At the end of November, the final draft of the IHE survey wascompleted and configured by SECC researcher Kathy Terry fordissemination through Survey Gizmo. Following a final review by theSCDE staff and SECC Communications, the survey will bedisseminated to a group of South Carolina IHE deans and selectfaculty and administrators. Early to mid-December has been targetedas the time for survey dissemination.The South Carolina Expanded ADEPT Support and EvaluationGuidelines document review was conducted by SECC staff andsubmitted to Joseph Tadlock and Kris Johannes on November 18. OnNovember 21, content reviewers, Catherine Jacques and DougFireside met with Joseph Tadlock for a debrief of the content review.The debrief served as an extended opportunity for continued thoughtpartnering with SCDE around the ADEPT Guidelines and previousinsights gleaned from related Year 4 work. Next steps for this workwill include a review of an outline of the ADEPT ObservationModules.On November 18, SECC staff submitted the first key elements of anESSA-related request made by Jennifer Morrison. The elementsincluded questions central to understanding the Every StudentSucceeds Act (ESSA) and related guidance resources and material.The questions represented various aspects of ESSA, including thecommunication plan, ESSA terminology, equitable accessrequirement, educational stability for children in foster care, schoolquality or student success measure, N-size, participation rate, schoolsummative ratings, English learners, student assessment, standardscomprehensive support and improvement, data reporting, Title II, andearly childhood. The assortment of resources provided included aweb page link to the U.S. Department of Education’s ESSA web pageand links for SCDE to access updates, guides, frameworks, and toolsprovided by the College & Career Readiness Center, the EducationCommission of the States, the Center on Standards & AssessmentImplementation, the Alliance for Excellent Education, and AIR’sCenter for English Language Learners. In addition, the SC Educator Effectiveness project lead, Tammie Causey-Konate, connected theSECC ESSA lead, Debra Meibaum, with SCDE Chief Strategy Officer(CSO) Jennifer Morrison through a virtual introduction.During the introduction, Jennifer Morrison extended her ESSArequest to include samples of strong logicmodelsand/orinnovativeSEAstrategiesrelatedtoteacherrecruitmentandretention.

During October, a number of meetings took place to continue to flesh out the details of the Year 5 Work Plan in the area of educator effectiveness. SECC staff met with Tria Grant and Rachel Burns, SCDE staff from the Office of Educator Effectiveness regarding the status of the IHE survey that grew out of the work of the SCDE Equity Plan Strategy 1 Team’s Sub-strategy 2. The discussion yielded information regarding the refinement of the survey and tentative dates and logistics for disseminating the survey and collecting and analyzing resulting data. On October 27, SECC staff met with other SCDE Office of Educator Effectiveness personnel, Kris Joannes and Joseph Tadlock to clarify additional project task priorities. The ADEPT work was the primary focus of this meeting, and the team set a tentative date of November 4 as the agency’s submission date of the ADEPT GUIDELINES document for SECC review, with the expectation that SECC review of the ADEPT Observation of Practice Process Manuel would follow. SECC staff also met with Karla Hawkins – Deputy State Superintendent of the Division of Federal, State, and Community resources to discuss progress on the state’s implementation of its equity plan and related Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) needs. In addition to providing updates on the Strategy Teams for the state equity plan, Karla helped to arrange a meeting with Jennifer Morrison, the SCDE Chief Strategy Officer to discuss specific ESSA-related needs. The SECC staff met with Jennifer Morrison on October 28 to clarify the agency’s equity and ESSA-related needs. Jennifer proposed plans for a coaching model for the agency’s ESSA knowledge and plan development. The plan included a listing of ESSA-focused questions, related literature and resources, information regarding other states’ ESSA work, and a follow-up opportunity for the agency to engage with someone knowledgeable of ESSA in a Q&A. A mid-November timeline was established for providing the questions and ESSA resources.

