Hear from the Alternative Pilots

During the 2011-12 school year, six school corporations are piloting teacher evaluation systems -- three corporations are piloting RISE and three are piloting alternative models. The Alternative Model pilots are Beech Grove City Schools, Bremen Public Schools, and MSD Warren Township. Each of the Project Leaders participated in interviews to share their experience and insights from the implementation process in hopes that other school corporations can learn from their work and optimize success for the 2012-13 school year when the new law takes effect. Below you will learn more about each of the school corporations and the individuals leading the projects. You can also follow links below to topics you would like to hear discussed in the Project Leaders’ own words.

PLEASE NOTE: Ratios are approximate. *Ranges denote a sophisticated distribution.

Project Leader Bios

TOM KEELEY

• Tom Keeley is the Director of Business and Personnel for Beech Grove City Schools. He has worked with the Indiana Department of Education Evaluation committee, drafting and revising the current RISE teacher and principal evaluation models. He currently works with the TAP evaluation system helping to guide the district with their implementation as an Indiana alternative evaluation pilot district for the 2011-12 school year.

RUSS MIKEL

• Russ Mikel is the Superintendent of Bremen Public Schools in Bremen, Indiana, just 20 minutes south of South Bend/Mishawaka. He is the committee chair for the Corporation Teacher Evaluation Committee piloting the McREL evaluation system. Bremen Public Schools serves approximately 1,500 students in grades K-12 consisting of two schools (one K-8 building and one 9-12 high school), with seven administrators and 92 teachers.

MARY REHLANDER

• Mary Rehlander is the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources at MSD Warren Township on the east side of Indianapolis. She has taken the lead in her district on revising the current teacher evaluation tool, training all stakeholders in the use of the tool and overseeing consistent implementation throughout the district. MSD Warren Township serves 11,900 students in its nine elementaries, three intermediate academies, three middle schools, Warren Central High School, Renaissance Alternative School and Walker Career Center.

Interviews: Hear Directly from the Project Leaders

• Assessing Student Learning in Non-Tested Areas
• Design Components
• Evaluation Cabinets and Initial Conversations
• Evaluators and Capacity Issues
• Observations and Feedback
• Ratings, Compensation, and Personnel Decisions
• Training and Support