In light of the upcoming August Board of Education vote on the Superintendent's evaluation model, I thought it might be helpful to reflect on when and how all this began. Early in the fall--after being sworn in--I requested a change in the Superintendent's evaluation protocol. It was decided a committee would be formed. Later I was selected to chair the committee. We have looked at many models and finalized what will be presented to the Board. We agreed to meet with Dr. McIntyre on July 23rd, for him to share his thoughts on the model.
The Superintendents Performance Evaluation Protocol adopted by the Knox County Board of Education in 2009--and amended in 2011 and 2013--outlines the procedure for the evaluation of the Superintendent of Knox County Schools. The five “areas of focus” outlined in the Superintendent's evaluation are: student achievement, strategic planning and execution, effective use of resources, relationships with staff, personnel and board members, and family and community engagement.
As I read and studied Dr. McIntyre’s evaluations from last year and from previous years, what became apparent to me was the lack of a criteria based evaluation. There were five broad areas of focus upon which he was evaluated but no criteria to determine his level of competency or degree of improvement or lack thereof. Having been trained by the state the past two summers on how to evaluate and tested to see if I was proficient and qualified to evaluate--this concerned me. The teachers are evaluated by an extensive rubric. The same is true of our school administrators. So why not the superintendent of our schools?
An additional component to evaluation should include a new employee survey developed by the Board and administered by Central Office. In addition, I would like to see an exit survey given to all employees leaving the system and distributed to the board.
Dr. McIntyre probably said it best as he addressed US House of Representatives on February 28th, 2013. "The TEAM evaluation system features an excellent classroom observation instrument (or “rubric” as it is called), which begins with a detailed and research-based definition of good teaching, and allows educators to understand how their instruction measures up against a very rigorous standard. Please allow me to take a moment to outline some of the ways that TEAM data is used: The power of TEAM, and any strong performance evaluation system, is that it provides consistent and useful information regarding teacher effectiveness that can be utilized in human capital decisions, such as retention, termination, promotion, tenure, appointment to teacher leadership roles, and even compensation. In Knoxville, we use the data from teacher evaluations to support all of these critical personnel decisions.
The Superintendents Performance Evaluation Protocol adopted by the Knox County Board of Education in 2009--and amended in 2011 and 2013--outlines the procedure for the evaluation of the Superintendent of Knox County Schools. The five “areas of focus” outlined in the Superintendent's evaluation are: student achievement, strategic planning and execution, effective use of resources, relationships with staff, personnel and board members, and family and community engagement.
As I read and studied Dr. McIntyre’s evaluations from last year and from previous years, what became apparent to me was the lack of a criteria based evaluation. There were five broad areas of focus upon which he was evaluated but no criteria to determine his level of competency or degree of improvement or lack thereof. Having been trained by the state the past two summers on how to evaluate and tested to see if I was proficient and qualified to evaluate--this concerned me. The teachers are evaluated by an extensive rubric. The same is true of our school administrators. So why not the superintendent of our schools?
- Where was the measurement?
- Where were the indicators?
- Where were the descriptors?
- Where was the rubric?
An additional component to evaluation should include a new employee survey developed by the Board and administered by Central Office. In addition, I would like to see an exit survey given to all employees leaving the system and distributed to the board.
Dr. McIntyre probably said it best as he addressed US House of Representatives on February 28th, 2013. "The TEAM evaluation system features an excellent classroom observation instrument (or “rubric” as it is called), which begins with a detailed and research-based definition of good teaching, and allows educators to understand how their instruction measures up against a very rigorous standard. Please allow me to take a moment to outline some of the ways that TEAM data is used: The power of TEAM, and any strong performance evaluation system, is that it provides consistent and useful information regarding teacher effectiveness that can be utilized in human capital decisions, such as retention, termination, promotion, tenure, appointment to teacher leadership roles, and even compensation. In Knoxville, we use the data from teacher evaluations to support all of these critical personnel decisions.
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