ADEPT
ADEPT is South Carolina's system for Assisting, Developing and Evaluating Professional Teaching. The component of ADEPT assigned to an individual teacher is based upon the teacher's contract level:
- Induction contract teachers fall under the guidelines of the New Teacher Institute (NTI)
- Annual/Formal contract teachers fall under the guidelines of Summative ADEPT Formal Evaluation for Classroom-Based Teachers (SAFE-T) or Framework for Evaluating and Assisting Teachers (FEAT) for specialty area teachers (media, guidance, or speech therapist)
- Annual and Continuing contract teachers who have completed formal evaluation fall under the guidelines of Goals Based Evaluation-Revised (GBE-R)
A brief description of each ADEPT component is provided below.
The Idea....
Rock Hill School District takes pride in hiring the very best teachers. During their first year, teachers have the advantage of participating in a unique induction program with other new teachers and receive the year-long support of a mentor. The New Teacher Institute puts new teachers in touch with people, ideas, and experiences designed to help them achieve success their first year. They share ideas and become more familiar with the resources available to them in the district and the community.
The Goals and Beliefs....
The goals of the Rock Hill School District New Teacher Institute (NTI) promote the district's mission and strategic plan, address the learner standards, and implement state-mandated guidelines for induction programs. They can be stated as follows.
- to increase the retention of first-year teachers;
- to improve teacher performance;
- to promote the personal and professional well-being of first-year teachers;
- to transmit the school system’s culture;
- to integrate the first-year teacher into the Rock Hill School District community
These goals are based on the beliefs that staff development should be derived from sound principles of theory and research, that it respects and builds upon the uniqueness of individuals and groups, and that it occurs best in an environment of encouragement, trust, and safety. Through this induction program, the expected outcome will be a first-year teacher who demonstrates an exceptional ability to plan, organize, and instruct in the classroom; who actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally; and who fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and the community to support students’ learning and well being.
The Key Elements....
As stipulated in state guidelines, induction year teachers participate in district and school orientations at the beginning of the year where they receive written and oral explanations of successful completion of NTI requirements, all relevant district and school policies and resources, and information about characteristics of the Rock Hill community. Additionally, they are assigned a mentor who has been trained in ADEPT and the skills of "mentoring" and who works closely with the induction teacher throughout the year. Induction teachers are given a schedule in August of sessions that they attend throughout the year. By participating in the New Teacher Institute, induction teachers receive the necessary information and preparation about ADEPT, work closely with a two-member assistance team, and regularly attend staff development sessions lead by veteran teachers where they meet with other induction teachers, mentors, and district personnel to discuss and learn expectations for being employed as a teacher in Rock Hill School District Three.
The Program...
Participants in the New Teacher Institute receive support through monthly sessions with veteran teachers. Some of the session choices include:
- Engaging ESL students in the regular classroom
- Developing a long-range plan
- Welcome Home Event
- CPR Training
- Technology in the classroom
- Community relationships and resources
- Helping Students Deal with Loss
- Diversity Training
In addition to academic discussions and meetings, social events are also planned so that first-year teachers may get acquainted with each other.
The FAQ’s...
Who attends?--All teachers who have an induction contract to teach in the Rock Hill School District.
Why?--For assistance in becoming the best teacher possible and to meet state ADEPT requirements for induction teachers.
Where?--In the district’s Training Room and at various schools in the district. All Induction teachers will meet montly following the NTI Session Schedule located in their NTI manual.
When?--On alternating days of the week as well as alternating times in the afternoons and evenings.
How?--Through sessions with veteran teachers and administrators who share their expertise on topics of interest to first-year teachers.
How much?--80% attendance plus other requirements for credit.
Beginning with 2008-09 school year, the instrument used for all regular classroom teachers scheduled to undergo formal evaluation in the Rock Hill School District will be the Summative ADEPT Formal Evaluation of Classroom-Based Teachers or SAFE-T. SAFE-T replaces all other formal evaluation models for classroom-based teachers used in the state of South Carolina. It is based on a consensually determined definition of effective teaching. This definition includes:
4 Domains
Planning
Instruction
Environment
Professionalism
10 Performance Standards which are statements of what the teacher should know and be able to do to be effective.
34 Key Elements which give meaning to the performance Standards by identifying their most important aspects or components.
These domains, standards, and key elements apply to classroom-based teachers throughout their career continuums. An ADEPT evaluation team, 2-member team for annual-1 contract teachers and 3-member teams for teachers on an annual-2 and/or continuing contract, is appointed for each teacher undergoing the SAFE-T process.
(Guidance Counselors, Media Specialist, Speech Therapist
The Rock Hill School District’s summative evaluation instrument for speciality area educators, Framework for Evaluating and Assisting Teachers (FEAT), is a refinement of the state-created TEAM process. FEAT for speciality area educators is the result of a committee’s review of several evaluation instruments used in South Carolina and the conclusion that TEAM, although laborious and time-consuming, was an instrument that accurately reflected typical teaching performance in Rock Hill during the 1998-99 school years. Thus, the committee made the following:
- that the ADEPT Performance Dimensions for the speciality area be grouped into clusters to reflect the educators individual job requirement and professional responsibilities of teachers;
- that the number of team members should be reduced to two for annual-1 contract educators, with one member being a building administrator and the other being a person who has had recent teaching experience in the subject area or at the same level of the teacher being evaluated;
- that the manner in which documentation for short-range planning is collected should be changed;
- that the redundancy in documentation should be reduced and the manner of collecting data should be refined;
- that time frames should be adjusted to allow for maximum observation and conferencing time in the fall and spring.
During the evaluation committee's review of FEAT for speciality area educators, the group determined that the number of team members should be left at two for those annual-1 educators who performed successfully during their induction year. For those annual-2 and continuing contract speciality area educators who are evaluated using FEAT for speciality areas during 2008-09 school year, a three-member team will be used.
Introduction
It is the goal of the Rock Hill School District Three strategic plan to recruit, prepare, and retain good teachers and to create the conditions under which these teachers can teach well. The purpose of the Goals-Based Evaluation (GBE-R) model is to utilize a formative teacher evaluation system in which teacher evaluation and professional development are linked to support professional growth, continuous improvement, and enhanced student learning.
Key Elements
The Goals-Based Evaluation model-Revised is the ADEPT component designed to be used as an informal evaluation tool for experienced, continuing contract teachers who have previously demonstrated an acceptable or above average level of performance on prior evaluations.
Each participating teacher will develop, in writing and in collaboration with a building administrator, one of two GBE-R type goals. The two types of GBE-R are called Research & Development (R&D) GBE and Competence-Building GBE.
Goals are to be supportive of school district strategic plans and school renewal plans. As an alternative to developing GBE-R goals, teachers may elect to complete the process for pursuing National Board certification as an overall goal.
Each participating teacher must develop, in writing, an individualized plan for accomplishing his/her goals to include: (1) appropriate strategies for goal completion, (2) a system for monitoring progress and a method of generating supportive evidence of goal completion, and (3) a method of demonstrating a measurable impact on classroom performance. Each of these should be in writing and must be reviewed and approved by the teacher’s building administrator.
For More Information contact:
Janet Morris
Gail Sumwalt