As a follow up to an August 30 meeting with Karla Hawkins, deputy state superintendent for the Division of Federal, State, and Community Resources, SECC staff began working with Tria Grant and Rachel Burns, SCDE staff from the Office of Educator Effectiveness, on Strategy 1, Substrategy 2 of the equity plan. The request involved the development of a survey to be used with institutions of higher education to elicit their input regarding their practices for preparing teacher candidates and supporting new teachers for work in diverse contexts, particularly rural, high-poverty and high-minority contexts. After revisiting the SC Educator Preparation Program Focus Group Protocol (June 2016) for its relevance to Strategy 1, Substrategy 2, SCDE provided key ideas to be conveyed and information to be gleaned from the survey. SECC staff provided a first and second draft of the survey for review by SCDE staff. SECC is awaiting feedback from the SEA.

In August, SECC staff met with SCDE staff to obtain feedback on the educator evaluation report and made small changes to the language and background information included as requested by SCDE. SECC staff also provided more in-depth recommendations on modifications to student learning objectives business rules, including how SCDE may allow and guide districts in using the SLO as an artifact rather than a discrete measure of practice.

SECC staff have met with members of the education evaluation team to begin planning for upcoming changes and refinements to the system. SCDE has selected a modified (converting from a 5- point scale to a 4-point scale) NIET rubric for the professional practice rubric for educators. SECC staff will assist SCDE staff with setting up training and development of training materials for sessions. SECC staff will also assist SCDE staff with revising the mentoring and induction programs in the state to provide additional support for new teachers in support of the state equity plan.

SECC staff are in the final round of preparing and editing the report and analyzing the data from the SLO survey. SCDE staff continue to learn along with SECC staff on how to collect data, analyze the data, and develop focus group protocols. SECC staff continue to work to plan the IHE summit with SCDE staff and related TA activities for teacher prep programs. 

SECC staff continue to work with the office of educator effectiveness to develop and administer a statewide SLO survey and analyzing data and themes from the focus groups. A final report is being written and will be provided to SCDE for use with the state board of education and for stakeholder input. Policy decisions and revisions to the evaluation system will be based upon results of the survey and focus groups that will be shared in the final report.SECC staff continue to work with the educator effectiveness team to plan the institutions of higher education summit. SECC staff will work with the educator effectiveness team to create the protocol for focus groups and work to compile the data into a final report.

SECC staff continue to work with the office of educator effectiveness by cofacilitating focus groups over the course of six days around the state. Major themes have been identified, and SECC staff will present the summary themes in April. The statewide survey is in the final stages of review and will be provided to SCDE for approval before being sent to all educators in the state. SECC staff worked with SCDE staff to share how the survey was developed, the grouping of questions, and the skip logic needed to ensure that various categories of educators would be included in the final analysis.SECC staff have worked with Education Associate Tria Grant to coplan the institutions of higher education summit. SECC staff have secured a keynote speaker, worked on securing support from the National Center for Teacher Residencies, Hampton University, and Deans for Impact. SECC staff will facilitate focus groups during the institute, assist with the collection of data, and work with SCDE to coauthor the final report. 

SECC staff continue to work with the Educator Effectiveness Unit by assisting with the random selection of teachers and administrators to one of six focus groups to be held around the state. Approximately 1,100 teachers and administrators have completed a demographic survey created by SCDE. SECC staff worked with the agency to develop the protocols to be used with the focus groups. SECC staff will build the capacity of the agency by modeling the process of conducting focus groups. Once the data have been collected, a final report will be provided to the agency by May 6 to become part of a presentation given to the state board of education. SECC staff are also working with the agency on the development of a survey that will be administered to all teachers, administrators, and district-level staff in the state. The survey will gauge perceptions and recommendations for the use of student learning objectives in the overall educator evaluation system. Finally, SECC staff have begun planning with the Educator Effectiveness Unit on the IHE Summit. SECC staff will assist with the planning of sessions, making recommendations for presenters, and serving as a thought partner throughout the planning process. SECC will use results from the survey that went to institutions of higher education that was developed by SECC staff and the Office of Educator Effectiveness.

