It has been a long time since I last posted on this
blog. The school year is over and we are
planning for the next one. The initial
implementation phase (IIP), or “pilot,” of the new classified growth and
development cycle did not occur due to a variety of unforeseen
circumstances. The good news is that we
will be launching an IIP as soon as school starts up again in August. Here is a recap of activities that took place
during the last school year that will support our launch in school year
2013-14.
We identified the classifications that we will include in
our no-stakes pilot. Most of the groups
selected are located at schools or work closely with students. Additionally, they include some of the larger
classifications in the District. While
only about 100 employees will be included in the pilot, they represent a range
of classifications. The proposed
breakdown of potential classifications can be found here.
On a different note, the District is moving the processes in
the growth and development cycle online.
While there is an existing platform for the teacher evaluation process,
there has not been the capacity to move the processes for classified employees
onto the platform yet. However, I was
able to develop tools for the classified growth & development cycle by
building them into a program that the District has been using for many years as
a survey tool. The online tools are easy
to access for employees using their District single sign-on. In fact, if you have an LAUSD single sign-on,
you may access the Self-Assessment tool here, and the Individual Growth Plan
(IGP) here. Feel free to try these out
and provide me with feedback. We strive
to make these tools as easy and clear as possible. The benefits of online tools include not
having to follow paper around, and the ability for us to track who has
completed the process and when. This is
important as we work to support all employees with these activities.
One thing that you may find is that not all the components
of the self-assessment will apply to all classified employees. We have developed a tool that we are
considering for scaling the process. The
format of the tool allows the employee and his/her supervisor to have a
discussion regarding the expectations of the position. Additionally, it results in a list of those
components that should be considered in the assessment/evaluation and those
that are not necessary for the position.
The scaling tool can be found here.
Please let me know what you think.
I have also been working for the last several months with a
training specialist from the Personnel Commission. He and I have discussed the pilot process (revision 07/19/13 here) and
are developing associated training. This
training will be primarily for the supervisors of the employees in the
IIP. This corresponds to the way we
conduct training for the teacher evaluation process, with the principals
receiving a majority of the training. We
will likely devise a blended training methodology that includes pre-reading,
some video/online content, as well as instructor led training. This will roll out early in the school year.
Finally, a few weeks before the end of this school year, in
May, I held a “mini” Advisory Committee meeting. While everyone was welcome to attend, I did
not send out a mass invitation like I have for prior meetings. I only sent information to the people that
have attended all, or nearly all, previous meetings. I wanted to provide an update and explain the
status of the IIP without having to provide a great deal of background
information. You can find the
presentation for this meeting here. Please
feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions, questions, etc. I am always excited to talk about this work.
