The Promise and Pitfalls of Superintendent Evaluation. At the Board Table DIsucission Tool

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1 The Promise and Pitfalls of Superintendent Evaluation At the Board Table DIsucission Tool

2 The Promise and Pitfalls of Superintendent Evaluation Introduction As a service on the IASB website, we offer this At the Board Table as a way for your board to have a minute board development item on your agenda. Boards that take time to discuss current educational issues generally find their common work at the board table to be easier and more effective. It s possible to consider this section as an individual board member, but it is much more effective if the entire board engages in the discussion. Working as a team is improved when boards come to a common understanding of ground rules and responsibilities. If your board team conducts one of these discussions at your board table, each participant will earn five (5) Better Boardsmanship credits per session. Next Steps for Meeting Facilitators 1. Add a development item to your next board meeting agenda. 2. Download or open the presentation from the website here. 3. Print out scenario. Decide if you want to read aloud or use as a script for board members. 4. Make clear to your board and public this is a scenario showing undesirable behavior to help determine how evaluation can be done differently. It is not an example. Establish up front: We are going to look at what is going wrong in Dreamfield to improve our board s chances of doing superintendent evaluation well. Be sure to get to the development of principles. Really strive for your board to think what they need to do and learn. 5. Conduct the exercise with your entire board. 6. Once you ve completed the discussion, complete and return the form on the last page to receive credit for Better Boardsmanship points. 2

3 Scenario As the board meeting opens, Dreamfield board president Sara Smart notes that Superintendent Evaluation is on the agenda. She asks the superintendent if he would like the evaluation to be in closed session. He says Yes. The Dreamfield board is now in closed session. Board President Smart states: We are here to evaluate the performance of Superintendent. Board Member Donna Dubious: (Interrupting) I just want to say right up front I think this is silly. What do I know about what a superintendent should be doing? I m an electrician! I can evaluate your home s wiring but much of the stuff on this evaluation instrument is tough for me to understand. Let s just say he is doing fine, ignore this instrument and go home! Board Member Charley Challenge: Hey wait! I have some questions. I want to talk about the superintendent s recommendations on the new building. That is something you can get into, Donna. Many of his recommendations seem pretty sketchy too me isn t that his job? Shouldn t his recommendations tell us the best way to vote? Board Member Paul Proud: No! That is not his main job. His big job is to raise student achievement. It seems to me we are making great progress there! That is why I gave him all 5 s. Our kids are learning more under his leadership. That s the main thing! Board Member Carl Cranky: I sure don t say all 5 s. What if he does something down the road that we all regret and we determine we need to fire him? How would all 5 s look to the lawyers then? I agree with Mr. Challenge. His main job this year was the building project and we are behind schedule! That sure doesn t merit 5 s! Board Member Paul Proud: Fire him? Where did that come from? Board Member Carl Cranky: I m just saying no one is perfect and we need to be prepared. Remember how the last few years went with our previous superintendent? 3

4 Board Member Dubious: While we are on that topic our previous superintendent let the principals run their own schools, and a couple of them got out of hand! I want to talk about them and what the superintendent will be doing to get them back under control. Board President Smart: May I suggest we just go back to our old way of doing superintendent evaluation? I will just collect your evaluations and then, privately, I will give the superintendent a quick summary. 4

5 Pitfalls Pitfall One: Failure to Obey the Law The board did not secure the superintendent s written permission and post the evaluation as a closed session on the tentative agenda at least 24 hours in advance. A board member wants to discuss the performance of principals. The board has told the public they are in closed session to evaluate the superintendent. The board needs to use an evaluation instrument which considers the ISSL standards; they cannot just ignore the instrument. Pitfall Two: Failure to identify clear goals and indicators of progress well in advance of the evaluation, under which the superintendent will be evaluated The board must have clarity about what the superintendent s job is. The superintendent and board must agree upon clear goals for the superintendent and allow time for progress toward those goals. The board must be clear about the superintendent s priority work, which will be important in making progress toward the district s mission, vision and goals. If the board does its work well, identifies clearly what it will take to move toward the district s vision and understands goal work, the superintendent will have much better clarity on his priority work, as well. Pitfall Three: Assuming that the evaluation is mainly just about extending or terminating the contract The board has an ethical responsibility to provide formal feedback through the formative evaluation process that helps the superintendent identify what he/she has been doing well, and where he/she might need improvement or growth. This allows the board to determine ways in which they can provide resources/support for that improvement/growth to happen. Pitfall Four: Delegating evaluation to a single board member Superintendent evaluation is the responsibility of the board as a whole. It is important for the superintendent and the whole board to engage in positive discussion during the evaluation process. It will take skillful processing, but this can help the board come to clear, common points of agreement and avoid the superintendent s feeling he/she is trying to individually satisfy five or seven directors. 5

6 Basic Principles Ask yourselves: 1. What should we resolve to do when evaluating our superintendent? 2. What kind of thought and preparation will this require? For example, a principle might be: The board will review and abide by the law in relation to superintendent evaluation. 6

7 Review and Abide by the Law The board will review and abide by the law in relation to superintendent evaluation. The board will consider this review of the law as part of its annual preparation for superintendent evaluation. Get Clear on Superintendent Goals The board will get clear on superintendent goals and on what can be seen as progress toward those goals. This getting clear will happen through discussion prior to the evaluation. It is important to validate that the board is united around what it will be evaluating. Get Clear on ISSL Standards The board will spend time throughout the year considering the ISSL standards and what they mean. The board will review the standards and consider what it expects in terms of the superintendent s work. This will not be an evaluation, but rather a learning dialogue. The law requires the use of these standards. The standards must be understood by the board, taking time to consider what they mean and the behaviors or practices to support each. Make the Evaluation Process Ongoing A board that devotes meeting agenda time during the year to hear progress reports on goals and discuss the information with the superintendent is a board that models continuous improvement. This practice: Provides the opportunity for the superintendent to make adjustments/corrections during the year. Decreases the chances of the superintendent s summary evaluation containing surprises. 7

8 Focus the evaluation We will focus our evaluation on identifying ways to support growth and improvement. This is what our evaluation process is all about. It is about identifying - with the superintendent -ways that improvement can be made and what supports and resources will sustain that improvement. Recognize Professional Knowledge The board will recognize and use the superintendent s professional knowledge to enrich the evaluation dialogue. Working together, the board and superintendent team can figure out how the superintendent s leadership can be best directed in your school district. Ask the superintendent good, focused questions. Go back to the district goals. How can the superintendent best lead to reach those goals? Where does the superintendent believe his/her focus should be? What do the ISSL standards mean for this superintendent in this particular situation? Additional Available Resources See the Superintendent Evaluation section of the IASB website for additional resources and information on superintendent evaluation. 8

9 Notice of Participation For Iowa board members: After taking part in this board discussion, you will be eligible to receive Better Boardsmanship credits. For IASB to track your participation, please complete this form and return to: Iowa Association of School Boards ATTN: Board Leadership Team 6000 Grand Avenue Des Moines, IA Fax: Title of Tool: Promises and Pitfalls of Superintendent Evaluation Date: (please print) District: Participants (Print your name and tell us if you are a board member, president, vice president or superintendent.) Summary of Session (Please provide a short summary of how your discussion went and any feedback on this tool.) 9