SECC staff met with the director of the Educator Evaluation Unit and have been asked to assist SCDE with the institutions of higher education summit this summer. Also, SECC staff have been asked to assist SCDE with the development of training materials needed to address changes to the educator evaluator system. In addition, SECC staff have been asked to assist with the development of a survey to gauge the effectiveness of regional training sessions by SCDE education associates on student learning objectives.Finally, the director of educator effectiveness has asked for SECC support and assistance in facilitating focus groups around the state to gauge input from educators on proposed changes they would like to see made to the current evaluation system. SECC staff will serve as thought partners and assist SCDE staff with developing the protocols that will be used with the focus groups. An additional part of this request is assistance with the development of an online survey that will be administered to all educators in the state. SECC staff will build the capacity of SCDE staff by providing input and guidance on the development of survey questions generated by SCDE. SECC staff will analyze the data and provide a report to the director. 

SECC staff will meet with SCDE education associate Tria Grant to plan for the IHE spring institute. Results from the survey will be used to identify topics and session themes designed to provide information, updates, and initial training on the Expanded Assisting Developing and Evaluating Professional Teaching (ADEPT) system. Initial topics include equitable access to excellent educators, student growth metrics, the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, and student learning objectives. Additional topics will be added after survey results have been analyzed. SECC staff are planning to meet with the educator evaluator team to discuss the upcoming changes and support needed as the state prepares for the change from ESEA to ESSA. Proposed changes will include an extension of two years to train educators and implement SLOs, remove the ESEA provision that requires test scores to be part of student growth measures, implement focus groups to gain feedback related to SLOs and other components of the Expanded ADEPT/PADEPP systems, emphasis the use of formative assessments and local measures in the SLO process to drive instructional decisions regarding student growth, and embed student growth measures as part of teacher evaluation instead of a standalone measure.

SECC and partners from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL) are planning to provide resources and research to the stakeholder group charged with recommending changes to the professional practice rubric. Bimonthly calls are being held to discuss upcoming sessions, the direction of the group, and the activities the group will participate in monthly. SECC has been asked to provide information on what other states have done to ensure the privacy of evaluation results and whether there is a statute protecting evaluation results. Finally, SCDE staff want to know what information is collected at the state level and what information is reported to the U.S. Department of Education. Additionally, the timeline for the IHE survey closes December 1, and SECC has reached out to SCDE to begin looking at the results of the survey to begin planning for the spring institute for IHEs. Finally, SECC is continuing to research growth plans to include student learning objectives tied to principal evaluations.

SECC continues to support the educator evaluation team by facilitating stakeholder meetings with the GTL Center to create or adapt a new performance rubric for the educator evaluation meeting. These meetings have engaged a diverse group of educators and business leaders to match the new rubric to the new model. SECC staff has been asked to provide an Information Request on how states have developed and used principal student growth measures and associated training. SECC staff are planning to provide resources and examples of growth plans using data, addressing root cause analyses, and identifying leadership strategies to address through training, all aligned to the school improvement process for principals.SECC has completed the IHE survey with SCDE staff that is currently being sent to IHEs around the state. Once the results of the survey have been completed and tabulated, SECC will work to begin developing the training modules for IHE staff on the revised evaluation system, the profile of the South Carolina graduate, certification, principal evaluation, and other identified topics from the survey.

SECC continues to support the educator evaluation team by planning the facilitation of stakeholder meetings with the GTL Center to create a new performance rubric for the state’s educator evaluation system. The stakeholder group has worked with several samples of evaluation systems and rubrics for other states. The group will meet over the next three months to create the new rubric for state use. SECC staff are working with SCDE staff to create a survey to administer to IHEs to begin the process of outlining the training sessions on the revised educator evaluation system and to provide training on the profile of the South Carolina graduate. Once results from the survey have been tabulated, SECC staff will work with SCDE staff to create the training for the IHEs.

SECC staff are continuing to provide support and technical assistance to the educator evaluation team by planning with the Center for Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL) center for the upcoming stakeholder meetings on potential changes to the performance rubric. Sample evaluation models will be provided to SCDE staff to assist with the development of an evaluation plan for the newly revised system. SECC will also work with SCDE staff to develop a training module for institutions of higher education (IHEs). This module will provide IHEs with information on the revised educator evaluation system and introduce them to the profile of the South Carolina graduate. 

SECC staff are continuing to support the educator evaluation project at SCDE by serving as a thought partner as needed. Technical assistance (TA) will include working with the Center for Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) to co-facilitate stakeholder meetings around the state to discuss changes to the performance rubric of the educator evaluation plan. Additional TA will center around assisting SCDE with developing training for institutions of higher education to modify their teaching practice of pre-service teachers. Finally, SECC staff will work with SCDE to develop an evaluation plan to determine the success of the training and implementation of the various components of the educator evaluation system.

