OBSERVATION AND TERMINATION GUIDE

At Simply English, we take pride in the quality of our teachers, programs, and approach. Our clients expect to work with well prepared, engaging, and professional teachers. In order to ensure that they get what they want, we institute a variety of quality control methods.

QUALITY CONTROL IN SCHOOLS AND KINDERGARTENS

Throughout the course of your employment with Simply English, your school and kindergarten lessons will be regularly observed and evaluated by our Academic, Programs, and Human Resources Directors. Our evaluation system focuses on four main areas of importance: lesson structure, technique, classroom management, and organization. In each section of the evaluation, you are provided with specific suggestions and comments, as well as a score from 1-10. Your scores in all four areas are averaged for a final score, which is used to determine the overall success of your lesson. Specific information regarding observation criteria and expectations can be found in our school, kindergarten, and extra-curricular guidelines.

BREAKDOWN OF SCORES

9-10: Everything is going very well in your lessons. You are doing excellent work and very little needs to improve. You are eligible for performance based bonuses!

8-8.9: Things are generally going quite well in your lessons. There are a few areas that need to improve, but no major flaws are apparent.

7.5-7.9: Your lessons are passable, but there are some major issues that need to be addressed. It is important to pay close attention to the suggestions in your evaluation form, and all information the Academic, Programs, or Human Resources Directors give you.

7.4-6.5: There are serious problems with your lessons. It is vitally important that you take major efforts to observe and implement the suggestions made in your evaluation form. You may be asked to come into the office for additional one-on-one training with the Programs Director. You will also need to submit regular lesson planning forms for your lessons. You can expect to be observed more regularly.

6.4-5.1: There are profound problems with your lessons. You are now on a probationary period that may result in termination. You will need to submit regular lesson planning form for your lessons, and come into the office for additional one-on-one training. You can expect to be observed far more regularly. If no improvement is made within three observations, it may be decided that your contract will need to be terminated. You will be given two weeks’ notice, as per our contractual agreement, and asked to leave the country. Your visa will also be revoked. This is obviously a last resort, and all efforts on our part will be made to provide you with the training and feedback necessary to avoid termination.

5.0-0: Your lessons are unacceptable. You will be given two weeks to score above a 5 on an observation. If things are not noticeably better at the end of this two week probation, this is grounds for immediate termination.

OBSERVATION FORMATS

Simply English employs three varieties of observation format throughout the year.

Developmental Observations happen three times a year. The first developmental observation occurs during your first week of training. The next two happen once a semester, during fall and spring. Unlike other observation formats, when a developmental observation occurs, you will be informed in advance, and asked to submit a lesson plan, using one of the Simply English lesson planning templates. After the lesson, you will be asked to fill out a post-lesson reflection form, and a meeting will be scheduled 2-5 business days after the evaluation, to discuss your reflections and the results of your observation. Your score on these observations directly affects your eligibility for performance based bonuses.

Response/Agenda Observations happen randomly and without warning, at management or client request. Teachers can also request observations for specific advice dealing with an aspect of their lesson that they think needs assistance, attention, or improvement. Scores for response/agenda observations do not affect performance based bonuses, unless a serious complaint has been made by a client, or the teacher has received three minor complaints. After a response/agenda observation, teachers will be sent a completed observation form within 2-5 business days. Teachers are expected to familiarize themselves with the comments and suggestions made by observers, and to implement their advice.

Buzz Observations are short, informal observations. No official evaluation form is filled out for these evaluations, and all feedback is verbal. The purpose of buzz observations is not to fully assess teacher performance, but to quickly observe group dynamics/student levels, and to make sure the program and pace of the lesson is appropriate. If an observer notices a problem during a buzz observation, a follow up response observation will be scheduled.

OUALITY CONTROL IN PRIVATE LESSONS

Evaluations do not happen for private lessons. Instead, we rely on information from parents and teachers to assess the effectiveness of your lessons. We find that most of our private clients are happy with their teachers, especially if lessons are well planned, engaging, and clearly structured.

