2016-17 ESE Teacher Advisory Cabinet Application ESE's Teacher Advisory Cabinet Application for 2016-2017 Due Monday, August 1st by Midnight Requirements: On behalf of the Center for Educator Effectiveness at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE), we invite current teachers (including all grade levels, content areas, specialists, coaches, and specialized instructional support personnel, etc.) to apply to participate in ESE's 4th cohort of the Teacher Advisory Cabinet. Participants will share their experiences and insight related to implementation of various educator effectiveness initiatives and will participate in current work underway in the Center for Educator Effectiveness. More information about the Teacher and Principal Advisory Cabinets is available here: http://www.doe.mass.edu/edeval/communications/. Time commitment: In addition to attendance at all five meetings, participants spend 2-3 hours in between meetings completing pre-work and replying to emails as needed. We receive more applicants than we have spaces on the Cabinet, so it is important that all teachers who apply and are accepted are able to participate fully. We are happy to provide a letter for your school and/or district leaders thanking them for allowing you to participate. Meeting dates, times, and locations: ESE will convene two Teacher Cabinets (East and Central/West) for a one-day kick-off meeting followed by four 2.5-hour meetings on the following dates: East Cabinet Kick-Off Meeting

Central/West Cabinet

September 29, 2016: 9:30am-3pm (Marlborough)

Meeting #1

November 16th, 2016: 2:00pm-4:30pm

November 17th, 2016: 2:00pm-4:30pm

Meeting #2

January 18th, 2017: 2:00pm-4:30pm

January 19th, 2017: 2:00pm-4:30pm

Meeting #3

April 5th, 2017: 2:00pm-4:30pm

April 6th, 2017: 2:00pm-4:30pm

Meeting #4

June 7th, 2017: 2:00pm-4:30pm (Marlborough)

The East Cabinet meetings #1-3 are held at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education office, 75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA. Central/West Cabinet meetings #1-3 are

held in locations in central Massachusetts, usually at a member's school. Please note: ESE is unable to reimburse participants for travel or parking expenses. How to Apply: To be considered for the 2016-2017 Teacher Advisory Cabinet, all application materials must be received by Monday, August 1st, 2016 at midnight. The application has three parts: 1. An online application. 2. A current resume that is uploaded into the online application. 3. A recommendation letter and form that must be printed and submitted via mail or email directly from your recommender. (Specific directions are included on the form.) Questions? Please email Ben Peisch at [email protected]. ESE is committed to engaging educators in order to support the successful implementation and ongoing refinement of the educator effectiveness policies. Please share this opportunity with your colleagues. Thank you for your commitment to this work and to the students of the Commonwealth. Applicant Information* First Name:: _________________________________________________ Last Name:: _________________________________________________ Primary Email Address:: _________________________________________________ Secondary Email Address:: _________________________________________________ Phone Number:: _________________________________________________ Role: [ ] Classroom teacher [ ] Instructional Coach [ ] Specialist [ ] Guidance Counselor [ ] Special Education Educator/Interventionist [ ] ELL/ESL/SEI [ ] Other - Write In: _________________________________________________

Grade levels and subjects you will be teaching in 2016-17:____________________________________ How many years have you been teaching?: _________________________________________________

Do you have Professional Teaching Status (tenure)? ( ) Yes ( ) No Educator License Number:: _________________________________________________

Optional Information Gender:: _________________________________________________ Race/Ethnicity:: _________________________________________________

School & District Information School Name:*: _________________________________________________ District Name:*: _________________________________________________ Grade Span:*: _________________________________________________ What is your district's Accountability and Assistance Level (1-5)?*: _____________________________

Is your district:* ( ) Urban ( ) Suburban ( ) Rural

Cabinet Information Which cabinet would you like to join? (Select both if you are flexible.) [ ] East (Malden, MA) [ ] Central/West (locations TBD, west of Worcester) Will you be able to commit to attending all Cabinet meetings in the 2016-17 school year? ( ) Yes ( ) No If no, please explain. (word limit: 100)

Resume & Recommendation Letter 1) Please upload a current, professional resumé. 2) Download and Print recommendation form to be completed by a school/district leader or colleague. You should choose someone who can speak to your capacity to participate meaningfully in the Teacher Cabinet, your ability to be solutions-oriented when faced with challenges, and your commitment to being a reflective practitioner and contributing member to your school and/or district's ongoing improvement. Your recommender must submit the completed form and letter to Ben Peisch at [email protected] by August 1st, 2016.

