NEWS               A Monthly News Publication from Eagle County Schools - October 2006
                                                                    F RO M                                          Page 1
                 Eagle County Schools
                                                                                                            Excellent teachers make the
                                                                                “The safety of your children in
                 PO Box 740                                                                                          difference!
                                                                                our schools is a responsibility
                 Eagle, CO 81631                                                         we take very seriously.”
                                                                                                                             In her quaint Texas classroom,
                                                                                                                             sixth grader Linda Dudley had an
                                                                               Dear Parents & Community Members,
                                                                                   September was a tragic month for our                        epiphany: she was destined for
                                                                               nation’s schools. In the wake of three school                       teaching. Linda had even nailed
                                                                               shooting incidents, we want to assure you that                       down the details: she would attend
                                                                               the safety of your children in our schools is a                      Texas A&M and study Math. An
                                                                               responsibility we take very seriously.
                                                                                                                             over-achiever at heart and true
                                                                                   Eagle County Schools work closely with




                                                                    Eagle County Schools
                                                                                                                             to her word, Linda received her
                                                                               the Eagle County Sheriff’s Department and town
                                                                                                                             Bachelor’s Degree in Math and
                                                                               law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety
                                                                                                                             Elementary Education from Texas
                                                                               of our students. Together, we have developed
                                                                                                                             A&M in 1994. Her adventurous
                                                                               responses to a wide variety of potential threats. In
                                                                                                                             spirit then lead her to Colorado,
                                                                               light of recent events, our Administrative Team is
                                                                               meeting with the Sheriff’s Department to review                      where she would embark on an
  Wild West Day - another huge
                                                                               and update all safety procedures.                             amazing teaching career and soon
  success! This year’s event raised
                                                                                   Each of our schools has safety and security
    over $19,000 for each                                                                                                              meet her future husband, Troy
     Elementary School!                                                                  plans in place. These plans include procedures to   Dudley, now a Master Teacher at Red Canyon High School.
                                                                               respond to critical incidents and school personnel
                                                                                                               Linda officially joined Eagle County Schools in 1995 at
                                                                               practice these drills regularly. However, all of the
                                                                                                           Meadow Mountain Elementary School as a Teacher’s Assistant.
                                                                               experts agree that the most important thing we do
                                                                                                           Shortly thereafter, while working on her Master’s Degree in
                                                                               to protect our children is to have conversations
                                                                                                           Curriculum and Assessment at Adams State College through a
                                                                               with them about the events of the past month.
                                                                                                           cooperative extension program, Linda helped open Avon Elementary
                                                                               Increasing awareness of our surroundings will go
                                                                                                           School and assumed the role of a Third Grade Teacher and Literacy
                                                                               a long way in ensuring school safety.
                                                                                   All of our schools have engaged in       Coach. Little did she know that this particular career path would
                                                                               discussions with students about reporting any     soon take a positive, yet dramatic, turn in the road.
                                                                               unusual behavior on the part of an adult or           These days, Linda is teaching Language Arts at Red Canyon
                                                                               another student. If students see someone in their   High School and absolutely loving every minute of it. She helped
                                                                               school that they don’t recognize, they should tell
                                                                                                           to open the alternative high school in 2001, which now boasts 2
                                                                               their teacher or principal immediately. It is vital
                                                                                                           locations, 104 students, 9 teachers, and a spectacular Expeditionary
Excellent Teachers Continued...                            Kathy Chandler-Henry                          that we do this in order to keep our schools safe.
                                                                                                           Learning (EL) program. When asked if the transition from
                                                                                   We would like to thank our parents,
   Linda incorporates the EL program in her                                                                                    elementary to secondary education was hard to adapt to, Linda
                                                                               students, and staff for continuing to work together
                                         NOW:
classroom by challenging her students to read, write,                                                                                responds, “Change requires adjustment. My ultimate goal as an
                                                                               to help maintain a focus on teaching and learning
think critically, and partake in a variety of in-depth              • Owner and President of Black Diamond                                               educator is to instill a love for life-long learning in each and every
                                                                               in our schools, while also remaining diligent
discussions on compelling, and sometimes controversial,              Research                                  about safety issues. Thank you in advance for     student, no matter the age of the child or content of the material.”
