Evaluating ALL Teachers of English Learners and Students With Disabilities

This book is a must read for today's teachers and administrators. By viewing diverse students and their educators as assets, identifying research-based strategies, and offering practical examples, Staehr Fenner, Kozik, and Cooper provide a framework for rich instructional conversations that moves teacher evaluation from the blame game, that beats educators down, to a collaborative and informative process that empowers teaching effectiveness and student learning. -- Spencer Salend, Emeritus Professor of Educational Studies Teacher evaluation is perhaps the last vestige of segregated education; a situation that can only be remedied by thoughtful proposals for authentic change. In this ground-breaking text, Staehr Fenner, Kozik and Cooper move the field forward by providing a theory and research based framework for preparing, evaluating and supporting teachers to effectively educate all students, including English language learners and students with disabilities. Rather than retrofitting typically used evaluation tools, the proposed framework embraces UDL by considering the principles and practices associated with effective inclusive schooling from the outset. Teachers, administrators, and teacher educators can easily use this framework to tailor their own processes for promoting professional development and teacher effectiveness. -- Leslie C. Soodak, Professor of Education Educating the growing number of English Learners in Pre-K - 12 educational settings can no longer be the sole responsibility of ESL and bilingual experts. All teachers and administrators must build new competencies in order to reach this diverse group of students and develop their full potential. In this context, what constitutes a fair and effective teacher evaluation system? In this book, the authors successfully outline an objective assessment framework that builds educators' individual and collective capacity to improve their practice not only with ELs but with all their students. A must read for teachers and evaluators alike. -- Rosa Aronson, Executive Director When teacher evaluations became part of our school accountability system I wondered how effective teaching of students with disabilities would be addressed. This book provides the answer! I am particularly impressed with how reflective practice is embedded within the process described in this book. It's a must-have for any teacher evaluator who wants to assess how teachers are teaching all students well within an inclusive classroom. -- Cheryl M. Jorgensen Ph.D., Educational Consulting Drs. Staehr Fenner, Kozik, and Cooper have started an essential conversation. Schools serve increasingly diverse populations and in order to do that well, all aspects of the school culture must support inclusive practices. Teacher evaluation should include attention to the needs of ALL students and support evaluators to create an atmosphere of cohesiveness among general and special education teachers as they work together to improve learning outcomes for all students. I would recommend this text to anyone who evaluates teachers, the practical scenarios and look-fors will help evaluators think about how to best structure pre- and post-observations, as well as providing helpful guidelines for consideration during observations. There is great urgency to ensure that teacher evaluation doesn't move forward without inclusive attention to the needs of ALL students and the practices their teachers employ. -- Jessica A. McCord, PhD, Educational Consultant This book is an invaluable resource that addresses a critical, national issue facing teacher evaluation systems as teachers and their evaluators grapple with determining how the standards of teaching practice - what teachers should know and be able to do - apply to general education classrooms with English Language and student with disabilities. The authors' four fundamental principles undergird a thoughtful, informative process supported by research, practitioner's voices, and common sense strategies to assess and enhance teacher effectiveness. This book provides a real service to teachers and evaluators by making the complexities of teacher evaluation a meaningful experience with profound benefit, not only for educators, but all students and the schools in which they are enrolled. -- Lawrence T. White, Director of Educational Services