Oak Brook teachers getting more detailed critiques

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Updated: April 2, 2012 1:55AM

Come Sept. 1, Butler School District 53 will have a new system in place to evaluate teachers.

Known as “Charlotte Danielson’s 2011 Framework for Teaching,” the system will have four categories for a teacher rating: Excellent, proficient, needs improvement and unsatisfactory.

“This is meant to be a clarifying document and describe what good teaching is,” said Butler Principal Stephanie Palmer. “It’s not just doing a good lesson on stage, but also evaluating the planning that goes into instruction and professional responsibilities.”

What makes the Danielson system different than previous rating systems is just how specific it is.

There are four domains: Planning and preparation, classroom environment, professional responsibilities, and instruction. Under each of the domains are five or six categories, and underneath those are anywhere from two to four “elements” that define the category.

The goal is to have the teacher know not only what categories they need to improve on, but specifically how to improve on them.

“Teachers can now be self-reflective,” said Brook Forest Principal Nina McCabe. “When they ask what you are looking for, this is very specific.”

For example, domain 2 is “Classroom environment.” The fourth category is “Managing student behavior,” and the three elements teachers should focus on are: expectations, monitoring student behavior and response to student behavior. In total, there are 22 categories and 76 elements under the four domains.

School Board President Alan Hanzlik is looking forward to seeing the system in action because most people respond better to constructive criticism instead of constant compliments.

“The best teachers are the ones (who) say, ‘Hey, I could’ve done that a lot better,” said Superintendent Sandra Martin.