Program Review

2012-13 Q Comp Program Review Process

DATE: October 26, 2012

TO: Q Comp School Districts, School Sites and Charter Schools

FROM: Steve Dibb, Director, Division of School Support

RE: 2012-13 Q Comp Program Review Process
Q Comp Plan Change Timelines

Thank you for your work in developing and implementing an alternative teacher compensation system in your school district, school site or charter school.

Following the completion of the 2011-12 Q Comp Program Review Process, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) undertook a review of the process and related documents to determine what changes would need to be made to the process for 2012-13. This review included examining survey responses from districts and feedback received during the conference calls.

Using the lessons learned from the review, MDE has revised the 2012-13 Q Comp Program Review Process. This process is similar to that used in 2011-12, with modifications. The modifications to the process will be identified at the Q Comp Networking Session on November 16, 2012 and in the Q Comp Program Review Guidelines, which will be posted on our website on the day of the networking session.

• These are the modifications to the 2012-13 Program Review Process:
• Revisions to the Document Review portion of the review:
o Fewer documents to upload.
• Each component will include a template for the district to complete summarizing essential information about how each component is implemented and will require a smaller number of supplemental documents to upload.
o Inclusion of Component 4: Performance Pay.
• This is now in the Document Review instead of the Site Review.
• Revisions to SharePoint:
o All information, Document Review and Site Review, will now be uploaded to the document library for the district.
• This will eliminate the need to enter the Site Review Report information into a separate form; instead, districts will just upload the form completed by the team.
• Revisions to the Q Comp Program Review Rubric and Interview Questions:
o The rubric has been revised to better reflect the current Q Comp program standards and more clearly delineate the various levels of performance.
o The interview questions have been revised to better relate to the rubric.

Due to accessibility requirements, MDE will not be recording the November 16 networking session or providing other videos to demonstrate the use of SharePoint or to train the Program Review Facilitator and Site Review Teams. Instead, the Q Comp Program Review Guidelines will provide detailed information on the use of SharePoint, and Facilitators will be asked to attend either the training included in the November 16 networking session or a separate Facilitator training that will be held via WebEx. The training for Facilitators will be a train-the-trainer format which will include materials and a process for the Facilitator to take back and use to train the Site Review Team members. These WebEx trainings will be held at various dates and times beginning in late November. Each training will run for approximately 90 minutes to allow time for participant interaction and questions. Information on the Facilitator WebEx trainings will be disseminated via the Q Comp listserv by mid-November.

All documents necessary for the Q Comp Program Review Process will be posted to our website by November 16. If there are questions regarding this process or if individuals need to be added to the Q Comp listserv, please contact mde.q-comp@state.mn.us.

Q Comp Plan Change Timelines

MDE has set new plan change request timelines to allow districts more time to effectively organize implementation of an approved, updated plan at the start of a new school year.

• Q Comp plan changes for the 2012-13 school year cannot be accepted after November 30, 2012.
• For the 2013-14 school year, districts have two opportunities to submit a plan change: January 15, 2013 and April 15, 2013.

After these dates, any plan changes submitted will be processed for the next school year. Districts must submit the Q Comp Plan Change Form and receive approval prior to implementation.