New Applicant Questions 1. In your opinion, what are the top 1-2 benefits of incorporating evidence of student learning into an educator's evaluation? From your perspective, name 1-2 challenges that exist with using evidence of student learning and what solution(s) you propose to overcome these challenges. (word limit: 350) 2. Explain the impact your teaching has made in supporting student learning, growth, and achievement (please focus on a class or group of students, as opposed to one student). Include data to support your response. (word limit: 400)

3. Describe one example of your experience leading or collaborating with colleagues. What was your role? Did your leadership and/or collaboration yield positive results? Describe the outcome(s). (word limit: 350) 4. Describe an education issue that is important to you. Address causes, effects, and the impact on students, as well as how teachers can play a role in addressing and solving this issue. (word limit: 350)

2016-17 Cabinet Working Groups During the 2016-17 school year, Teacher Advisory Cabinet (TAC) and Principal Advisory Cabinet (PAC) members will lend their expertise to one of 4-5 projects currently underway in ESE's Center for Educator Effectiveness. Members will work together in these topicspecific working groups throughout the year. •

Performance Rubric Revisions: During the 2016-17 school year, ESE will be studying the model classroom teacher rubric, its use in educator evaluation, and its effectiveness as a tool to provide educators with high quality feedback on their practice. Members of the TAC/PAC working group will participate in active data collection around rubric usage, explore redundancies across Indicators, and examine performance descriptors. This work will inform possible updates and revisions to the rubric. Skills: familiarity with the classroom teacher rubric; experience in qualitative data collection (interviews, focus groups); rubric development; belief in the use of performance rubrics for educator growth and development.

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Identifying Key Principles of Assessment Literacy: A clear understanding of how to build and interpret assessments of student learning is an important skill for educators. It is also an area that many educators feel unprepared for. Throughout the 2016-17 school year, ESE will be engaging stakeholders to identify a small number of critical assessment literacy skills that should be the focus of educator preparation, educator evaluation, and professional development. Members of this TAC/PAC working group will contribute to this project. Skills: A solid understanding about how to build and interpret assessments; experience using data to inform practice; belief in the importance of improving data and assessment literacy in the field.

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Supporting Beginning Educators through District and Preparation Program Partnerships: All districts are required to offer beginning educators with induction and mentoring in their first year of practice. Beyond this first year, teachers must also receive an additional 50 hours of mentoring in order to receive their professional teaching license. ESE is exploring partnership opportunities in which districts and

preparation programs work collaboratively to offer these supports to beginning educators. Members of this TAC/PAC working group will help determine the skills in which beginning teachers need the most support developing, potential structures and methods for providing these supports (graduate coursework, observations, online platforms, etc.), opportunities for teacher leaders to play a role in this work, and guidance for building robust partnerships between districts and preparation programs. •

Developing a Performance System for Educator Preparation Programs: Over the last few years, ESE has compiled significant data about the outcomes of preparation programs, including employment rates, the evaluation ratings of their graduates, and perception data of various stakeholders. While we publicly report these data, we do not yet synthesize it in a way that would provide prep programs, educators, districts, and other stakeholders a clear sense of how well prep programs are actually preparing new teachers (analogous to the school and district performance system of Level 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Members of this TAC/PAC working group will dig into the available data, provide input on the most informative components, and generate ideas for how this information may be synthesized and shared broadly in a regular and meaningful way.

Please review the topics above and sort them in order of preference below. Rate your topic preference (1-most preferred, 4-least preferred) ________Performance Rubric Revisions ________Identifying Key Principles of Assessment Literacy ________Supporting Beginning Educators through District and Preparation Program Partnerships ________Developing a Performance System for Educator Preparation Programs

In 4-6 sentences, explain your interest in your first and second choices and any expertise or experience you would bring to those particular working groups.

Questions? Please email Ben Peisch at [email protected].