We follow a district process, that includes a teacher self evalu- ation, an individual goal setting conference for both student and teacher growth goals, a minimum of 2 walk through ob- servations that we provide feedback for (2 formal observations as well for non-tenured teachers), a review of goal progress in Jan/Feb, a review of how we met our goals in April, a final conference individually with each teacher to review the summative evaluation piece and review artifacts that support teacher and student growth.
How is this process the same or different for music teachers? The process is the same, but it is sometimes more difficult to find data points to track. Working with teachers in core content areas, they seem to have goals that are more easily written and tracked as the stan- dards are very concrete, and we have state standardized tests that reflect student learning.
What can elementary music teachers provide to help support you in teacher evaluation?
Concrete ideas on how they support the standards in their classes, how they connect those standards to their students and how they show proficiency within those standards. In addition, how their teaching relates to and supports other content areas.
Do you have anything else you would like to add regarding your thoughts about teacher evaluation in music? I think the individual dialogue with those teachers is critical, because we often must plan for alternative professional devel- opment opportunities for these teachers so that we maximize their time during our organized meetings which mostly focus on the core content areas.
Principal C
Describe your personal musical experience. I was very fortunate growing up in that I was afforded the op- portunity to take private piano and organ lessons. I eventually sang in the school choir, and competed in solo and ensemble. I also participated in the local community Christmas Messiah production with the churches. I started playing flute in the 5th grade and continued with flute and piccolo through HS. Piano and organ also continued through HS while playing for two local churches, which included Sunday services and weddings. Through it all, I had some of the best music teachers.
Describe your process for teacher evaluation. The process for teacher evaluation is set by the district. Cur- rently we use a program called STAGES. Contained within this system are the core evaluation pieces required by the State of Michigan. With this process, I do “tailor” it to the needs of the building/staff I am working with. For instance, when I came to this position/building three (3) years ago, I did a full observation on all of my staff, even if it wasn’t required, so that everyone went through the process together and under- stood the expectations. I spend a lot of time on my evalua- tions in that I want them to be meaningful and useful for the teacher.
Conclusion
Each of these principal takes their own approach to teacher evaluation, yet some similarities exist. Many principals may have similar view to one of these principals. Or perhaps they exhibit a mix of the three. A common theme among the answers provided by these principals is a desire for collabora- tion. Elementary music teachers can aid the process by being willing to share lesson plans and highlighting the standards to which these lessons/activities are linked, to have an open line of communication for administrators to gain clarity on specific music content knowledge, and to have an open classroom in which administrators are welcome to observe learning and evaluation outside of the formal observation opportunities.
Kelli Graham teaches elementary music in DeWitt Public Schools. She is currently President-Elect for MMEA and Immediate Past-President of MI-GIML. She holds a bachelor degree from Michigan State Uni- versity and intends to finish her Master’s from the same institution. Kelli has pre- sented at the Michigan Music conference, at GIML workshops, and has been featured in the Michigan Music Educator.
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How is this process the same or different for music teachers? This is an excellent question! Being that my dual position includes also being the special education director for the district, we have been dealing with this same type of question for some time now, in regards to special education teachers. It also applies to my own position as a dual administrator. These roles are required to follow the same basic core standards and yet, within the system, there really isn’t a particular place that speaks to the unique set of skills that each role needs to have, so you need to be very aware of how to bring the uniqueness of each of these positions into the evaluation process, and speak to each of them to make it meaningful. The uniqueness is understanding music- knowing what tone is, knowing what clef and treble is, etc. The basic evaluation pieces remain the same- professionalism and responsibilities, student progress, skills and classroom management.
What can elementary music teachers provide to help support you in teacher evaluation?
For me, clear lesson plans, the willingness to explain some- thing I may have a question on and video/audio recordings have been the most beneficial for evaluating my music teacher besides the actual observations and walk-throughs.
Do you have anything else you would like to add regarding your thoughts about teacher evaluation in music? I just want to reiterate that I think it is really important for anyone who is evaluating music educators that they need to have some music background themselves to really understand what they are teaching. Just as it has been my experience, I be- lieve those evaluating special education teachers and adminis- trators really need to have a background in special education- and that should be more than just special education “101”
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