On Friday, October 12, Josephinum Academy hosted the first STC Chicago event of the 2012-2013 school year, a Roundtable focusing on the topics of Teacher Recruitment, Retention, Evaluation, and Compensation.
The eleven attendees represented five STC Chicago member and partner schools and two prospective schools. Several participants brought and shared samples of formal and informal observation and evaluation tools and discussed the various frameworks each school uses to assess teaching practice (such as the The Danielson Group’s Framework for Teaching, Kim Marshall’s framework from Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation, and Robert Marzano’s Teacher Evaluation Model).
Other issues the group addressed at the Roundtable included staying competitive with compensation despite unpredictable external factors such as fundraising and state and federal funding, and ways to retain teachers given the draw of higher-paying jobs in other schools and districts (particularly as teachers reach five or more years of teaching experience). Attendees shared their innovative approaches to addressing these thorny issues, such as involving teachers in creating a performance-pay system, developing a cadre of accomplished teachers who receive a stipend for leading schoolwide professional development, and offering perks such as an onsite nursery. School leaders left the session with some fresh ideas, some example tools to consider and share with their leadership teams, and a renewed sense of collaboration.
We look forward to our next event, and hopefully bringing a large contingent from Chicago to Milwaukee for the STC Forum in the spring!