Getting started: The first 90 days

Important steps to take before Thanksgiving

Attend a meeting on the evaluation and development system.

Attend your in-school training on teacher evaluation. This training has been jointly developed by the UFT and DOE to give you greater insight into the process.

Prepare for your initial planning conference.

You should meet with your supervisor (evaluator) no later than the end of October to discuss your approach to instruction and your professional contributions to the school community. To prepare for this meeting:

• Review your overall rating from last school year and be prepared to discuss specific areas of your teaching with your supervisor.
• Develop a working knowledge of the students in your classes including the need for any differentiation.
• Decide whether you want to be videotaped for your evaluation.

At your initial planning conference

• Discuss your Initial Planning Conference Form.
• Discuss your classes and plans for the coming year.

If your observation plan includes a formal observation, prepare for your pre-observation conference.

Be prepared to also discuss:

• The focus, activities and expectations of your lesson.
• The eight components of the Danielson Framework used in NYC.
• Your questions or concerns about the formal observation.
• The time and date for your formal observation.

Review the observation cycle.

Your evaluator may start visiting your classroom for evaluative observations at any time after the Initial Planning Conference.

• After each observation, your evaluator must provide feedback within 10 school days through an in-person conversation, phone call or email, or during the post-observation conference for a formal observation.
• Within 30 school days of any observation, your evaluator must give you the written report.
• You may also want to consider documenting all classroom visits and your own reflections on them, and sharing your reflections with your evaluator prior to receiving your evaluator’s written report.
• Informal observations must last at least 15 minutes. Formal observations must last a full period.

Find out about the Measures of Student Learning for your school.

The school-based MOSL committee decides the MOSL for each grade and subject. The menu of options is determined by the UFT/DOE Central MOSL Committee and is consistent with state guidelines.

• Ask your chapter leader what assessments your school-based MOSL committee selected for your school.
• Find out if your school is administering any baseline assessments and the timeline for administration.