The TEA WINS & WINSPlus Cycle of Professional Evaluation for Teachers & Principals

The TEA WINS model is centred on best practices in teacher and principal evaluation. It is designed to support professional growth through self and peer evaluation. WINS stands for Welcoming Climate, Instructional Quality/Leadership, Nation Building, and Student Engagement. The principals’ cycle of professional evaluation (WINSPlus) includes a focus on School Operations, in addition to the four elements identified above. It is a model that aligns with the Board of Directors’ vision and goals, as well as success planning at the system and school levels. The teacher professional evaluation process will be managed by the school principal. This supports the work of the principal in ensuring teaching staff are committed to the system’s overall goal of developing Nation Builders through effective, research-based instruction. The principals WINSPlus process is managed by the TEA Director of Education team. If requested, TEA also provides a staff survey summarizing the principal’s top strengths and identifying areas suggested for growth.

To support the process, an app (TEA WINS) has been developed that can be used for principal classroom walkthroughs. The idea here is to support shorter, more frequent, and less formal principal classroom visits where data connected to the teacher’s instructional skills and classroom can be gathered and reviewed (by both the teacher and principal) in a timely manner. The app can also be used by the TEA Director of Education team to gather data on the principal’s goals. The process encompasses the following:

1. Goal Setting:

At the start of the school year, the teacher and principal select one goal from each of the WINS CPE domains (Welcoming Culture and Climate, Instructional Intelligence, Nation Building, Student Engagement, and the WINSPlus principal focus on School Operations).

2. Planning:

Once the goals are set, the principal sets a schedule for 10 short (10 minute) classroom walk-throughs per teacher. For Principals, the TEA Director of Education team will oversee the cycle of professional evaluation.

3. Observation:

The reflections/observations are noted using the TEA WINS App and are shared with the teacher/principal. Two walkthrough cycles are recommended for teacher classroom observations. For both teachers and principals, the process is based on 3-4 check-ins throughout the school year.

4. Summary Report:

During the check-in conversations, the principal and teacher discuss the overall progress toward meeting the goals. Both the teacher and principal record key observations and recommendations. At the end of the school year, a summary report is created by the principal for teachers, and by the TEA Director of Education team for principals.