Teacher Evaluation & Development Program

The West Hartford Public Schools is committed to improving student learning and staff effectiveness through the ongoing development of West Hartford’s professional staff. Research has proven that no single school-based factor contributes more to students success than high-quality teachers. To ensure that all students have high-quality teachers, West Hartford utilizes an evaluation and support structure that builds human capacity and challenges all educators to aspire to achieve excellence in their practice in order to provide an outstanding education for our students.

Based on the CT Guidelines 2023, adopted by the State Board of Education on June 14, 2023, and the collaborative work of the Educator Evaluation and Support (EES) Council 2022, the West Hartford Educator Evaluation and Support Plan satisfies Connecticut Guidelines for Educator Evaluation.

Central to the plan is the Professional Growth Cycle (PGC), a cyclical process that emphasizes ongoing development and enhancement of teaching practices. This cycle ensures that educators engage in continuous reflection, learning, and improvement to better serve their students. The primary goal of the plan is to strengthen individual and collective practices to increase student learning, ensuring all students realize the promise of West Hartford’s educational program.

The West Hartford Educator Evaluation and Development Program is a holistic and comprehensive process based on the following guiding principles:

• Vision for Best Instructional Practice – West Hartford’s frameworks for instructional practice and service delivery are grounded in a student-centered approach that supports and develops independence and student responsibility for learning.
• Continuous Improvement – West Hartford’s Model of Continuous Improvement is a concrete representation of our district’s vision and strategy for improvement. The West Hartford Teacher Evaluation and Support Plan featuring a Professional Growth Cycle (PGC) promotes continuous improvement in its design and implementation. The work of improvement is an ongoing and continuous process over the course of a teacher’s career.
• Growth Over Time – West Hartford’s focus on continuous improvement through the Professional Growth Cycle is a key driver in the teacher evaluation process. The evaluation of a teacher’s performance with regard to their commitment to the process of refining professional practice and its impact on student learning should reflect improvement from an established starting point. Attaining high levels of performance and maintaining high results are critical aspects of a teacher’s work; therefore, a rigorous and aspirational goal-setting process in this model encourages a cycle of continuous improvement over time.
• Multiple Sources of Evidence – West Hartford’s model considers multiple sources of evidence, which may include, but are not limited to, observations of practice, outcomes of student learning aligned to identified goals, application of professional learning concepts, personal reflection, stakeholder feedback, and other artifacts of teaching and learning.
• Professional Judgment and Consistency – Assessing an educator’s professional practice requires evaluators to constantly use their professional judgment while examining multiple sources of evidence. No rubric or formula, however detailed, can capture all of the nuances of how teachers and leaders interact with one another and with students. Synthesizing multiple sources of information into a single-point performance rating is inherently complex. Accordingly, the model aims to promote consistency between evaluations of practice and support fairness within and across schools.
• Dialogue and Reflection – The West Hartford Teacher Evaluation and Support Plan is designed to show the equal importance of improved student outcomes and the professional conversation between a teacher and their evaluator toward that end. The dialogue and reflection required in this model occur throughout the Professional Growth Cycle. They are reflected in the structure of the plan’s documents that provide a running record of these interactions.
• Professional Learning, Coaching and Feedback – All teachers, novice and veteran educators alike, deserve detailed, constructive feedback and professional learning tailored to the individual needs of their classrooms and students. The West Hartford Teacher Evaluation and Support Plan recognizes student learning is a shared responsibility among teachers, administrators, and district leaders. It expects teachers and administrators to develop goals and objectives in a way that supports overall school improvement.

CSDE Educator Evaluation website

Evaluation Support Documents

CT Guidelines for Educator Evaluation

SEED Handbook

CCT Rubric for Effective Teaching

CCT SESS Rubric

CT Evidence Guides

CT Student Learning Goals and Objectives Handbook

SEED Mid-Year Conference Discussion Guide

CT Professional Development Guidelines