This time of year, the NEE Help Desk receives a few calls that go something like this…

Help Desk: Hello, this is Cathie at NEE. How may I help you?
Caller: I have a teacher who is trying to create his PD plan, but he only has access to the principal organizer instead of the one for teachers. What’s going on?

This is a red flag for me because it means the teacher has been assigned the wrong access level in the NEE Data Tool. The access level determines what is available under the My Organizers button.

When teachers have access to the Principal organizers, it means they also have the ability to view the evaluation data for all teachers and possibly the administrators in their building.

To avoid a potential violation of privacy for your employee evaluation data, it’s a good idea to review the access level assignments each fall. Fortunately, that’s easy to do for anyone who has the District access level in the NEE Data Tool. Here’s how.

  1. Click the People tab on the left-side menu bar.
  2. Click the Import People button at the top of the page.
    Select All Buildings
    Make sure the current School Year is selected
    Click the Download Roster button
    Locate and open the csv file in your downloads
  3. All active accounts are displayed with the individual’s name, building assignment, email address and access level. The access levels should be assigned as follows:
    Teachers = 1 (Individual)
    Assistant Principals = 4 (Building)
    Lead Principals = 5 (Building Lead)
    District Level Administrators = 6 (District)
  4. You can sort the sheet by access level and check to be sure all teachers have a 1 for Individual. If you find any teachers with an incorrect access level, correct it on their profile page.

While you are at it – check to be sure everyone listed is currently employed by your district. It is not uncommon to find some active accounts for employees who have left your district. Be sure to end employment for those individuals by 1) changing their building assignment to the Employment Ended building and 2) clicking the red End Employment button at the top of their profile page.

There you have it – you are only 4 easy steps away from guaranteeing that your evaluation data is secure and available only to the appropriate administrators. Be sure to contact the NEE Help Desk at nee@missouri.edu or 844-793-4357 if you have questions or need assistance.

The Network for Educator Effectiveness (NEE) is a simple yet powerful comprehensive system for educator evaluation that helps educators grow, students learn, and schools improve. Developed by preK-12 practitioners and experts at the University of Missouri, NEE brings together classroom observation, student feedback, teacher curriculum planning, and professional development as measures of effectiveness in a secure online portal designed to promote educator growth and development.