topics in history and present-day. Past student Elle               • Research Director for Eagle County Economic                your cooperation as we work to ensure the            Principal Wade Hill couldn’t be happier with Linda’s
Marcum, who is currently a freshman at Mesa State,                 Council                                  safest environment for our students, staff and     performance. “Linda is a model of excellence. She continually
had the pleasure of being taught by Linda both in 3rd              • Senior Analyst for the Austen Group                    community.                       strives to take new ideas from Cluster Meetings and our EL
grade at Avon Elementary School and again at Red                 • Co-owner of Brush Creek                              If you have questions about your child or
                                                                                                           program, and then put these to work in her classroom. Linda does
Canyon High School. “You won’t find a more dedicated                Electric                                  about your school’s safety and support responses,
teacher than Mrs. Dudley,” states Elle. “She is one of                                                                                an amazing job of creating compelling expeditions and strives to
                                                                               please contact your principal. As always, feel
those teachers who knows it all, at an elementary and a                                                                               challenge and engage the students of Red Canyon High School.”
                                         THEN:                                    free to contact me at 328-6321 or at jbrendza@
high school level. She expects nothing less than your                                                                                Tom Gladitsch, Career Coordinator at RCHS, adds “Linda is Ms.
                                                                               eagleschools.net with your questions, concerns
                                         Eagle County Schools:
best and works hard to ensure each student succeeds,                                                                                 Enthusiastic in her classes. She is constantly looking for new ways
                                                                               or comments.
                                         • Old County Building in
both academically and personally.”
                                                                                                           to make her class interesting and relevant to the students.”
                                          Downtown Eagle
   Linda’s ultimate goal is to spark curiosity about
                                                                                                               In Linda’s mind, much of the academic achievement at Red
                                         • Eagle Valley Elementary
the world within her students. Her unique teaching
                                                                                                           Canyon High School can be attributed to constant team collaboration,
                                         • Eagle Valley Junior High
style and commitment to each student’s academic
                                                                                         Best regards,
                                         • Eagle Valley High, 1973                                                      staff development training, and successful implementation of the
success is just one reason students are hungry to learn
                                         College:                                                              EL program. Expeditionary Learning is a nationally-recognized
at Red Canyon High School.
                                         • Fort Lewis College (BA in                                                     model for comprehensive school reform for elementary, middle,
                                          Political Science), 1978                                                     and high schools that emphasizes high achievement through active
                                         • Duke University (MA in
                                                                                                           learning, character growth, and teamwork. EL schools focus on core
                                          Political Science, MA in Health Administration,
                                                                                                           curriculum skills while basing the class on in-depth investigations.
                                          ABD in Political Science), 1980
                                                                                                           Learning includes authentic products, fieldwork, service learning,
                                                                                        John Brendza
                                                                                                           and inviting experts into the classroom.
                                         “Mr. McCollum, Mr. Zimmerman, and Mr. Burke                          Superintendent
                                                                                                                   (Story continues on page 4)
                                         were all memorable teachers in my time attending
                             Do you know Eagle   Eagle County Schools. We spent our senior year
                                        in math (2 of us!) learning “field math,” such
                             County Schools’

                                                                                                                 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
                                        as surveying. Classes and clubs were small, so
                             alumni? Let us know
                                        everyone had a chance to practice leadership skills,
                             how to get in touch
                                                                                                                A School Safety Message from the Superintendent
                                        and we all left with the feeling we could achieve
                             with them. Email us
                                                                                                            Excellent Teachers - a feature on Linda Dudley, Red Canyon High
                                        anything we wanted. It’s great to be back in Eagle
                             at communications@
                                                                                                             Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) - part 3 of a 4-part series
                                        after all these years -- and I think EVHS, under Mr.
                             eagleschools.net.                                                                          Adequate Yearly Progress - ECS hits 95% of targets
                                        Strakbein’s leadership, is promoting those same
                                                                                                                   All Star Alumni of Eagle County Schools
                                        qualities in today’s students.”