CLIENT FEEDBACK

In the event that a client is unhappy with your lessons, you will be contacted by a director to discuss the nature of the problem, and to try to resolve the issue as soon as possible. You may be asked to fill out weekly lesson planning forms for your clients, so we can better understand the content and approach of your lessons. The programs director may offer advice or suggest changing aspects of the lesson plan, in order to improve client satisfaction. If a client makes a legitimate complaint, or cancels lessons because of unsatisfactory performance, you will not be eligible for performance based bonuses. Also please note that if a teacher receives three minor complaints throughout the semester, from private clients or schools/kindergartens, he or she will also not be eligible for performance bonuses.

MONTHLY STUDENT PROFILES

Each month, we ask teachers to fill out a form detailing the specifics of their work with private students. This form requires teachers to assess the current level of students in regard to conversation, grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing ability. Teachers are also required to set clear lesson goals each month, and assess how well goals from the previous month have been met. This form also allows teachers to comment on student behavior and participation, and to address any issues they may have. Monthly student profiles are evaluated by the Programs Director. If there are problems with a lesson, or an aspect of the program is found to be inappropriate, you make be asked to change your approach, and submit weekly lesson planning forms. These profiles are also sent to parents, to keep them informed of their child’s behavior and progress.

Please remember that while complaints from clients make you ineligible for performance based bonuses, a single complaint from a client is not grounds for termination. We understand that not all people are meant to get along with each other, and that sometimes the relationship between a private client and a teacher may not be ideal. Your schedule can be changed, and a client can be shifted to a teacher better suited to the clients’ needs.

However, if we find that a significant number of your clients are complaining, and that your lessons are not improving after having submitted weekly planning forms and discussing with a director how to fix the problems with your lesson, it may be decided that your contract will be terminated. If this is the case, you will be given two weeks’ notice, as per our contractual agreement.

As mentioned above, termination is absolutely a last resort. We will work closely with you, and offer additional training and advice, to help you solve your problems in classrooms, kindergartens, or private lessons. As long as you follow the school, kindergarten, and private lesson guidelines, submit the proper lesson plans, and listen to the suggestions made by your observers, termination will remain an unlikely scenario.

CLIENT COMPLAINTS

You will notice that a serious complaint from a school, kindergarten, or private client can result in ineligibility for performance based bonuses, and in extreme cases, the possibility of termination. When a serious complaint is made, we will do our best to legitimate it, before deciding if it should affect your bonus status.

Here are some examples of serious complaints:

1. The teacher does not prepare for the lessons.

2. The teacher is rude to clients, school staff, or children.

3. The teacher is not concerned about student progress; he or she is not regularly reviewing or making sure students retain material.

4. The teacher is not following the program, or following directives from clients or management in regard to lesson content or approach

5. The teacher’s lessons are not interesting- no games or activities have been prepared.

6. The lessons are unnecessarily repetitive- the teacher plays the same games or does the same activities every lesson.

7. The client feels there is no benefit to the lessons. Not enough progress has been made, and the teacher’s methods play a serious role in this.

8. The teacher uses his/her phone in the lessons, and is not focused on the students.

9. The teacher doesn’t make students write new words or phrases in their copy books.

Please note that with serious complaints, we will do our best to evaluate and substantiate the claims before making a decision about whether or not the complaint affects your bonus. For example, if a client complains after three weeks of studying that they are not native speakers, we will not count the complaint toward you. Similarly, if you are devising solid, logically coherent and interesting lessons for a group of moody eighth graders who say your lessons are “boring,” we will not count this toward your bonus. If it is discovered that your lessons are poorly planned or repetitive upon observation, we will count the complaint! Similarly, if a client complains about the lessons not being effective, and says that you continue to not review, or not write new words in copy books, the complaint will count toward your bonus. If, however, you have written in your Monthly Student Evaluations that the student is not making progress because he or she never does homework, this will be taken into account!

Please also note that if a teacher receives 3 or more minor complaints throughout the semester, this will also make them ineligible for performance bonuses, and even minor complaints lead to the loss of other bonuses each month. For more detail regarding how bonuses work, please refer to the BONUSES FOR TEACHERS GUIDE.

Here are some examples of minor complaints:

1. The teacher gives too much or not enough homework.

2. The teacher chews gum or eats food in the lessons.

3. The teacher is too strict or not strict enough with students.

4. The teacher needs to devote more time to a specific area of study, and less to others.

5. The teacher was late to a lesson.

6. The teacher came to a lesson in a visibly bad mood.

7. The teacher appeared tired or “melancholic” during a lesson.