Personnel and Employee Relations AP 432: Evaluation of School Administrative Staff

Background

Principals and vice-principals are the major influence on the education of children attending Division schools and the key to development of a superior educational system.

Principals and vice-principals must have skills and knowledge relating to student personnel, school program, staff personnel, and school management. It is the responsibility of the Superintendent to ensure that principals have and continue to develop and apply these necessary skills and knowledge.

Procedures

1. The purposes of the evaluation of principals and vice-principals are:
   1. To improve the quality of Division administration, both collectively and individually.
   2. To provide a basis for decision-making related to the status of those administrators who hold interim or acting designations;
   3. To provide administrators with information relating to:
      1. Strengths,
      2. Recommendations for changes, and
      3. Specific requirements for changes;
   4. To provide the basis for the preparation of directed professional development plans as required.
2. Administrative designations are of three types:
   1. Acting:
      The designation is for a specific period of time or for a specific purpose.
   2. Interim:
      The initial term contract for a period up to five years of which two of these years may be a probationary basis.
   3. Continuing:
      The designation remains in force from year to year unless terminated by the administrator or the Superintendent.
3. Responsibility:
   Evaluation of vice-principals is a delegated joint responsibility of the Superintendent, or designate, and the Principal.
4. The minimum frequency for evaluation of principals and vice-principals is:
   1. Acting:
      1. If the designation is for a period greater than twenty operational days, the administrator will receive a written report at that point at which the designation ends or after the designation has been in effect for three months, whichever comes first. If longer than three months, evaluation will occur as scheduled for those with interim designations.
   2. Interim:
      The administrator will receive a minimum of one evaluation prior to April 30. A second report will be prepared on the same basis as for those on continuing contracts.
   3. Continuing:
      Specific aspects of the role of all administrators, to be determined prior to the commencement of the school year, will be reviewed each year through professional growth plans. Growth plans will be reviewed in two parts, the first by early in the school year and the second prior to May 30th of that year.
   4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Principal or Vice-Principal may request an evaluation, and the request shall be honoured within forty operational days.
   5. Those administrators who hold acting or interim designations will be informed of their status for the next school year prior to May 31 of the current school year.
   6. Supervision of Administrators will be based upon:
      1. Professional Growth Plans and School entry plans for administrators in new positions;
      2. Leadership Quality Standard;
      3. The role description for principals adopted from time to time by the Superintendent;
      4. The list of responsibilities which will be developed for each school having a Principal and Vice-Principal(s) and filed with the Superintendent prior to September 10 of each school year; and
      5. Key Responsibility Areas derived from prior evaluations or Division or School Priorities Statements identified prior to the commencement of the school year.
5. Identification of Key Responsibility Areas and Indicators of Success
   Prior to commencement of each school year, the Superintendent, or designate, will meet with each Principal and Vice-Principal to:
   1. Prepare a statement of emphasis for school administrators for the next school year; and
   2. Identify key responsibility areas for the next school year.
      1. Following this meeting, the evaluator will meet with each Principal and Vice-Principal to identify indicators of success in fulfilling the Division's Key Responsibility Areas in the schools. In some cases, specific Key Responsibility Areas will be identified for individual administrators at this time.
6. Monitoring Progress
   1. Meetings will be held with individual administrators in January/February and May/ June to review progress towards fulfilling the Key Responsibility Areas. The final meetings will be followed up with an evaluation report.
7. Content of Reports
   The following are to be included in each report:
   1. Administrator's name and school;
   2. Evaluator's name;
   3. A description of the evaluation process: techniques used, dates, and duration of visits;
   4. Comments related to each Key Responsibility Area (based on the LQS) which is relevant to the administrator's assigned duties;
   5. Additional comments which may be appropriate as judged by the evaluator;
   6. A summary statement including:
      1. Commendations,
      2. Recommendations,
      3. Mandatory requirements,
      4. The dated signature of evaluator; and
      5. Acknowledgment of receipt of the report and an invitation to respond or appeal.
8. Distribution of and Access to Reports
   In the case of all reports:
   1. The report shall be discussed with the administrator;
   2. Copies of the report shall be prepared as follows:
      1. One copy for the administrator,
      2. One copy for the file of the Associate Superintendent, Education and Administration,
      3. One copy which will be submitted to the Superintendent who will review it before forwarding it to the Head of the Human Resources Department for filing, and
      4. One copy for the Principal if the administrator being evaluated is a Vice-Principal.
      5. Access to the file is limited to the administrator, members of the Human Resources Department, and the Superintendent.
9. Appeal Process
   1. Within five operational days of receipt of report, the administrator may advise the Superintendent, in writing, that the appropriateness of one or more of the mandatory requirements is being appealed.
   2. The appeal will be heard by a committee appointed by the Superintendent, and consists of a Division Office administrator and two school-based administrators. The committee shall prepare a recommendation to the Superintendent who will determine whether the appeal will be upheld or denied.