Leadership Matters January 2014

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Dear Illinois Educator Today, more decisions are based on quantitative data than ever before. This is especially true in the teacher and administrator evaluation process many states are mandating. Two years ago, I, and a couple of my peers, embarked on a journey to create a product created by educators for educators that streamlined, organized, and simplified the evaluation process. We developed an online solution that helped users spend less energy on the “task” and address the ultimate goal – strengthening the classroom. Standard For Success (SFS) is a powerful, online, customizable teacher and employee evaluation system, created by us and a joint venture with EdTechZone and QuestionPress Online Classroom Response Systems. The result? The most efficient and effective educator evaluation tool on the market. Its strong back end technology and streamlined, transparent outer interface is lauded by more than 350 schools in more than 70 school districts nationwide with additional implementations happening daily. Our average support ticket response time is 25 minutes. SFS allows for real-time evaluation of teachers while easing the burden on administrators through its diverse management features and archives. The software enables administrators to meet the requirements of a more stringent teacher and principal evaluation model through its web-based portal accessible via any tool, including smartphones, tablets or laptops. Teachers can chart professional development goals and division leadership can view school and division-wide summaries – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have 100% client retention. In addition to being highly customizable, Standard For Success has multiple research-based rubrics readily available to users, such as National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association ( Athletic Director), Special Education, Central Office Administrator, Technology Director and Classified Staff. We have rubrics that schools, states, and associations have developed based on and modified from such rubrics as Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teachers, Iowa’s A Model Framework, Robert Marzano’s Classroom Instruction that Works, Massachusetts’ Principles for Effective Teaching, Kim Marshall’s Teacher Evaluation Rubrics and the National Board’s Professional Teaching Standards. Our company has worked with the Illinois Association of School Administrators , Illinois Principals Association , local administrators, and local bargaining units to make sure there is transparency in the process. The tools for reporting the data are updated in real-time and district level administrators are able to see reports to monitor inter-rater reliability and consistency. This transparency and reporting feature is allowing schools to get past the semantics of the ”teacher evaluation” process and to the real game changer – professional growth of the instructional leaders. The million indicators marked last year and 100% client retention rate are proof that educators choose SFS because of how user-friendly, administrator-robust and teacher-transparent our system is. As an Educator, Co-Founder, and CEO of Standard For Success I feel blessed to be associated with a product that is helping administrators manage the ever expanding tasks placed on them daily and providing tools for all educators to grow and impact student achievement. May we schedule a demonstration of our software? We would be delighted to show how Standard for Success can take your process, input it into our system and help better serve the needs of your teachers and administrators. Feel free to contact me directly at 317-902.7594 or todd@standardforsuccess.com. Respectfully

Todd Whitlock, CEO Standard For Succes