It’s All in the Competencies: Effective Evaluation for Boards and School Leaders National Alliance of Public Charter Schools July 1, 2013 Russ Williams and Carrie Irvin

Agenda Overview of session Why evaluate? Context for competency-based evaluation Good goal setting A calendar for effective evaluation

Overview How many of you are school leaders? Board members? How many of you are evaluated by your board/evaluate your leader? Are the evaluations formal and written down? Are the evaluations based on annual goals? Who leads the evaluation/who participates in it? What are the biggest reasons why you don’t do it?

Why evaluate? It is the board’s responsibility to ensure that the school recruits and retains an exceptional leader No one else but the board is ultimately responsible for making sure your school has the great leader it needs How do you know your leader is or is not exceptional if you do not evaluate her/him? Would you ever not evaluate someone who works for you in your job? Would you consider terminating or promoting an employee without a record of positive or negative evaluations?

Acting on evaluation data Why do boards really need to know if their leader is exceptional? Exceptional leaders must be recognized and rewarded—or they will leave, and great leaders are hard to find Good leaders need support, training, and the opportunity to become exceptional—or the quality of the school will suffer Weak leaders need to be identified and replaced sooner rather than later—or you put the success of the school at risk

Don’t evaluate in a vacuum Effective evaluation is not a one-session, one-conversation item to check off the list at the end of the school year It is an ongoing process that includes: Updated job description Annual goals set collaboratively between the leader and the board and voted on by the board Regular check ins and reports to the board on progress towards the goals Well-rounded evaluation process that involves structured input from different constituencies (including the leader) Formal delivery of evaluation with recommended goals for the following year

Competencies Personal Believe all students can achieve Ethical practice Delegate = distributed leadership Interpersonal Clear expectations/performance mindset Develop your team – trust, collaboration, communication Listen to your staff!

Competencies Educational Implement, evaluate and adapt instruction Resource allocation to meet needs of all students Community of practice informed by data & performance Organizational Budget supports instructional program/mission Leverage your board Focus on outcomes, not inputs

Competencies Strategic Articulate the shared mission consistently Systematic use of data to inform progress/needs Accountability at all levels Communicate regularly with all stakeholders

Goal Setting Charter school boards are responsible for setting the long-term and annual goals for their charter school Annual goals align with the longer-term vision and strategic plan and set a roadmap for ensuring that the school delivers on the promises articulated in the school’s charter Difference between bad goals and good goals Goal-setting templates can help

Some Bad Goals “85% of students will achieve proficiency by EOY.” year-to-year changes in proficiency rates are not valid evidence of school or policy effects See “fill all open teaching positions by July 1” Date is arbitrary, goal lacks meaningful quantifiable information (e.g. drive X applicants per opening)

Some Good Goals Move from a Tier 2 to Tier 1 school as reported on the DC Public Charter School Board’s Performance Management Framework (PMF) in November. Both campuses earn an accountability score that ranks among the top 10% of charter schools in surrounding jurisdiction that serve similar grades. 100% of all XYZ Public Charter School seniors are accepted to college by June. All subgroups of XYZ charter school students (for example, free and reduced meals, Special Education, English Language Learners, and breakdown by race) will outperform local public system student scores by 15 percentage points.

Calendar for Effective Evaluation Summer: Goals established and voted on October: Report to the board on progress towards goals December: Mid-year formal check-in on goals with Board Chair February: Report to the board on progress towards goals May: Report to the board on progress towards goals; gathering of input from other stakeholders June: Complete evaluation; hold preliminary discussion of results with leader; revise report if necessary; present final evaluation report and next year’s goals to board

Real-life implications When it goes well: Aligned goals – all stakeholders can articulate Outcome orientation – focus on student performance Board feels informed & knowledgeable It is actually taking place!

Real-life implications When it does not: “A Cautionary Tale of What Happens When Boards Do Not Evaluate the Leader”