Mastery Charter Schools
Chris Ziemba, Heather Scheg & Margaux Munnelly
Mastery Charter leaders unify instructional language with SwiftScore
Simplifies evaluation cycles and supports equitable teacher growth across multiple campuses.
92%
Reduction in evaluation write time
100%
Alignment with Mastery's instructional framework
10/10
Rating on usefulness for coaching alignment across APs
Enrollment
700–800 per campus (Lenfest, Clymer Elementary, and Pickett)
Bio
Leadership team across multiple Philadelphia Mastery Charter campuses, supporting instructional growth, performance-based advancement, and rubric-aligned coaching. Chris Ziemba – Principal Manager, formerly Principal at Mastery Lenfest Campus. Heather Scheg – School Leader at Mastery Clymer Elementary. Margaux Munnelly – Assistant Principal at Mastery Pickett Campus
Challenges
Lengthy write-ups, inconsistent feedback across observers, and difficulty tracking teacher readiness for promotion
Outcomes
Faster evaluations, shared coaching language, and better-aligned teacher development conversations across the network
About Mastery
At Mastery Charter Schools, instructional leadership is rooted in clarity, equity, and impact. With over two dozen campuses, the network emphasizes frequent, high-quality feedback aligned to a rigorous internal framework.
At campuses like Lenfest, Clymer Elementary, and Pickett, leaders like Chris Ziemba, Heather Scheg, and Margaux Munnelly manage the challenge of providing consistent, rubric-aligned feedback to dozens of teachers—all while tracking performance categories that drive teacher advancement.
They needed a tool that could reduce the administrative burden of evaluations, provide a shared language across APs, and make it easier to support every teacher equitably.
The Challenge
Each leader carried a large caseload of observations, often relying on manually written narratives and personalized rubrics to meet Mastery's high expectations.
While leaders valued detail, they faced major hurdles:
• Evaluation write-ups could take over an hour per teacher
• Language and tone varied across APs, leading to feedback inconsistency
• Promotion eligibility had to be tracked manually by averaging rubric-aligned scores
• There was no easy way to surface trend data or link evaluations to coaching plans
"I want our coaches in classrooms—not behind desks rewriting the same language," said Chris Ziemba.
"Teachers need clarity on where they stand and how to grow. That's hard to do with disconnected systems," noted Heather Scheg.
The Solution
Eval by SwiftScore provided more than a workflow fix—it gave Mastery leaders a system that supported clarity, consistency, and equity.
Through custom configuration, the platform now mirrors Mastery's entire instructional framework, including:
• A 1–5 scoring scale aligned to performance bands (e.g., Associate, Advanced, Master)
• Real-time average score tracking for promotion readiness
• Dual summary modes for teacher-facing feedback and internal coaching
• A multi-campus dashboard for performance trends and calibration
• Custom rubric upload reflecting every domain of the Mastery evaluation system
"We didn't just want a faster tool—we wanted a smarter one. SwiftScore speaks our language now," said Margaux Munnelly.
"The coaching summaries and trend tracking are a game-changer. We can focus on growth, not just scores," added Heather.
Results
Mastery leaders now use SwiftScore to support formal observations, informal walkthroughs, and coaching plan development. The results are tangible: write time has dropped by over 90%, feedback is now consistent across APs even across campuses, teachers see clearer and more actionable insights aligned to their growth goals, performance category eligibility is no longer hidden in spreadsheets but embedded in the dashboard, and instructional leaders now spend more time in classrooms rather than in documents. "We're seeing tighter language, faster turnaround, and better coaching conversations. It's everything we needed." "The feedback matches what we see—and says it better. I used to tweak every word. Now I copy and go," said Margaux.
Chris Ziemba
Principal Manager, Mastery Charter Schools
"We want feedback to drive development, not just data. SwiftScore helps us get there—with language we trust and time we can use."
When asked to rate SwiftScore's usefulness for coaching alignment across APs, the Mastery team gave it a "5/5." Chris emphasized that the platform has transformed their approach to instructional consistency: "We're seeing tighter language, faster turnaround, and better coaching conversations. It's everything we needed." Margaux added: "The feedback matches what we see—and says it better."
Faster evaluations, stronger feedback - Write-ups take 5–10 minutes instead of over an hour—without losing quality
Framework-aligned scoring and summaries - All content reflects Mastery's rubric, ensuring consistency and clarity
Performance bands built in - Tracks whether teachers are meeting advancement thresholds (e.g., 3.4+ for Advanced)
Shared visibility across leaders - APs and Principals see the same teacher data and summaries
Better teacher experience - Feedback feels focused, fair, and actionable—regardless of who observed the class
With SwiftScore, Mastery Charter Schools doesn't just evaluate teachers faster—they do it better. SwiftScore has become a central platform for instructional alignment, evaluator calibration, and teacher growth visibility—supporting the network's mission to equitably grow great educators at every level.
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