GCN - Employee Evaluations

1. PURPOSE AND PHILOSOPHY 

Under Utah Code Ann. § 53G-11-504, “the performance of each school district employee [must] be evaluated annually in accordance with rules” of the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). Temporary employees and part-time employees may be excluded from the requirement. The statutory and practical requirements for employee evaluations vary among certified, classified, and administrative employees. In compliance with Utah law, to encourage and facilitate improved skill and job performance among District employees, and to govern the evaluation of employees, the Board of Education hereby adopts this policy. 

2. EDUCATORS

Under Utah law each local school board is required to adopt an educator evaluation system. The District’s educator evaluation system, outlined here, is its process, policy, and procedures for evaluating an educator’s performance. 

As used in this section, the term “educator” does not include the superintendent or an individual who works less than three hours per day or is hired for less than half of a school year. The term “educator” is defined in Utah Code Ann. § 53G-11-501 and includes an individual employed by the district who is required to 

hold a Professional Educator License issued by USBE (including administrators who hold a USBE license); 

hold an Associate Educator License issued by USBE and be progressing through a university program or an APPEL program: 

through the USBE APPEL program for special education licensing, or

through Nebo School District for all other license/endorsement areas;

hold an LEA-specific license through Nebo School District and be progressing through the requirements for that license. 

As required by Utah law, the District’s educator evaluation system is developed in consultation with a joint committee. The Board has established the Joint Educator Evaluation Committee (JEEC). The JEEC consists of an equal number of classroom teachers, parents, and administrators appointed by the Board. The committee will meet when needed as determined by the superintendent or his/her designee. 

The educator evaluation system includes both formative and summative evaluations. 

A formative evaluation is a planned, ongoing process that allows educators to engage in reflection and growth of professional skills related to the Utah Effective Teaching Standards. It is designed and used to promote growth in a person's performance. An administrator conducting a formative evaluation may review applicable and available evidence such as observations, evidence of professional growth related to the Standards, stakeholder input, and evidence of student growth. This information may be used as a basis to carry forward a summative evaluation rating from the most recent summative evaluation or serve as the basis to conduct a summative evaluation. 

A summative evaluation is an evaluation by a supervisor that results in a summative evaluation rating of the educator’s performance. The rating may inform decisions on salary, continued employment, personnel assignments, transfers, or dismissals.

The summative evaluation rating means an annual rating of an educator's performance that assigns one of three levels, that may be defined as follows:

Level One: The educator did not meet performance expectations;

Level Two: The educator partially met performance expectations by demonstrating evidence of continued professional growth or demonstrating evidence of student academic growth;

Level Three: The educator met performance expectations by demonstrating evidence of continued professional growth and demonstrating evidence of student academic growth.

A summative evaluation must consider multiple inputs, including the following: 

Self-evaluation of performance in relation to the Utah Effective Educator Standards;

Student and parent input;

For administrators, teacher input, including on the effectiveness of evaluating employee performance in a school or school district for which the administrator has responsibility;

Results of multiple observations done with tools aligned to the Utah Effective Educator Standards (an observation is a formal or informal visit made by an administrator to an educator's classroom for the purpose of gathering formative information, providing feedback for growth, and informing decisions related to the educator's summative evaluation);

Evidence of student academic growth, as specified by the school district; and

Other indicators of professional improvement as specified by the school district.

Year-end state testing data may not be used in determining an educator's summative evaluation rating.

Data from a student who is chronically absent may not be used in determining an educator's summative evaluation rating.

All provisional educators will receive one summative evaluation each year until they receive career status. By February 15 of each year, the principal will submit the summative evaluations for all provisional educators to the Department of Human Resources. 

Each school year, at least fifteen (15) calendar days before conducting any educator’s first evaluation, a school’s administration shall provide the educators within the school an orientation on the District’s educator evaluation system. The orientation is typically a group meeting with all educators from a school. The orientation must provide educators with the following: 

Notification of the evaluation process; 

Access to relevant evaluation instruments; and

Notice of potential consequences, including discipline and termination, if an educator fails to meet performance expectations. 

