All experienced teachers, as defined by the Ministry’s Teacher Appraisal Process, are expected to complete an Annual Learning Plan, every year.
The purpose of the Annual Learning Plan (ALP) is to provide a meaningful vehicle to support experienced teachers’ professional learning and growth in the evaluation year and for the intervening years between appraisals. The ALP is teacher authored and directed, and is developed in a consultative and collaborative manner with the principal.
ALP Requirements
- Experienced teachers are required to have an ALP each year that includes their professional growth goals, as well as their proposed action plan with timelines for achieving their goals.
- Teachers who move from the new teacher’s appraisal process to the experienced teacher’s appraisal process must develop an ALP in their first year as an experienced teacher.
- Each year, teachers are required to consult with their principal to review and update, as necessary, their ALP. This review and update must take into account the teacher’s learning and growth over the year, as well as the professional growth goals and strategies recommended through the summative report of the teacher’s most recent performance appraisal.
- In an evaluation year, teachers must review and update their ALP in a meeting with their principal as part of the performance appraisal process. The pre-observation and post-observation meetings provide opportunities for this review and update to take place.
- In the non-evaluation years, a meeting is not required but is recommended. If at any time during these years the teacher or principal requests a meeting to discuss the ALP, then a meeting shall take place.
- The teacher and the principal must both sign the teacher’s ALP each year and retain a copy for their records. Under certain circumstances, the duties of the principal as outlined above may be delegated to a vice-principal in the same school or to an appropriate supervisory officer.
Growth Goals and Strategies
- The growth goals and strategies identified by the teacher should be relevant to his or her professional needs and focus on improving his or her teaching practice and student learning.
- Growth-oriented professional dialogue between the teacher and principal can help identify the growth goals and strategies for the teacher’s continuous learning and development to include in his or her ALP.
- Parent and student input can also help inform the teacher’s ongoing professional learning and teaching practice.