Leadership SelfEvaluation February 17 th 2016 Dr Terry

Leadership Self-Evaluation February 17 th, 2016 Dr. Terry Croy Lewis Vice President of School Quality and Support Colorado League of Charter Schools

Agenda • Board Continuous Improvement – – Professional Development Board Meeting Evaluation Annual Self-Evaluation External • School Leader Evaluation – – Common Mistakes General Principles Process and Timeline Samples

Board Continuous Improvement: Professional Development • Board PD should be an ongoing part of the board’s work. – Webinars – CDE Governance Modules – Regional Trainings – Customized Training – Conferences – Mini-Trainings at Board

Board Continuous Improvement: Board Meeting Evaluation • Quick self-evaluation at the end of each meeting • What is working well? – Practices the board wants to maintain • Opportunities for improvement – Action oriented, specific, realistic

Board Meeting Evaluation Celebrations ü ü Open, honest conversation Everyone participated Clear next steps for action We stuck to the agenda and didn’t get off track ü Materials provided in advance were helpful Areas for Growth • Monitor noise level • Group commits to not texting or emailing during meeting • Explain educational jargon; don’t assume we all know it • Have a 5 minute break ½ through • Commit to starting on time

Annual Self-Evaluation • Recommendation – Include a couple of questions about the board’s work on the annual staff and family satisfaction surveys • Self-evaluation – each board members should take this annually – Focus on the individual’s work and board’s collective work – Make time to discuss the results

Practice Activity • Rate your board • Review the 10 primary board responsibilities and evaluate how your board is currently meeting each responsibility using the following ratings: – 1 = Every board member understands what this responsibility means in practice and we are consistently doing this. – 2 = Most board members understand what this responsibility means in practice and we doing this most of the time. – 3 = Many board members do not understand what this responsibility means in practice and we aren’t doing this consistently at all. – 4 = We didn’t know this was one of our responsibilities and we aren’t doing it.

REVISED IN 2013 Strong Board Governance– Standard 9 The governing board… q promotes the vision and mission of the school through a strong governance structure. (9. a) q promotes the vision and mission of the school through strategic planning. (9. b) q policies adhere to legal obligations as a public entity. (9. c) q engages in quality, needs-based professional development. (9. d) q provides guidance in program assessment and renewal processes. (9. e) q has a clear plan for hiring, retaining, supporting and evaluating the lead administrator. (9. f) q demonstrates effective use of meetings and committees. (9. g) q supports the mission/vision of the school by securing strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders. (9. h)

Sample Self Evaluation Responsibility Determine the School’s Mission and Vision Select and Support the School Leader and Review His/Her Performance Approve and Monitor the School’s Programs and Services Ensure Adequate Resources Ensure Effective Fiscal Management Strongly agree Somewhat disagree Strongly Disagree

Sample Self Evaluation Responsibility Engage in Strategic Planning Carefully Select and Orient New Board Members Understand the Relationship between Board and Staff Engage in Strategic Planning Organize itself so that the Board Operates Efficiently Ensure Sound Risk Management Policies Enhance the School’s Public Image Strongly agree Somewhat disagree Strongly Disagree

Individual Self Evaluation I understand the school’s mission and vision. I support the mission and vision. I have a good working relationship with other board members and the school leader. I am knowledgeable about the school’s philosophy of education, major programs, and services? I follow trends and important developments in education and charter school policy. I assist in fundraising by, for example, identifying prospective donors, personally asking others to make a contribution, or signing thank-you notes to contributors. Strongly agree Somewhat disagree Strongly Disagree

External Evaluation – CSSI Visit/Rubrics

School Leader Evaluation • Why don’t boards evaluate the school leader? – It’s easy to let the school leader evaluation get pushed to the back burner since other issues seem more pressing. – The school leader may be reluctant to be evaluated. – Most boards don’t understand the educational side of the school and don’t know how to evaluate it. – Boards often create a process that is too quick or superficial to be meaningful or too involved and unwieldly.

Common Mistakes • Rushing into the process at the end of the school year. • Having an inappropriate or ineffective timeline for the process. • Not creating a written process detailing how the evaluation will be conducted that is voted on by the full board and is reviewed with the school leader ahead of time. • Not using important documents, including: charter contract, strategic plan, school leader job description.

School Leader: Evaluation Process • SB 191 • Align to job description and school goals • Committee and timeline Checklist for an effective evaluation process: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Steps Make sure that the school leader evaluation is a yearlong process of exchanging feedback between the board and the school leader. Create some goals for your process with your school leader –actually write down what the board and the school leader want to achieve with this process and use this as a check to make sure your process is doing these things. Create a school leader evaluation committee. Have a committee create a written process that details what will happen throughout the year, the timeline, and who is responsible. Have this process approved by the full board. Have the committee create evaluation tools. Have evaluation tools approved by the full board. +/-

General Principles to Guide the Performance Evaluation Process • Process and evaluation should be easy to administer • Should capture and acknowledge results and accomplishments, as well as identify development opportunities • Strive to have a fair, data/fact driven process with no surprises • School leader should have the opportunity into the evaluation process • Include a self-assessment process • Seek continuous improvements based on learning, and research based data

School Leader Timeline • • • Late Summer/Prior to Start of School – Set performance goals for the school year – Board reviews and approves plan December/January-Mid-Year Evaluation – School leader writes mid-year self-assessment against goals – Board reviews, gives performance feedback, approves – Board President provides collective board feedback, delivers mid-year performance evaluation – Decision for contract renewal Spring – Year End Evaluation – School leader writes year-end self-assessment – Feedback is collected – Board reviews, provides performance feedback, approves – Board President provides collective board feedback, delivers mid-year performance evaluation

Sample Strategic Dashboard

School Leader Sample • • Executive Director of Schools Evaluation Form Academic Year: 2014 -2015. . . . . . . Evaluee: Evaluator: Date of Evaluation: . . . . . . .

Resources • Governance Training Modules – FREE 15 hours of training on-demand – http: //onlinelearning. enetcolorado. org/login/ • Colorado League of Charter Schools – www. coloradoleague. org or charter 411@coloradoleague. org • Colorado Department of Education Schools of Choice Unit – www. cde. state. co. us/cdechart/index. htm

Any questions? • Feel free to contact us: – Terry Croy Lewis, Colorado League of Charter Schools, tcroylewis@coloradoleague. org – Peg Mc. Millen, CDE, Charter School Support & Grant Manager, Mc. Millen_P@cde. state. co. us – Kelly Rosensweet, CDE, Charter and Innovation Schools Support Coordinator, Rosensweet_K@cde. state. co. us