SECC staff continues to support the educator evaluation team through monthly calls and email communication. SECC staff participated in a call with the SCEA and the SCDE to discuss the Student Learning Objectives (SLO) Boot Camp. SECC staff will meet with the educator evaluation team to discuss Year 4 technical assistance and continuing to provide additional resources for the online resource toolkit.

Staff from SECC continue to work with the educator evaluation team through bimonthly conference calls and emails. They also held a conference call with the South Carolina Educator Association to discuss an upcoming training opportunity for teachers around the state through a Student Learning Objectives Boot Camp. The SECC is also beginning to plan for Year 4 by planning with SCDE the evaluation of its educator evaluation system and suggested refinements to the system. In addition, SECC is continuing to provide resources to add to the agency’s resource toolkit to support districts and schools with implementing the educator evaluation system.

SECC continues to support the educator evaluation team through bimonthly check-in calls and email. A conference call was held between potential stakeholders from the South Carolina Education Association (SCEA) and the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) to discuss a collaboration involving SCDE. Possible work could involve assisting with the development of online resources for student learning objectives (SLOs) with teacher teams around the state. Year 4 planning will also take place in May.

SECC staff and AIR partners are planning additional support for the South Carolina educator evaluation system. Part of the support will include engaging SCDE staff in a conversation about future needs for the remainder of the year and support as the department tries to define revisions to the system based on changes to the ESEA flexibility waiver that have been submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. SECC staff will also attend the CCSSO SCEE meeting in Atlanta to support the SCDE with the refinement and technical assistance needed to develop long-term objectives and a plan for SECC support for the remainder of the project.

SECC staff and AIR partners continue to provide support to the educator evaluation team through planning for the virtual hosting of resources, videos, and materials for the student learning objective (SLO) activity. SCDE is currently revising its ESEA flexibility waiver and is suggesting changes to principle 3 which may change part of the scope for this project. SECC staff plan to meet with the educator evaluation team to begin long-range planning and projecting of support and technical assistance based on revisions to the ESEA waiver.

SECC staff and partners are continuing to support SCDE and the educator evaluation team by providing feedback, recommendations and verifying content in the system guideline book and the SLO training toolkit. SCDE is undergoing reorganization and educator evaluation will be a standalone department with its own director. SECC staff is planning a meeting with the director and senior leadership of the agency during the month of February to discuss the new direction of technical assistance for this project.

SECC and AIR partner staff are assisting SCDE staff with the development of guidance documents for the educator evaluation system, training materials for student learning objectives (SLO) training, and a toolkit for district and teacher use for various components of the educator evaluation system.SECC staff and partners are working with SCDE staff to plan and develop materials for the CATE SLO training. Once the materials are developed, SECC staff will provide guidance and support for the technical assistance session for CATE educators.

SECC is assisting the educator evaluation team with developing and finalizing guidance documents related to the entire evaluation system for presentation to the South Carolina State Board of Education. SECC staff and partners are also working with the Educator Evaluation Unit to develop a guidebook on student learning objectives (SLOs) for statewide use. Finally, SECC and partners are working to develop training materials and a full-day training session for Career and Technology Education teachers.

SECC staff are meeting virtually with the educator evaluation team to discuss next steps with the student learning objectives (SLO) training and implementation as well as working with the unit to develop a long-range plan for support and technical assistance as SCDE works to fulfill the requirements of the ESEA flexibility waiver. The evaluation of the training for administrators will be discussed as well as next steps for training of teachers. SECC staff and partners will support SCDE as it works to take ownership of the entire educator evaluation process.

SECC is continuing to support SCDE with training for administrators in the student learning objectives process and implementation guidelines for use in schools with teachers. SECC is also continuing to provide feedback and coaching and plans to gradually release the training to SCDE staff for school and district administrators. SECC and AIR partner staff are planning to meet with SCDE staff to identify activities for Year 3 that will include strategic planning and development of an outline for the revision of the entire educator evaluation plan for the state.

