Professional Development | News

Florida School District Implements Teacher Effectiveness Platform

• By Leila Meyer
• 09/09/13

Sumter County School District in Florida will implement a teacher effectiveness platform with the goal of increasing student achievement through improved teacher effectiveness.

The Florida Department of Education has already designated the district as academically high-performing, but the district would like to build on its success. The district uses Charlotte Danielson's 2011 Framework for Teaching Evaluation Instrument (FFT) and plans to implement the 2013 edition in the 2014-15 school year. To help with the implementation of the new framework, the district decided to adopt Teachscape Focus and Teachscape Learn, two components of the Teachscape Effectiveness Platform, which complements the FFT.

Teachscape Focus is an observation training and assessment system, and the district will use it to train and assess administrators on the latest edition of the FFT and apply it to the assessment of classroom practice. In the next school year, teachers in the district will also start using Teachscape Focus to help them better understand the FFT.

Teachscape Learn is a professional learning system, which the district will use to help teachers plan and track their professional development. The tool will also provide teachers with access to online learning communities, video channels, and more than 160 multimedia courses.

"Using the Framework for Teaching as the foundation for our teacher evaluation and professional learning processes has been key to our district's success," said Allison Nave, coordinator of professional accountability for the district, in a prepared statement. "With the new enhancements to the 2013 Framework, Teachscape offers the best solution to provide our staff with the tools, training, and services we need to ensure consistent evaluations across the district and continued professional growth for all of our teachers."

Sumter County School District is located in Bushnell, FL. It includes four elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools, a charter school, an adult education center, and an "alternatives" school.

Further information about the Framework for Teaching Evaluation Instrument, Teachscape Focus, and Teachscape Learn can be found at teachscape.com.