The Washoe County School District (WCSD), the second largest district in Nevada, and CTAC are partnering on a new five-year $25.5 million Teacher Incentive Fund grant to improve student achievement by increasing the number of highly effective teachers and principals, with a special focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The initial focus is on nine of WCSD's highest need schools. Under the new initiative, the district is strengthening its new evaluation system, in which educator effectiveness is annually measured by student academic growth and systematic observations.

A key component of that system is Student Learning Objectives (SLOs), to be crafted by teachers in the target schools. SLOs are critical to the initiative's success, since they will measure student achievement growth as well as support and help strengthen teachers' instructional and pedagogical skills. In the third year, the use of SLOs will be extended from the pilot schools to all 95 district schools.

CTAC is providing in-depth SLO training for the district's instructional leaders, as well as for all principals and teachers. In support of WCSD's instructional vision, CTAC is also providing ongoing counsel and technical assistance to the district in successful design, training, implementation, and analysis of an SLO model.

The new evaluation system will guide the district's human capital management decisions, from hiring to mentoring, professional development, promotion, and dismissal. These efforts put Washoe in the vanguard as Nevada moves to enact new educator evaluation approaches statewide to support effective teaching and improve student achievement.

"This initiative strongly bolsters our efforts to improve and individualize instruction, helping us to achieve our goal of 'every child, by name and face, to graduation,'" says WCSD Superintendent Pedro Martinez.

If you would like to learn more about this TIF initiative in Washoe County, contact WCSD's TIF Grant Coordinator Alyson Kendrick. To discuss including SLOs in your new evaluation or compensation systems, please contact CTAC at (617) 423-1444 or [email protected].