Last Friday, I posted an article about a Red Clay teacher asking the Delaware Dept. of Education for the student growth goals for their 2016-2017 evaluations. The teacher who sent this to me sent it as screen shots. Someone named “Penny” commented on the article last night suggesting that either myself or the teacher may have left out parts of the email chain in an attempt to make the Delaware DOE look bad. This is what “Penny” wrote:
When you post emails as a way to inform your readers of what is occurring at DOE or via the general communication exchange from a teacher to personnel at DOE, it would be far more honest and a clearer picture if they were posted in entirety as opposed to cutting them down to exclude portions of one or an entire sections of the exchange. When portions of the email exchange are not included in your article, it is not fair to judge the response of the representative that you are shaming without either knowing or sharing all that was communicated. I am hoping that it was Mr. Fackenthall that failed to share the full exchange in its entirety rather than your deliberate omission of portions in order to taint a member of the DOE in order to make the response altered from what it stated. Taking it piecemeal and not in its fluid exchange changes the tone, content, and intent of the conversation by both parties. I hope there was no malice on your intent but rather you were misinformed and the full email exchange was not shared with you.
As I replied to the commenter this morning, the screen shots sent to me were very small, and I had to do some cutting and pasting of the emails to give the full picture for the original article. As a result, the Red Clay teacher sent me the full email chain and I don’t see any changes to the content of the email whatsoever. I hoped anyone reading the article would be able to follow the time-stamps on the emails. But for clarity, here is the entire email chain:
From: Schneider Laura <Laura.Schneider@doe.k12.de.us>
Date: Wednesday, September 21, 2016 6:47 AM
To: “S. Fackenthall” <steven.fackenthall@redclay.k12.de.us>
Cc: Neubauer Jon <jon.neubauer@DOE.K12.DE.US>, Brake Kelley <Kelley.Brake@doe.k12.de.us>
Subject: Re: 2016-2017 growth goals
Thank you for sharing.
Laura Schneider
Director, Educator Effectiveness
Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Branch
Delaware Department of Education
401 Federal Street
Dover, DE 19901-3639
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2016 6:11:48 AM
To: Schneider Laura
Cc: Neubauer Jon; Brake Kelley
Subject: RE: 2016-2017 growth goals
Thank you. I still don’t understand WHY our educators can’t know what the student targets are PRIOR to the meeting. This information apparently is already known since you take the scores from last year to create the target.
I’m hopeful that these targets are REASONABLE. I think we fail to address the diverse populations and learning needs within our buildings.
From: Schneider Laura
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 10:02 AM
To: Fackenthall Steven <steven.fackenthall@redclay.k12.de.us>
Cc: Neubauer Jon <jon.neubauer@DOE.K12.DE.US>; Brake Kelley <Kelley.Brake@doe.k12.de.us>
Subject: RE: 2016-2017 growth goals
Steven,
Jon sent you the rating targets, found in the DPAS-II Guide. That is all you need.
Here is some additional info:
Group 1 Educators include any educator who instructs reading and/or mathematics for at least ten (10) students in grades four (4) through eight (8). The Student Improvement Component of DPAS-II for Group 1 Educators shall be comprised of one Measure A and one Measure B or C, weighted equally (50% for each).
· Measure A: Measure A will utilize student scores from the state assessment in ELA and Math. Growth targets are based on the state’s student growth model and are established by the Department of Education.
· Measure B or C: The second growth target is locally determined using a state-approved Measure B content assessment or Measure C growth goal.
The Delaware student growth model for Measure A measures student academic growth based on the state assessments in ELA and mathematics. The model uses a statistical growth model technique to identify the impact of an educator’s performance on student achievement, controlling for variables such as prior student knowledge and other student characteristics. Measure A rating targets (found in the DPAS-II Guide for Teachers) needed for goal setting are as follows:
PLEASE NOTE: Although individual student targets are not needed for the goal setting process, they will be made available to the field in October.
Measure selection and goal target identification is based on professional conversation between the administrator and educator during conferencing. If agreement cannot be reached, administrators have final approval. Whenever possible, goal setting should include all students the educator instructs.
Please visit the Student Improvement Component policy document from the DOE website.
In addition, please take time to utilize our Goal Setting Resource Suite.
http://www.doe.k12.de.us/Page/2403
Laura Schneider
Director, Educator Effectiveness
Delaware Department of Education
Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Branch
401 Federal Street
Dover, DE 19901-3639
302-735-4262
From: Fackenthall Steven
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 10:01 AM
To: Schneider Laura <Laura.Schneider@doe.k12.de.us>
Cc: Neubauer Jon <jon.neubauer@DOE.K12.DE.US>; Brake Kelley <Kelley.Brake@doe.k12.de.us>
Subject: Re: 2016-2017 growth goals
Once again, how can educators create appropriate goals for their students without knowing what the targets are?
Sent from my iPad
On Sep 20, 2016, at 9:45 AM, Schneider Laura <Laura.Schneider@doe.k12.de.us> wrote:
Not sure if Jon got back to you yet, but the individual student targets will be made available to the field sometime in October.
Laura Schneider
Director, Educator Effectiveness
Delaware Department of Education
Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Branch
401 Federal Street
Dover, DE 19901-3639
302-735-4262
From: Fackenthall Steven
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 7:58 AM
To: Neubauer Jon <jon.neubauer@DOE.K12.DE.US>
Cc: Schneider Laura <Laura.Schneider@doe.k12.de.us>; Brake Kelley <Kelley.Brake@doe.k12.de.us>
Subject: Re: 2016-2017 growth goalsThank you, Jon. Will the targets be made public?
While the student targets aren’t needed, educators would probably want to know what they are ahead of time as to best decide their goals.
Thank you.
Steven Fackenthall
Sent from my iPad
On Sep 20, 2016, at 7:02 AM, Neubauer Jon <jon.neubauer@DOE.K12.DE.US> wrote:
Steven-
Thank you for reaching out.
The individual student targets will be made available in early October. However, you don’t need those for the goal setting process.
The rating targets have been established and can be found in the DPAS-II Guide (http://www.doe.k12.de.us/domain/375). Below is a snapshot from the guid.
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Please let me know if you need additional clarification.
Jon
From: Fackenthall Steven
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2016 11:36 AM
To: Neubauer Jon <jon.neubauer@DOE.K12.DE.US>
Subject: 2016-2017 growth goalsGood morning Jon,
Can you refer me to the growth goals for SBAC ELA/Math this year?
Thank you for your help.
Steven Fackenthall
The Season Of Myths 