SECC staff and partners are continuing to work with the Office of Instructional Practices and Evaluations to develop training modules, training sessions, and materials for student learner objectives (SLO) training. Currently, the SCDE, SECC, and partners are copresenting two-day training with the SCDE on SLOs, using a gradual release model that will enable SCDE to conduct the two-day training on all modules independent of SECC assistance. SECC and its partners will provide feedback comments and coaching as the SCDE takes over the two-day training series.

SECC and partners have worked with the Office of Instructional Practices to develop a training schedule for the student learning objectives (SLO) training and will cofacilitate training with SCDE education associates Joseph Tadlock and Renice Sauls. SECC staff are also planning support for the Year 3 work plan that will include scaling up the evaluation model for the educator evaluation system. Additional support will include serving as a thought partner to SCDE education associate Joseph Tadlock as the project moves forward.

SECC staff and partners from American Institutes for Research (AIR) continue to work with SCDE Education Associate Joseph Tadlock with the development of training for statewide implementation of student learning objectives (SLOs). This will include manuals, training schedules, business rules, and certification of evaluators. SECC and partner staff continue to provide resources and have reached out to several states in the Southeast region and beyond to refine the model and support districts and schools that will need to implement the new educator evaluation system.

SECC staff continue to support SCDE Education Associate Joseph Tadlock with development of student learning objective (SLO) training, next steps, and additional needs sensing for the educator evaluator project. SECC continues to provide resources, serve as a thought partner, and assist with preplanning as SCDE awaits final approval. SECC staff, Director Beth Howard-Brown and South Carolina State Liaison Don Doggett, held a meeting with SCDE Education Associates Joseph Tadlock and Renice Sauls to begin discussing several alternatives to assisting SCDE with implementation of the educator evaluator system, based on possible outcomes from the June 11 state board meeting. Next steps will be developed, and additional technical assistance will be provided by SECC and AIR partner staff.

SECC staff attended a stakeholder meeting to discuss student learning objectives (SLOs) as a part of an overall educator evaluation system. SECC, with partner staff from AIR, provided SLO training for the various offices at SCDE.SECC staff continue to provide resources surrounding business rules and also technical assistance on the development of training modules and a manual for the implementation of the proposed educator evaluation system. SECC staff will serve as thought partners with SCDE staff on next steps, the development of a training schedule, and the implementation of a statewide model for the educator evaluation system.Finally, SECC staff will support SCDE Education Associate Joseph Tadlock through biweekly phone calls to check in on the process, provide feedback, offer support, and provide additional resources as SCDE works through the development of an educator evaluation system.

SECC is continuing to plan with SCDE on the use of student learning objectives (SLOs) as a way to measure student growth in non-tested grades and subjects. SECC staff codelivered professional development (PD) sessions with SCDE Education Associate Joseph Tadlock on linking educator evaluation activities with professional learning communities and school-based staff development activities. SECC staff planned with partners from AIR and the SCDE for a training session for SCDE staff and community stakeholders on SLOs. Next steps, timelines, business rules, and additional planning activities will occur during April.

SECC and AIR partner staff have planned a training session for SCDE staff in April on student learning objectives (SLOs) and the need to refine business rules pertaining to the pilot and testing of the various metrics of the educator evaluator system. SECC staff and partners are continuing to work to refine the model with SCDE staff and will assist with the creation of training materials for SLO training across the state.

Staff from SECC and SCDE discussed the need for additional information on best practices for implementing student learning objectives (SLOs). The SECC staff and partner staff from American Institutes for Research (AIR) will provide SCDE with additional training and support on SLOs. Dates of the training will be set soon.

Project team members from SECC co-led a stakeholder meeting with the SCDE to discuss the use of student and parent surveys, along with other evaluation-related topics, in the state’s educator evaluation system.

Staff from SECC worked with the SCDE to refine the implementation timeline for the 2013–2014 educator evaluation pilot. Project team members from SECC also worked with the SCDE to consider whether items from existing student and parent surveys might be used by local education agencies as an evaluation metric. The use of surveys, along with other evaluation related topics, will be discussed during a stakeholder meeting in early December. Staff from SECC will work with SCDE staff to co-lead the stakeholder meeting. 

