Catholic Schools within The Archdiocese of Seattle
are witnessing a culture change when it comes to
teacher observations – with help from eWalk
We began working with the Archdiocese of Seattle, Catholic Schools in late 2017. They have a unified approach when it comes to their teacher growth strategy and have the right tools in place for success. We asked Assistant Superintendent, Kaitlyn O’Leary, to describe their strategy and how eWalk assists. She was kind enough to share, and we have detailed her responses below:
“eWalk was very user-friendly, and the staff was very willing to work with us to help individualize the platform.”
The Challenge
“Tools in the past were designed so that the principal simply checked off what he/she saw or didn’t see in the classroom. This was too black and white and didn’t allow for more description.
We were looking for a tool that was user-friendly, quick and efficient, and aggregated data in useful ways. We also wanted to work with a provider that was willing to help customize specific features to meet our needs. Reasonable cost of implementation and minimal training requirements were also important to us.”
The Solution
“eWalk was very user-friendly and the staff was very willing to work with us to help individualize the platform. After we determined the research-based rubric and language we would use to describe teaching and learning, we began to integrate it into eWalk and explore the specific features that would make classroom observations seamless. eWalk helped us customize certain features based on principal feedback and because principal voice was involved in the process, many principals were eager to make the switch.eWalk’s scripting feature has allowed us to provide more detailed, comprehensive pictures of what is happening in classrooms. eWalk also helps to keep this process streamlined through the scripting and coding features and the easy migration of data to the mid-year and summative review forms.”
Schools in The Archdiocese of Seattle Who Purchased eWalk
What results did you see?
“We believe that this type of observation practice yields better results, as it allows teachers to receive the feedback they need to grow, and gives principals a more comprehensive picture what is really going on in their teachers’ classrooms.”
Find out what eWalk can do for your school:
eWalk is an Extremely Flexible, Fully Customizable, Web-Based Teacher Growth Platform
This Cohesive Approach Has Been Amazing
“The fact that each school utilizes the same criteria increases the chance of success and creates inter-rater reliability between the schools. As each school is independent, it was really encouraging to see these schools buy into this strategy and work together towards creating positive change.
We are constantly working with them to fine-tune their setup and to add even more functionality. It has been a great learning experience for us as well.”
Connor Cleland – Regional Sales Representative