Illinois State Board of Education Performance Evaluation Advisory Council met Feb. 18.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
Larry Frank called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m.
Mr. Frank stated for the record that because we are still under the Executive Order, we are allowed to meet virtually.
He then went through the list of members to call roll and let everyone introduce themselves.
I. Introductions and call the roll
Kristen Adams x
Adriana Arias x
Carlos Azcoitia x
Eden Barragan ABSENT
Dr. Angela Buckels X
John Burkey x
Eric Combs ABSENT
Larry Frank x
Dr. Jason Helfer x
Michael Herring X
Chala Holland X
Dr. Carrie Hruby X
Dr. Lindsay Jensen x
Dr. Jeremiah Johnson ABSENT
Jim O'Connor x
Dr. Courtney Orzel x
Anna Rose ABSENT
Katherine Schumacher x
Jodi Scott ABSENT
Dr. Bhavna Sharma-Lewis x
Tara Stamps x
Karen Triezenberg x
Brandi Watts x
II. Questions about past and current work
No one had any questions about past work.
III. Quarterly meeting schedule for the remainder of the year
Mr. Frank went over the dates of previous meetings: March, June, September, January (in place of December) and stated we would continue with the third Friday of those months for the rest of the year. The time of the meeting will be 9-11 a.m. if virtual and 10 a.m.-noon if in person.
IV. PEAC Rules of Procedure
Mr. Frank introduced Barb Hobrock from ISBE. Ms. Hobrock presented on the Rules of Procedure for this committee.
Ms. Schumacher asked how these rules work in the training committee meetings since the content is confidential. Ms. Hobrock will get back to the group on that. Mr. Frank said ISBE Legal looked into it and stated since we’re looking into testing materials that result into qualification, answers to the assessment can be checked under closed session. This is especially true for Administrator Academies 2000/2001 since there is only one version of the test. We don’t want it to get out to the public to ensure evaluators meet the standards. Ms. Hobrock will double-check with Legal to make sure we are understanding that correctly.
Ms. Stamps asked if the group would get a copy of the Rules of Procedure. Ms. Hobrock said they were sent to the group through the invite and will be posted on the website once adopted.
Mr. Frank asked about reimbursement of the $1.000 fine; Dr. Helfer said it was not reimbursable.
Mr. Frank asked Dr. Helfer if he had anything to add. Dr. Helfer said he had a little information to help with the context of the group. He has been here since September 2013, and this is one of the more dynamic committees at ISBE. We have a lot of diverse groups represented. The work that has been done is particularly important because evaluations are important to a lot of people. Historically, we’ve had someone representing administrator organizations and teacher organizations as chair and cochair/vice chair. He mentioned the responsibility of the chair is to work with ISBE to create the agenda.
He suggested that the group should think about nominating two people who represent both the administrator and teacher organizations to maintain continuity within the committee.
Ms. Triezenberg nominated Mr. Frank as chair. Mr. Frank reminded the group we need to adopt the Rules of Procedure first.
Ms. Adams asked if we’ve ever had to adopt Rules of Procedure before. She stated we’ve followed Open Meetings Act (OMA) procedures before, and she is afraid these rules will hinder us from being fluid and getting things done. Ms. Stamps asked if Rules of Procedure weren’t in place before, why are we doing them now? Mr. Frank responded that all committees must follow Rules of Procedure. This is to protect us. We adopted rules and we’re following them. Ms. Stamps asked if there was a threat with how you ran meetings before -- 12 years is a long time to run without the Rules of Procedure in place. Mr. Frank said no, but there was a finding as part of an audit. Rules are a protection, so we aren’t open to any legal issues. Ms. Hobrock added that rules are different format of the OMA to help guide a committee through work. If something comes up between the normal meetings, you can call a special meeting based on the Rules of Procedure.
