Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 100
•
Trim: 6 x 8¾
978-1-4758-5404-6 • Hardback • December 2019 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
978-1-4758-5405-3 • Paperback • December 2019 • $25.00 • (£18.95)
978-1-4758-5406-0 • eBook • December 2019 • $23.50 • (£17.95)
Todd A. DeMitchell, John & H. Irene Peters Professor of Education, served as a teacher and administrator in the public schools for 18 years. During his 30 years at the University of New Hampshire he has studied, taught, and consulted on school law and labor relations including the implementation of documentation systems.
Mark A Paige, Associate Professor of Public Policy, has numerous positions in education, ranging from the classroom to the courtroom. He began his career in education as an elementary school teacher. He later served as an education law attorney, representing school districts in New England on labor relations, employment law, special education, and other matters. He now teaches school law, school finance, and education policy at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.
Preface: Who Shall Teach Our Children?
Chapter 1: Evaluation and the Documentation Challenge
Chapter 2: The Evaluation of Teachers
Chapter 3: The Principal as Evaluator
Chapter 4: Legal Frameworks: Infusing the Evaluation with Fairness
Chapter 5: The Five Fatal “Eyes” of Unprofessional Conduct
Chapter 6: Files, Memos, and Documentation
Chapter 7: Conclusion and the Ten Commandments of Documentation
Appendix A - InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards and Learning
Progressions for Teachers
Appendix B – Personnel Evaluation Standards
Appendix C – Examples of Causes and Evidence for Dismissal/Discipline
Appendix D – The Bologna Sandwich Technique
Appendix E – Negligent Hiring: Did We Hire the Wrong Person?
Appendix F: Table of Cases
About the Authors
DeMitchell and Paige have clearly and concisely captured the school administrators’ obstacles to authentic educator accountability and more importantly offer practical solutions to the daunting evaluation process. As a veteran high school principal, the supporting case law, the Ten Commandments and tool-box documents provide valuable, ready to implement strategies for my own practice. The substantial attention to the effective evaluation of the mediocre teacher and the induced exit strategy are welcome and necessary contributions to educator evaluation literature.
Threading the Evaluation Needle should be required reading for any educational leadership and licensure program. The authors are credible practitioners informing practice with significant field experience from both the legal and administrative realms. Naming the principal as the legal leader of the school is a crucial element to the climate of courage that the authors weave into the fabric of how evaluation is embedded into the values and norms of our schools.
— Teresa Sullivan, PhD, principal, Abington High School, MA
Tenants of this book serve as an earnest reminder of the ethical responsibility, we as school leaders bear, to nurture our relationships with the educators with whom we supervise and evaluate. We must enter into our dialogues with both kindness and diligence, seeking to understand the ways in which we can provide clear and explicit feedback with our main intention being helping to hone and improve their craft for the betterment of students.
DeMitchell and Paige send a clear message to all school leaders that it is imperative we be fair and ethical in how we provide feedback to educators and that these processes not be leveraged for the sole purpose of termination. The Tool Box and cases provided offer model products and guidance for school leaders helping them refine practices to include ongoing and effective documentation of concerns and/or praise through the evaluation process.
A most noteworthy message, embedded throughout, is the fact that the expectations school leaders establish though the evaluation process sets the standard for how the school community may interpret that leader’s level of integrity, as well as establish the overall tone of the school culture.
A great reminder, for new and seasoned leaders alike, that the evaluation process is about two parties willingness to enter into a relationship, grounded in mutual respect, where they feel safe, and perhaps a bit vulnerable, to discuss what’s working and what isn’t and how to close that gap for the betterment of students.
— Bridey Bellemare, Executive Director, New Hampshire Association of School Principals