San Diego County program promotes teacher growth to boost achievement

or many teachers, job evaluation is a once-a-year event that provides inconsistent feedback on educator practice and has little connection to professional development or student achievement. A San Diego County Office of Education program aims to change that paradigm and boost student success by helping teachers to be their best in the classroom.

“The work highlights that evaluation is a process, not a single event — it’s a collaborative effort, not a checklist,” said San Diego COE Human Resources Coordinator Jill Roth-Tellier.

Known as the Educator Effectiveness and Evaluation Project, this collaborative effort centers on partnerships between labor and management, with districts and bargaining units working together as part of a two-year collaborative effort. The process includes a series of academies and facilitated work sessions leading to an individualized, local evaluation system. To join the E3 project, a district must sign a commitment letter that includes a participation agreement from the local teachers. Districts then select an 8-to-10-person team with equal representation from teacher stakeholder groups (special education, curricular departments, grade levels, non-classroom assignments) and site/district administrators.

San Diego COE launched E3 in 2012, at roughly the same time as the state’s Educator Excellence Task Force published “Greatness by Design,” a report that outlined the need for revising existing teacher evaluation systems in California. In San Diego, county education leaders analyzed the effectiveness of existing teacher evaluation systems. Teachers and administrators, for example, commented that evaluations were seen as a compliance issue, not as part of a system that encouraged teacher growth in support of student achievement. Feedback from schools throughout San Diego County painted a similar picture.

The Educator Effectiveness and Evaluation Project initiative was designed to address those concerns. “E3 creates a culture shift within districts that changes the lens around teacher evaluation from a punitive ‘gotcha’ model to a system that focuses on continuous growth for teachers, enhances instruction and impacts student learning,” Roth-Tellier said.

Since its creation, E3 has reached more than 20 urban, suburban, rural, K-5, K-8 and high school districts, as well as county offices and charter schools throughout San Diego County and California, impacting more than 297,000 students in 473 schools. Partners in the E3 project include the California Department of Education, American Institute of Research, WestEd and the National Center for Great Teachers and Leaders. E3 was also recently recognized with a Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association.

“The project isn’t about the teacher evaluation document; it’s about building systems of continuous learning and growth for teachers, so they can support the diverse learners in their classrooms.”

—Paul Gothold, San Diego County superintendent of schools

“We know that the quality of classroom teachers has a huge effect on student achievement. That’s why E3 is so impactful,” said Paul Gothold, San Diego County superintendent of schools. “The project isn’t about the teacher evaluation document; it’s about building systems of continuous learning and growth for teachers, so they can support the diverse learners in their classrooms.”

—Hugh Biggar