Principals are smack dab in the middle of the new systems of evaluation. They are the key implementers of the new teacher evaluation system. While working to implement the new system of teacher evaluation the principals will now be working within a new system of evaluation for themselves. That’s what I call being in the middle!
In order to help principals, and their evaluators, get a handle on all that is now expected of them we generated a “map” that lays out the year, at-a-glance, with regard to teacher and principal evaluation. Based on the thinking behind the Professional Learning Map that many principals use to map out their year in a fashion similar to a curriculum map, this map lays out the most important pieces of the year in the life of a principal in Race To The Top. The map is actually a spreadsheet which allows users to fill in other things like building initiatives around the big responsibilities already charted in the map. The map lays out a broad timeline for the actions a principal will need to lead in the coming year. Juxtaposed with the principal’s responsibilities are those of the principal’s evaluator. In this way the principal’s evaluator can assist the principal as she/he leads the school. It should work hand in hand with the contextualized ISLLC goal setting process described in a previous post. Users of the map report that it captures the incredible amount of new work in Race To The Top in a way that shows the interrelatedness of the pieces and provides the lay of the land for their year. 