V. Adopt Rules of Procedure*
Ms. Stamps motioned to adopt the Rules of Procedure and Dr. Hruby seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
VI. Election of a chair*
Ms. Triezenberg motioned to elect Mr. Frank as the chair and Dr. Buckels seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
VII. Election of a vice chair*
Dr. Orzel motioned to elect Dr. Hruby as the vice chair and Dr. Sharma-Lewis seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
VIII. Discuss focus of March meeting
Mr. Frank explained that Senator Kimberly Lightford introduced a resolution that would have the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) review how the Performance Evaluation Reform Act has been implemented in schools and look at what other states have done. We would then report any suggested changes to ISBE. We are an advisory body with no authority to take action but advise ISBE to take action. We aren’t sure if we will know by March if the PEAC resolution passes, but that is work on the horizon. He asked if Mr. Burkey or Mr. O’Connor wanted to speak to this. Mr. Burkey stated he is excited to see PEAC get reconstituted as there is a lot of discussion about the evaluation system right now, especially about the growth component. He believes our group is the perfect group to do an evaluation of whether the growth component has done what it was supposed to. Even if the PEAC resolution doesn’t pass, this could be important work for this group over the next couple of years.
Ms. Stamps stated she is interested in knowing what PEAC has done or advised to make evaluations more helpful and less punitive, and what would the group say are PEAC “victories.” Mr. Frank answered the second part with three items: how joint committees forced districts and schools to sit down to agree on their plan, how the group has been able to put aside biases and talk about what’s best for educators, and how the evaluations have become more informative/less subjective using the Danielson Framework for Teaching. Ms. Adams spoke about how the group helped write Part 50 rules, how the work of PEAC has allowed the evaluation process to help teachers grow and be better teachers in the classroom, and how the quality of conversation pertaining to teaching has improved dramatically from 2000 -14 to now. She also talked about how the retraining group has been significant in recognizing what the issues are and keeping up to date with current situations and said the documents PEAC created based on questions from the field have been very important. Mr. Herring added hearing experiences from groups throughout the state informed his thinking about how unions and districts work together to resolve issues and informed the way he thinks about evaluations. Mr. O’Connor added how from 2014-2019 the group communicated what we learned from other districts about how joint committees should work and how to provide feedback that teachers wanted to hear that helped when the state was getting used to the new system. Mr. Frank also mentioned that PEAC published a virtual coach that offered good thoughtful advice on implementation work. He said we need to decide in March if anyone wants to be part of the Training Committee and how we will move forward with that.
Mr. Frank asked if there was any new business for a future meeting. Dr. Helfer added, based on Ms. Adams’ concern about Rules of Procedure, that in order for the committee to act on anything, an item needs to be added as new business first. It needs to be on the list seven days before the meeting to ensure committee members are talking about relevant issues. Ms. Hobrock confirmed the timeline and that all new items need to be sent to Mr. Frank and Ms. White to be put on the agenda. She also reminded everyone that nothing can be voted on if it’s under new business. It is best practice to be on the agenda for the next meeting to vote. If something needs to be on the agenda for discussion and vote at the same meeting, the group can do so as long as the item is on the agenda and materials are sent seven days before the meeting.
Mr. O’Connor encouraged putting the resolution on the agenda as a check-in. Mr. Frank said we can send it out for everyone to review and put on the agenda to discuss.
Dr. Helfer asked if it would be helpful to have a presentation on PEAC since 2010-ish discussing what we’ve done and when we’ve done it to show the work that’s occurred. Ms. Holland responded yes, and Mr. Frank said we will add that to the agenda.
Dr. Hruby expressed her gratitude for the minutes posted online to help new members get up to speed.
Mr. Frank recognized Mr. Johnson had joined the meeting.
Ms. Stamps asked what date the March meeting is scheduled for. Mr. Frank responded that it is scheduled for March 18.
No other questions/topics were brought up.
IX. Public Comment
No public comment.
X. Adjourn*
Ms. Triezenberg motioned we adjourn the meeting and Ms. Adams seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:20 a.m.
https://www.isbe.net/Documents_PEAC/021822-Minutes.pdf
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