The SCEA Member Advocacy Center
April 2012
SAFE-T (Summative ADEPT Formal Evaluation of Teachers) 1. SAFE-T replaces all other evaluation procedures including TEAM, FEAT, STEP, PAS-T, etc. All districts were required to implement SAFE-T starting with the 2010-11 school year. 2. SAFE-T is not intended to be used to evaluate special area personnel including media, guidance and speech. The evaluation models for those areas are located on the SDE site. 3. SAFE-T is intended to evaluate a teacher’s “typical teaching”. The SCEA believes this means that observations during a class period or situation that is not “typical” should not be conducted. 4. Teachers must be evaluated in an area in which they are fully certified at the time of the evaluation. 5. SAFE-T a. must cover a minimum of 90 working days over the course of the academic year b. must consist of two evaluation periods: a preliminary evaluation period and a final evaluation period. c. Each evaluation period must include The collection of all required data The compilation of a dossier The independent review of the dossier by each evaluator The evaluators consensus meeting The conference with the teacher b. The preliminary evaluation period must begin on or after the date the teacher orientation is held c. The entire preliminary evaluation period must occur during the first semester of the school year. d. At least a portion of the final evaluation period must occur during the second semester of the year. e. The final evaluation period must end prior to the dates that contracts are issues annually. f. Teachers who are scheduled to undergo formal evaluation must be informed in advance of those dates. g. The Chair of the evaluation team must ensure that the dossier is available to each member of the evaluation team in sufficient time for each evaluator to conduct an independent review prior to the consensus meeting. 2. Classroom Observations a. Are unannounced b. Minimum of two, one per evaluator, per evaluation period c. Must be in a course for which a LRP was submitted d. Observations in the same course must be at least a week apart
Distributed by The SCEA Member Advocacy Center
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The SCEA Member Advocacy Center
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April 2012
e. Must cover a complete lesson including before and after transitions or be at least 45 minutes in length and must provide all valid evidence relative to all key elements in APSs 4-9. (To avoid an easy “gotcha”, lesson plans should be easily assessable to the evaluator.) Walk-Through Observations a. Data gathered via a walk-through may be applied only to determine the need for additional classroom observations, to determine the need to change the LRP, or to follow up on a specific weakness identified during a previous classroom observation. Notes from a walk-through can be used only if it applies to one of those three criteria. Conferences a. At least one member of the evaluation team must meet with the teacher after each consensus meeting but prior to the end of each evaluation period b. Must provide a detailed oral and written explanation of the teacher’s performance and the overall results of the evaluation. The discussion should be based on the consensus report. c. Teacher must be provided orally and in written form the requirements for the final evaluation period. d. The teacher must sign and date the consensus report at the conclusion of the meeting. The signature only serves as verification that he/she received the report. e. The teacher must be provided a copy of the consensus report. Records a. Working copies of the individually prepared summaries (ET3s) are destroyed at the end of each consensus meeting. b. The dossier and final evaluation are maintained until after the deadline for any appeal has passed. If an appeal is filed, they are kept until the appeal is resolved. c. The final ET3 is maintained indefinitely in the teacher’s personnel record. The Team a. Must perform in an ethical manner b. Must uphold confidentiality c. Must ensure validity of the evaluation results d. Must follow procedures e. Must not discuss individual judgments with the teacher. Only consensus-based decisions may be shared with the teacher. f. Must report any procedural or ethical violations to the district ADEPT coordinator
State site: http://www.scteachers.org/Adept/evaluatingeducator.cfm APPEALS TO SAFE-T If you want to file an appeal to the outcome of your evaluation, you do that using your district’s employee grievance procedure - located in your board policies, in the personnel section or your employee handbook. In most districts, the deadline to file is 10 days from the date you signed the evaluation document. Distributed by The SCEA Member Advocacy Center
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