       A Monthly News Publication from Eagle County Schools - October 2006                                   A Monthly News Publication from Eagle County Schools - October 2006
                               Page 2                                                                 Page 3



                                                Q&A
                                                                     Teacher evaluation measures instructional excellence
Evaluation - a part of life for Eagle County                                                    The Eagle County Schools evaluation
Teachers                                                                 rubric was developed and adopted based on
     This is part 3 of a 4-part series of articles about Eagle County Schools’                            the latest research-based teacher evaluation
on-going efforts to have a highly qualified and well-trained teacher in every                               practices. The rubric is made up of four
classroom, everyday. This fall marks the fifth year of implementation of the Teacher   W hy are teachers evaluated           domains: Designing and Planning Instruction,
                                             so many times?
Advancement Program (TAP), a school reform effort which is designed to increase                              Instruction, Learning Environment, and
                                             By having more evaluations, teachers are
student performance through effective classroom instruction.                                       Teacher Responsibilities. Within each domain
                                             able to gain a deeper understanding of
     TAP is comprised of four key elements, and each of these elements will be                            are very specific indicators of performance
                                             their teaching skills, including strengths
highlighted from August through November.                                                 which are scored on a 5-point scale. For
                                             and areas for improvement. In the past,
  1. Multiple Career Paths (August)                                                   instance, pictured on the right is a page from
                                             teachers who had been with us for three
  2. Ongoing, Applied Professional Growth (September)                                          the Instruction domain which evaluates the
                                             years or less were evaluated one time a
  3. Instructionally Focused Accountability (October)                                          “Presenting Instructional Content” indicator.
                                             year by the Principal and non-probationary
  4. Pay for Performance Awards (November)                                                You can see how it details very specifically
                                             teachers were evaluated every other
     If you would like to receive copies of past issues of this newsletter, please  year. Unless the evaluation was done       for the teacher and evaluator what is required
email communications@eagleschools.net.                          early in the year, it was not a useful tool   to receive an exemplary score in this area.
                                             for guiding coaching and professional           The evaluation rubric continues to be
Instr uctionally Focused Accountability                         development throughout the year. Also,      improved based on input from teachers and
     Eagle County Schools utilize a comprehensive system for evaluating       because evaluation scores count towards
                                                                     principals. Since the TAP program began,
teachers, providing them with support to improve their skills and rewarding them     a teacher’s performance award, more
                                                                     we have changed several of the indicators for
for how well their students learn. Each teacher is evaluated four times a year by    evaluations give the best chance for a
                                                                     performance to make them more targeted to
                                             score that is truly representative of the
trained and certified evaluators using a comprehensive rubric developed to measure
                                                                     the specific student achievement goals of our
                                             teacher’s skills and knowledge.
teaching skills, knowledge and responsibility.
                                                                     district.
Teachers are evaluated 4 times each year
                                             How can you make sure that                 As the TAP program continues to
     Two of the four evaluations are announced and two are unannounced.
                                             all evaluators are judging            evolve, instructionally focused accountability
Announced evaluations include a pre-and post-conference with the evaluator. The     teachers consistently?              is an area that will be reviewed for
pre-conference allows the teacher to explain the lesson objectives to the evaluator   Prior to performing evaluations that are     effectiveness and revised to best meet our
and to discuss the teaching strategies they plan to use. The post-conference is     scored and used to determine financial      goals. Specific areas that we are monitoring
designed for the evaluator to share his/her feedback on the lesson, the teacher to    rewards, evaluators attend training
                                                                     include:
reflect on the lesson, and to discuss areas for improvement.               sessions and spend time conducting
                                                                     • Mentor Teachers’ role as an evaluator      • Timing of evaluations throughout the year
                                             practice classroom evaluations to promote
Master and Mentor Teachers and Principals evaluate teachers
                                                                     • Number of evaluations conducted each year • Mix of announced and unannounced evaluations
                                             consistency between evaluations as
     Mentor Teachers conduct the first evaluation of the year, which is completed
                                                                          In the November newsletter, we will be discussing how the evaluation scores a teacher earns affects his/her
                                             well as to build and improve their skills.
by October 31st. Completing the evaluation early in the year allows the Mentor
                                                                     performance pay award.
