This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Staff writer
Virginia school superintendents will soon face an evaluation system in which 40 percent of their evaluation will be based on student achievement.
The remaining 60 percent will be covered by six indicators that are weighed at 10 percent each: mission, vision and goals, planning and assessment, instructional leadership, organizational leadership and safety, communication and community relations and professionalism.
The Virginia Department of Education issued the new evaluation criteria after finding that the current practices, which were updated in 2000, lack objectivity and scope.
School divisions must adopt the criteria developed by the Virginia Department of Education by July 1, 2014 or sooner.
Isle of Wight County Superintendent Katrise Perera attended a conference recently at which the topic was discussed.
About the evaluation change, Perera said, “The complexity of education leadership has changed drastically over the last 10 years, so having an evaluation system that acknowledges those changes is necessary.”
The purpose of the new evaluation criteria is to improve superintendents’ and school division performance, strengthen community relations, inform personnel decisions and serve as an accountability tool.
According to the Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Superintendents, “school board members may not be adequately prepared for evaluating superintendents” and input is rarely sought from teachers, staff and students.
The School Board must evaluate its superintendent on the six indicators as well as students’ academic progress, according to Virginia law. ...(Subscribe!)
