Oakland Unified School District

TeachBoost powers every step of Oakland’s teacher evaluation and performance process.

Oakland, CA

Partnership

Favorite Quote

Tillamook churns out millions of pounds of dairy products a year, but cheese enthusiasts don’t need to make the trek to its picturesque coastal Oregon factory in order to have a taste. That said, we highly recommend the trip.

With the same care they put into making their delectable ice creams, cheeses, butters, and more, they designed a branded locator map that makes it simple to find and filter for your favorite Tillamook products at grocery stores across the United States.

As if indulging in your cheddar habit wasn’t already easy enough, you can now quickly see the availability of your favorite snack and get the location context you need to replenish your supply.

Section header for the first main highlight that’s probably two lines because it says something significant

Ms. Mendoza worked with Kate Cohen, a TeachBoost engagement strategist, to devise a teacher-centric implementation strategy. Working together, Ms. Mendoza and Ms. Cohen created customized Peer Visitation forms, which allowed teachers to conduct classroom visits, record their observations, and offer feedback and suggestions to each other using an in-house, non-evaluative framework.

This is a big image, if possible
This is a caption for this image, centered below it, and with a smaller bounding box.

TeachBoost has the capacity to manage multiple frameworks, rubrics, and forms, so Ms. Mendoza is able to conduct formal evaluations and informal observations, while teachers schedule and conduct peer visitations and coaching sessions.

All of the data lives within TeachBoost and is accessible by both the observers and those being observed. "This is game-changing," says Ms. Mendoza.

After receiving training on the platform, however, "I quickly realized that TeachBoost could be leveraged to do more than merely meet the mandate," says Ms. Mendoza. "It could also positively impact school culture and increase teachers’ capacity."

This is a half image
This is a half image
This is a caption for this image, centered below it, and with a smaller bounding box. Let's get this one up to two lines to see how it wraps.

Someone said something we're highlighting here

Now it's easy for all stakeholders at ACPA to understand instructional strengths and areas for growth, as well as celebrate and scale their successes. "Teachers regularly interact with the platform, actively participate in the observation and coaching process, and understand that they have a voice," says Ms. Mendoza.

The most powerful, and surprising, effect of this implementation, reports Ms. Mendoza, is that "teachers have gained tremendous insight into their own practice by observing their peers. That's what tipped the scales toward making it standard practice to conduct peer observations at ACPA."