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Lowell Elementary School
Todd Sauer, principal of the 400-student Lowell
Elementary School in Brainerd, Minnesota, used to
lug his Franklin day-planner through the halls,
ever ready to schedule a meeting or look up a phone
number. Then while attending the Minnesota Technology-Enhanced
Leadership Forum for Superintendents and Principals,
Sauer learned how to use a Palm handheld to streamline
many of his everyday activities. There is no more
lugging now that he relies on his handheld computer,
but perhaps the greatest innovation is the way he
now conducts teacher observations and evaluations.
Using a program called mVal, created by Media-X
Systems, Sauer has at the tip of his stylus a standards-based
performance-appraisal program that is considerably
more thorough and uniform than his prior method
and also saves hours in report-writing time.
In creating the program, Media-X worked with a
non-profit association known as Lead Teacher Minn.
to automate the group's analysis of the various
components and skills that comprise an effective
teacher. Within this rubric, an administrator can
rate the teacher on a scale of one to four in areas
like instruction, classroom control, or preparation.
" It takes a look at the whole teacher, instead
of just what we see in this one-hour shot that we
pop into the classroom," Sauer says.
Now Sauer spends his observation time checking
off scores and making notes on the handheld. Upon
returning to his office he syncs the unit to his
PC and within minutes he has a completed teacher
evaluation. He then sits down with the teacher and
creates a growth plan that emphasizes areas in need
of attention. This, too, is stored by mVal so he
can refer to it the next time he evaluates that
teacher.
" From the evaluation standpoint it has made
my life so much simpler," Sauer notes. "It
really streamlines the whole process. We can get
in there and do a much more effective job in a much
shorter time."
The mVal software has also allowed Sauer to focus
on helping tenured teachers improve. With more of
his time freed up, Sauer is encouraging all of his
faculty members to work on professional-growth plans.
Tenured faculty are monitored from a coaching perspective
rather than an evaluation perspective. The idea
is with these plans and goals stored in his Palm
handheld, Sauer can evaluate progress on a moment's
notice.
" Using the handhelds and mVal we can really
look at the statistics and quantify what makes this
person the best educator," he summarizes, rather
than the past precedent of a "gut-feeling evaluation."
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