Several departing teachers cited DCPS’s IMPACT evaluation system as one of the reasons they are not returning to Wilson next year. Widely disliked by teachers in the school, the system has been criticized for its inconsistency and the added stress it brings to teaching.

DCPS teachers are evaluated and ranked as either Highly Effective, Effective, or Ineffective, based on their ability to fulfill requirements outlined in the IMPACT teacher rubric. IMPACT is designed to set a uniform standard of teaching throughout DCPS by clarifying expectations for teachers and providing feedback. The IMPACT handbook lists “Retaining Great People,” as one of their primary objectives and states that they do this by, “providing significant recognition for outstanding performance.”

Yet, at Wilson, this statement hasn’t proved completely true. So far, three teachers who have been rated Highly Effective during their tenure at Wilson have pointed to IMPACT as one of the reasons they will not be returning next year. Several more who are leaving for unrelated reasons have also expressed dissatisfaction with the system. Last month, The Beacon reported that from a survey of 30 Wilson teachers chosen at random, 72 percent said they did not think the IMPACT evaluation rubric was fair and effective.

A common complaint of teachers regarding IMPACT is the demanding rubric, which changes frequently. In the 2016-17 school year, a component of the rubric known as the Teaching Learning Framework (TLF) was replaced with three new items, despite representing 75 percent of the evaluation in years prior.

“The TLF, I thought, was a pretty robust rubric for evaluating teachers. The [new rubric] is even more robust,” said Principal Kimberly Martin.

Frequent changes to the rubric have proved stressful for the teachers under evaluation. “Teachers are getting better, but [DCPS] keeps changing what good teaching looks like. It makes it hard for the teacher, because you work to give what they’re asking in the rubric, but then the next year or in the next two years they’re changing it and saying, ‘well, we actually meant that you should do this instead,’” said Jacqueline Beliveau, a math teacher who will not return to Wilson next year.

“I’ve been at Wilson for six years, and I can think of at least ten teachers who were rated Highly Effective but left because the demands of IMPACT were just too much,” said Beliveau, who has been rated Highly Effective three times.

“[IMPACT] definitely plays a part in why I’m leaving,” said Beliveau. “Every little thing adds up, and IMPACT is one of those little things to me.”

Beliveau noted other flaws she saw within IMPACT, including the actual evaluations themselves. A typical evaluation lasts approximately thirty minutes, a third the length of most class periods.

“Rather than having a free-flowing class, and making sure that you take the time to do what you feel is best, you cram all this extra stuff into the time that the evaluator is there because they’ll score you down if you they don’t see certain things,” said Beliveau.

James Leonard, a social studies teacher, found it difficult to accommodate the ever-changing requirements in the rubric. Leonard described being frustrated by the quantity of IMPACT requirements, many of which he views as arbitrary.

“I think I’m an outstanding lecturer, and an interactive lecturer. I don’t do as many hands on things, like sit in a circle and talk and sing kumbaya or that kind of stuff. But I think I’m valuable in what I do,” said Leonard. Despite being rated Highly Effective many times in the past, Leonard received a “relatively low score” this year.

“I’m very active here,” said Leonard. “I don’t have time to do all the things they want me to do and still be an effective teacher.” Leonard said he spends almost every Sunday grading student work and putting grades into Aspen, in addition to serving as the Washington Teachers’ Union building representative for Wilson.

Leonard will retire from Wilson after 45 years, and he says that IMPACT was one of the main drivers of his decision.

Another common teacher complaint concerns the evaluators themselves, who are oftentimes not well versed in the subjects being taught by teachers they are evaluating. For example, foreign language teachers are usually evaluated by administrators who don’t speak the language, making it nearly impossible for them to assess how well the class is being taught.

“[DCPS] claims all they want [from IMPACT] is support and improvement but at the end of the day, I have rarely been observed in IMPACT where I’ve been given feedback by someone who knew more about teaching than I did, and in particular about teaching math,” said math teach Joseph Herbert, who has been rated highly-effective multiple times during his four year tenure at Wilson. •