Only administrators may conduct observations for evaluative purposes. No more than one evaluator and two school-based observers should be present during your observations. The superintendent and deputy superintendent are considered school-based for this purpose.

Formal observations are those that last a full period, are scheduled by mutual agreement between you and your evaluator, and involve individual pre- and post-observation conferences with your evaluator. Informal observations last a minimum of 15 minutes and may be unannounced. They do not require pre- and post- observations conferences. Nothing precludes an administrator from conducting such conferences.

An evaluator cannot demand that a teacher provide a hard copy of the day’s lesson plan on the spot. When observing a lesson, a supervisor has the right to see the plan of the lesson being taught. The supervisor may take a photo of the plan or ask that the teacher provide the plan at a later time. However, requiring teachers to make and maintain a copy of each of their lesson plans for every class in the event of an unannounced visit is not permitted.

Feedback is non-evaluative information about an observation that you should receive within ten days of an observation. The feedback can be via email, written, or face-to-face. Teachers can indicate a preference for the format of their feedback during their Initial Planning Conference. 

In this feedback, your evaluator must tell you whether the observation will be used for evaluative purposes. Your evaluator must provide you with an evaluator form no later than 30 school days after your observation. 

From the time an observation is conducted until the time you receive the evaluator form for it, your evaluator may conduct only one additional evaluative observation (formal or informal). 

An IPC is an in-person conversation with an evaluator conducted at a mutually-agreed upon time no later than the last Friday in October. The IPC gives teachers an opportunity to discuss previous evaluations, current classes, and plans for the coming year.

No, but you can, if you would like to discuss that with your evaluator. Teachers have sole discretion for setting goals and/or selecting an area of focus.

Administrators can observe teachers for evaluative purposes at any time after the Initial Planning Conference and then through the first Friday in June. In addition, half the required minimum number of observations must take place in the fall term and half in the spring. You should not be observed during the spring window until you receive the final required evaluator form for all required observations during the fall window. 

Here are the specific timelines:
Fall Window: From the Initial Planning Conference to the last day of the fall term
Spring Window: From the start of the spring term to the first Friday in June

It depends. They cannot observe you until you have received the required Fall observations. This means that if there were more than the required number, but you have not yet received the results for the additional observations, they can observe you.

The summative conference is a face-to-face conversation between teacher and evaluator conducted between the last Friday in April and the last Friday in June. This gives you an opportunity to talk about the observations that occurred throughout the year, answer any questions your supervisor has, and discuss the evaluations you have already received. 

Yes.