The PPEP

The PPEP is the Professional *mumble mumble* Evaluation Process, or something like that. We meet with an administrator who goes over our "strategies to achieve the targets" (the targets being things like "DC CAS results for Woodson will increase to 45% proficiency in Literacy and increase to 35% in Math to reach Safe Harbor."). Then we are observed by an administrator informally in an "unstructured observation." Have a mid-year meeting. Are observed formally and given a score. If we score below 'meets expectations' we are put on a 90-day improvement plan, complete with support, etc. Only if you have gone through the 90-day plan and still do not meet expectations are you let go.

Anyways, I went through the first step of that process today with one of my assistant principals. And it went pretty well, but now I was told to change some things to my PPEP document and be more explicit in the strategies that I will employ as a good teacher. So I've gone through the document this evening and made my life more difficult by saying that I will do a number of things that, while I am very happy to do and will make me a better teacher, will require a lot of time and effort and generally make me work harder. Which I suppose is good.

I also wrote up some 'benchmarks' (which is a dumb buzz word that seems to be meaningless) for the SS department, specifically for World History II. I'll present them to my fellow SS teachers tomorrow and see what they say. Since they all have to teach WHII at some point this year, it is very important that they agree to these or some other benchmarks, since we are being required to use collaborative and common benchmarks. I'm just hoping that we can come to some sort of agreement that will be manageable and functional and rigorous. I hope that I don't come off as the uppity-young'n trying to change everything (even though I am, in some ways). I'm also going to present my Berlin Conference lesson plan and get thoughts on it. I figure, if I start showing that I've done work, maybe they will do the same and we can actually help each other out.

In other eventful happenings today, I gave my WHII students their first test and, while they were taking it (SO politely and beautifully, I might add), I realized that it was actually quite difficult and that most of them might fail it. I think I made it too hard. We'll see. I'll finish grading them in the morning and hopefully, it won't be too bad. They'll get to do test corrections anyways, so it's all good.

Things to finish:
*putting up classroom decorations
*posting classroom rules and consequences
*following up on student referrals
*writing letters to parents
*calling parents
*updating class website
*inputing some grades
*grading tests
*planning WWI unit
*following up on phone problems
*checking status of LCD projector and other supplies

Things to start:
*personal SPED handbook
*AU portfolio
*a curriculum for next semester's American History class
*studying for the GREs
*teacher portfolio documenting all my cool stuff
*exploring the crappy STARS gradebook
*looking into getting a life outside my classroom