The staff at SECC worked with SCDE staff on various activities that include reviewing and providing feedback on the state’s pilot implementation plan and plans for statewide system implementation in 2014–2015; providing input on materials/content for an October stakeholder meeting; and providing guidance on various evaluation metrics, including value-added models and student/parent surveys.

SECC staff worked with SCDE staff on planning for the rollout of the state’s educator evaluation pilot—activities that will continue over the next several months. Specific support will be provided on assessing aspects of pilot implementation and impact and working with the SCDE to develop informational resources and training activities for stakeholders on various aspects of the piloted metrics and system.

SECC staff joined SCDE staff during a series of four regional trainings on the state’s rollout of common core standards and the 2013–2014 educator evaluation pilot, with SECC providing training on value-added as an educator evaluation metric. In coming months, SECC staff will work with SCDE staff on the rollout of the educator evaluation pilot, including the development of a plan to assess implementation success via an evaluation of the pilot.

SECC staff continued working with SCDE staff to plan a series of trainings on value-added models used in educator evaluation systems. The SECC project team met with SCDE staff on July 21 at the state department and participated in an advisory capacity during a policy briefing on the state’s 2013–2014 pilot educator evaluation system. Next, a series of four regional trainings for principals is planned for August 5–8. SECC staff are also working with SCDE staff to consider ways to sustain training support on value-added as well as other evaluation metrics (e.g., student learning objectives).

SECC staff worked with SCDE staff to plan a series of trainings on value-added models used in educator evaluation systems. The first of these trainings will be held with SCDE staff and will take place July 21 at SCDE. Next, a series of four regional trainings for principals will take place August 5–8, 2013. SECC staff is also working with SCDE staff to consider ways to sustain training support on value-added, as well as other evaluation metrics (e.g., student learning objectives).

SECC staff discussed support that the SECC could provide in statewide implementations of educator evaluation systems with state representatives to the SECC Advisory Board on May 23–24.

To better provide support for states implementing or considering implementing student learning objectives (SLOs) as a student growth metric in educator evaluation systems, SECC worked with AIR on continued planning for a comprehensive training workshop on SLOs for SECC and TXCC staff. Training support will be provided by AIR and the Great Teachers and Leaders Content Center. The event will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 22. SECC continues to support the SCDE’s internal development of the SLO processes, following a conference call between SCDE and AIR staff with expertise in the area of SLOs on March 29.

SECC continues to support the SCDE’s internal development of the student learning objectives (SLOs) processes, following a conference call between SCDE and AIR staff with expertise in the area of SLOs (March 29).

SECC support of SCDE focused on the recruitment of participants for the 2013–2014 educator evaluation pilot. SECC's Don Doggett assisted with contacting superintendents to solicit participation in the pilot and remains in contact with SCDE team leader Dennis Dotterer on the status of recruitment efforts. SECC staff also examined the current status of SCDE's internal development of the SLO processes. SECC project team members discussed SCDE's SLO development efforts with SCDE staff and provided them with resources on SLOs. SECC is planning for a conference call between SCDE staff and AIR staff who have expertise in the area of SLOs. 

On January 24, SECC staff Shana Shaw and Don Doggett met with Charmeka Childs at SCDE and discussed the following support needs in South Carolina which focus on (a) assistance with the recruitment of participants for the 2013–2014 educator evaluation pilot and (b) planning for the implementation of student growth metrics for evaluation pilots in select districts/schools throughout the state for 2013–2014. SCDE is considering value-added models (VAMs), student learning objectives (SLOs), and common assessments. SECC's support will center around helping SCDE staff think through purposeful implementation of these metrics in order to maximize the information gleaned from the pilot. SECC will also help with sampling for a purposeful rollout of metrics. In addition, SECC will assist with training on growth models (e.g., VAMs). These trainings will be multi-modal, via both electronic methods (e.g., online videos, Webinars, presentations, online chats (synchronous or asynchronous)) and face-to-face meetings. SECC will also assist SCDE with the promotion of positive dialogue about these systems among and between the various stakeholder groups. SECC will provide SCDE with feedback on its plan to evaluate the 2012–2013 pilot as well as examine the current status of SCDE's internal development of SLO processes.