                                             Annual evaluator certification is required
Teacher to gain a baseline understanding of the teacher’s skills and knowledge and
                                             and is conducted by the National Institute
enables him/her to tailor coaching to the individual needs of each teacher. The three
                                             of Excellence in Teaching. Training is
remaining evaluations are conducted throughout the year and include one conducted    supplemented by an extensive videotape
by the Master Teacher and one conducted by the Principal. The fourth and final
                                                                        Eagle County Schools meet 95% of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Goals
                                             library of classroom episodes and
evaluation is conducted by either a Master Teacher or the Principal. In determining   teacher conferences graded against the
a teacher’s annual score, the Principal ratings are weighted at 50 percent, and Master  instructional scoring rubric. Inter-rater     W hat is AYP?
and Mentor evaluations are weighted at 25 percent each.                 reliability is continuously monitored by
                                                                          The federal ‘No Child Left Behind’ law requires that schools and school districts make Adequate Yearly Progress
                                             administrators and evaluators.
Evaluator certification is required
                                                                      (AYP) towards achievement proficiency. In Colorado, AYP is defined by the number of students who score Advanced,
     New Master and Mentor Teachers and Principals are required to attend four
                                                                      Proficient or Partially Proficient on the CSAP test. For 2006, that target for proficiency was set from 60.25 to 84.74
                                             Does having teachers
days of training on how to evaluate teachers. The training is aimed at providing
                                                                      percent of all students depending on the grade level and content area. By 2014, the expectation is that 100 percent of
                                             evaluate other teachers
an in-depth level of understanding of each component of the evaluation rubric and
                                             create conflicts?                 students at all grade levels and in all content areas will attain proficiency.
includes video-taped sample lessons for Masters and Mentors to score and then
                                                                          Rather than looking at the averages of all students in a school, the law mandates that students be broken out in
                                             Mentor Teacher evaluations are one of
discuss their ratings. The goal is to achieve a high degree of consistency among     the greatest areas of controversy within     sub-groups based on ethnicity, socioeconomic risk factors, learning disabilities and English language proficiency. In
evaluators.                                       the TAP program. One school of thought      order for a school to attain AYP, each sub-group of students must hit the performance target. The larger the school
                                             says that it is important for a Mentor to     district, the greater the number of target performance groups.
                                             evaluate in order to be able to specifically
         Here’s what teachers have to say                                             Eagle County Schools make progress
                                             target their coaching to the teacher’s
                                                                          Eagle County Schools made progress in 2006 over 2005 by hitting 95 percent of our targets, versus 88 percent
                                             greatest areas of need. Another school of
“The most positive aspect of TAP is the evaluation rubric. I am a life-long                                of our targets last year. We did not attain our performance targets in sub-groups of limited English proficient or special
                                             thought is that having a Mentor evaluate
learner and the rubric has helped me focus on areas of improvement. I                                   education students. The CSAP test is in English and if you are not proficient in the language, it will be impossible for
                                             the teachers they coach places stress on
like the feedback I get from the evaluations. In the past, you didn’t get this                              you to perform well.
                                             the mentor - mentee relationship. It is an
                                                                      12 of our 16 schools make AYP
much feedback on your teaching.”                            area that is constantly being evaluated.
                                                                          Four of our schools with large populations of second-language and/or students with special learning challenges
                                             Two of the changes that were made this
                    Middle School Teacher, 14 years experience
                                                                      (Avon Elementary, Berry Creek Middle, Battle Mountain High and Red Canyon High) did not reach their performance
                                             year to make Mentor evaluations more
                                             effective include:                targets with sub-groups of students. It is particularly difficult for a large high school to hit all of their targets. Eagle
“Evaluations have been helpful, especially from my Principal. The feed-
                                             1) All Mentor evaluations take place       Valley High was one of only 22 out of over 100 4A and 5A schools that made AYP.
back is very thorough and it felt good. She is always on target. She gives
                                             before October 31st so Mentors can focus         By hitting 95 percent of our AYP targets, we are similar to many of our neighboring school districts and on par
me more focus and it isn’t too stressful.”                       on coaching the rest of the year.         with some of the top school districts in the state.
                       Elementary School Teacher, 1st year    2) All schools are required to hire the proper
                                             number of Mentors needed to ensure that
                                                                             Roaring Fork       85.15%      Boulder Valley      92.00%