Educators will be evaluated on the Utah Effective Teaching Standards adopted by the USBE.

The District will use an evaluation cycle extending up to four years, which includes:

A summative evaluation at least once every four years;

An annual formative evaluation, including:

At least one observation conducted by an administrator; 

Additional observations, at the discretion of the administrator, which may be provided by an individual designated by the administrator; and

A planned ongoing process for the educator to engage in reflection and growth related to the Utah Effective Teaching Standards.

At the discretion of an educator’s supervisor, more frequent summative evaluations. 

Evaluator Reliability

Utah law requires school districts to establish an evaluator reliability process. District administration is authorized to establish an evaluator reliability process in accordance with Utah law and with this section. 

The District will provide ongoing professional development opportunities for all evaluators that

identify criteria for assigning evaluation ratings and improve evaluator proficiency in recognizing the criteria; 

assures evaluators understand the Utah Effective Teaching Standards; 

gives evaluators an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities to rate an educator in accordance with the Utah Effective Teaching Standards; and 

designates qualified evaluators as certified. 

All educators shall be evaluated by certified evaluators. The term “certified evaluator” has the same meaning as defined in Utah Admin. Code R277-323 and means an educator who has received training in evaluating educator performance and demonstrated competency in using an educator evaluation tool to rate educator performance according to established standards.

Requesting a Review

An educator who is not satisfied with a summative evaluation may request a review of the evaluation. The request must be made within 15 calendar days after receiving a copy of the final summative rating and accompanying documentation that were submitted to the Department of Human Resources. The request must be submitted in writing to the educator’s principal or the Department of Human Resources. 

Upon receipt of a written request for a review, the District will conduct a review of the educator’s summative evaluation in accordance with Utah Admin. Code R277-523. 

3. CLASSIFIED AND OTHER NON-LICENSED EMPLOYEES

Utah law requires school districts to adopt policies for the evaluation of classified and other non-licensed employees. The evaluation of classified and other non-licensed employees shall contain the following components.

All classified and other non-licensed employees shall be evaluated at least annually. 

Each classified or non-licensed employee shall be evaluated using an employee appraisal system selected by the superintendent or designee. 

Each classified or non-licensed employee shall be evaluated by the employee’s principal, another appropriate administrator, or the principal’s or administrator’s designee.

Classified and other non-licensed employees may use the grievance procedures found in the applicable employee handbook to allege and seek redress for violations of District policy in the evaluation process. However, employees may not use the grievance procedures merely to allege disagreement with the results of the evaluation. 

Documentation of employee evaluations shall be maintained by the Department of Human Resources and may be considered in making decisions regarding transfers, promotions, reductions in staff consistent with Nebo School District Policy GCPF Reduction in Force, and dismissal consistent with Nebo School District Policy GCPD Employee Discipline, Administrative Leave, and Orderly Termination.

Classified and other non-licensed employees are subject to an evaluation at any time and may request an evaluation at any time. 

Letters of commendation and other written reports to document outstanding job performance are encouraged.

All performance documentation letters or reports should be submitted to the District for placement in the employee's personnel file.

Before submission to the Department of Human Resources of any documentation related to an employee’s evaluation, including letters and reports, each employee shall have an opportunity to review the documentation, sign it, and to keep a copy. Such signature indicates only that the employee has read the materials and is aware of the contents.

If the employee feels that any performance documentation submitted by the supervisor is incomplete, inaccurate, or unfair, the employee shall have the right to submit to the District office within ten (10) days the employee's own written statement which has been signed by the supervisor and placed in the file. Such signature indicates only that the supervisor has read the material and is aware of the contents.

4. TEMPORARY AND AT-WILL EMPLOYEES

“At-will employee” means an individual employed by the District whose employment may be terminated at any time, with or without cause. Any classified employee employed at less than twenty (20) hours per week in any position is an at-will employee in that position. Any certified or administrative employee employed at less than 0.5 FTE is an at-will employee. 

Temporary and otherwise at-will classified employees are not subject to the requirements of this policy. However, supervisors are encouraged and authorized to conduct evaluations of temporary and at-will classified employees.