Teacher Evaluation System - Polk County School District

Alignment and Support of District and School Improvement Plans
To fulfill our mission, we envision that students in the Polk County Public Schools will effectively:
Read, write, compute, speak, listen, and use complex thinking skills to solve problems;
Be self‐directed in creating personal purpose and vision, setting priorities, choosing ethical
action, and creating their own knowledge;
Cooperate and collaborate with others in working with and leading groups; interact positively in
diverse settings; recognize the value and contributions of all individuals; and make positive
contributions to their communities;
Understand and use social, organizational, and technological systems; design, monitor, improve
and correct performance within a system; and create viable products
Importance is placed on administrators and teachers collaboratively monitoring progress toward
meeting Polk County School District’s high expectations for continued growth in the academic
performance of all students and setting professional growth objectives for teachers related to their
assigned students’ achievement data, school improvement plan goals/objectives, and identified
individualized and differentiated teacher needs. A significant emphasis is placed on the
implementation of high probability instructional strategies that provide all students the opportunity to
experience academic performance growth, encourage staff efficacy and collegiality, and encourage
parents to support the learning processes that target these outcomes.
Student performance growth is dependent upon the implementation of a professional development
system focused on improving student learning experiences, effective use of high probability student
engagement strategies, requires careful planning, a collaborative effort by teachers and
administrators, and the targeted integration of professional learning through activities that are
relevant to the identified needs of Polk County’s students and teachers. Therefore, it is imperative that
the design, continued development, and implementation of a professional learning system meet the
diverse needs of Polk County’s students and teachers. From this perspective, focused and collaborative
feedback loops between teachers and administrators are crucial. Individualized for each teacher and
focused on improving student learning experiences and student engagement practices, this on‐going
professional dialogue occurs throughout the school year and is designed to create a differentiated
teacher professional growth plan with the objective of improving professional practices and student
achievement.
Therefore, the staff of the Professional Development Department (PD), in collaboration with the
district Professional Development Coordinating Council (PDCC), and the Professional Development
Advisory Board (PDAB), has developed a targeted system of professional learning for that integrates all
appropriate sub‐systems and correlates directly to the improvement of student academic growth. The
sub‐systems integrated within Polk County’s professional learning system are:
The District Mission and Strategic Plan Goals
Strategic Plan Strategies and Action Plan/Benchmarks
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