Most district have a large number of governing polices in place regarding the formal observation of teachers. Often , these rules and regulations, which are codified in board policy, district regulations, and official reporting forms, are a result of education law, past practice, custom, and negotiations with the local teacher organization. In these policies you will most likely find the number of observations that are required to be performed for each classification of teacher. This number is often expressed as a minimum and is differentiated for tenured and nontenured staff. For example, it is common to find that in most districts tenured staff are to be observed at least once during the school year, while nontenured staff are observed a minimum of six times. Most polices will also deal with the definition of an “official” or “formal” observation, its duration, the sequence or timing of observations for both tenured and nontenured staff members, dates for post-conferences, and other related matters. Most school districts will also use a standardized format for the final written report that will describe the kinds of data that it must contain.
You should be thoroughly familiar with all your district policies and regulations before you begin observing your staff members. It is not only important to know all the rules so that you will avoid procedural problems, but with the knowledge of what you must and must not do you can begin to effectively and accurately plan a timeline and schedule of classroom visits, observation conferences, and formal observations for your staff.