaluation plan that is submitted to and approved by the FLDOE to measure the student's performance upon which to base one-third (1/3) of the performance evaluation. 
   
   For instructional personnel who are not classroom teachers, the District shall use the methodology set forth in the District's evaluation plan that is submitted to and approved by the FLDOE to measure the student's performance upon which to base one-third (1/3) of the performance evaluation.
   
   Pursuant to State law, the proportion of growth or achievement data in the District-determined student performance measures may be determined by instructional assignment. 
2. Instructional Practice
   
   At least one-third (1/3) of the performance evaluation must be based upon instructional practice. Evaluation criteria used when annually observing classroom teachers, as defined in F.S. 1012.01(2)(a), excluding substitute teachers, must include indicators based upon each of the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices adopted by the State Board of Education. For instructional personnel who are not classroom teachers, evaluation criteria must be based upon indicators of the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices and may include specific job expectations related to student support. This section does not preclude a school administrator from visiting and observing classroom teachers throughout the school year for purposes of providing mentorship, training, instructional feedback, or professional learning.
3. Other Indicators of Performance
   
   The remainder of a performance evaluation may include, but is not limited to, professional and job responsibilities as recommended by the State Board of Education or identified by the Board.
   
   The performance evaluation may also include peer reviews, objectively reliable survey information from students and parents based on teaching practices that are consistently associated with higher student achievement, and other valid and reliable measures of instructional practice.

The individual responsible for supervising the employee must evaluate the employee's performance. The evaluation system may provide for the evaluator to consider input from other personnel trained under F.S. 1012.34(2). The evaluator must submit a written report of the evaluation to the Superintendent for the purpose of reviewing the employee's contract. The evaluator must submit the written report to the employee no later than ten (10) days after the evaluation takes place. The evaluator must discuss the written evaluation report with the employee. The employee shall have the right to initiate a written response to the evaluation, and the response shall become a permanent attachment to his or her personnel file. 

The evaluation shall be completed and on file in accordance with the time schedule established by the Superintendent. The written report of the evaluation must be on file and provided to the employee within ten (10) days after the evaluation conference. The evaluator must discuss the written evaluation report with the employee. The employee shall have the right to initiate a written response to the evaluation, and the response shall become a permanent attachment to his/her personnel file. The evaluator may amend an evaluation based upon assessment data from the current year if the data becomes available within ninety (90) days after the close of the school year. 

If an employee who holds a professional service contract is not performing his/her duties in a satisfactory manner, the evaluator shall notify the employee in writing of such determination. The notice must describe such unsatisfactory performance and include notice of the procedural requirements set forth in F.S. 1012.34(4). 

An evaluation shall be submitted at the time an instructional staff member leaves the District if services terminate prior to annual evaluations. 

A staff member shall be given a copy of any documents relating to his/her performance that are to be placed in the personnel file. 

A portion of each instructional staff member's compensation shall be based on the employee's performance evaluation as required by State law. 

In addition, the Superintendent shall annually report the evaluation results of instructional staff members using the four (4) levels of performance set forth in State law to the FLDOE. The results shall be provided by the school and shall be disaggregated by classroom teachers, as defined in State law, excluding substitute teachers, and all other instructional personnel, also as defined in State law. 

The Superintendent shall also notify the FLDOE of any instructional staff members who receive two (2) consecutive unsatisfactory evaluations, as well as any instructional personnel who are given written notice by the District of intent to terminate or not

Annual Review of District Instructional Personnel Evaluation System 

The Superintendent may appoint a District Evaluation System Review Committee who shall be responsible for annually reviewing the instructional staff evaluation system to analyze whether it complies with Florida law and this policy. The District Evaluation System Review Committee shall follow procedures adopted by the Superintendent when reviewing the evaluation system. All substantial revisions to the evaluation system must be reviewed and approved by the Board before being used to evaluate instructional personnel. 

Support Personnel

The continuing evaluation of support staff members is necessary to enable the Board to monitor the effectiveness and competence of support staff members and to assist them in the improvement of their professional performance.

The work of support staff shall be evaluated annually by the supervisor, utilizing the appropriate performance appraisal system. Each evaluation shall relate to, but not be limited to, the duties specified in the job description.

1. The evaluation shall be completed and on file in accordance with the time schedule established by the Superintendent.
2. An evaluation shall be submitted at the time a support staff member leaves the District if services terminate prior to annual evaluations.
3. Support staff members may be required to take recognized examinations as the Superintendent or designee deems necessary to evaluate their health, competence, and/or performance. Refusal to take required examinations shall be grounds for immediate dismissal.

Revised 12/13/11
Revised 3/11/14
Revised 10/28/14
Revised 12/14/21
Revised 3/12/24

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