Dr. Phil Graybeal has served as administrator of ACSI accredited schools for 22 years and was a member of the ACSI Executive Board for several years prior to entering consulting in 200l. His firm, Graybeal and Associates, LLC, is committed to helping boards and administrators understand their respective roles in such a way that both enjoy the fruit of a fulfilled vision.
One of the rules of effectiveness is to know the purpose for each activity. So why do we evaluate school heads?
- Because it’s on the calendar to be done?
- Because our accreditation requires it?
- Because it is time to “do the budget” and we have to plug in a salary?
- Because we do job evaluations where I work, and it’s the expected norm?
- Because the school head asked for one?
- Because we are planning to fire the school head and need to cover our bases so we don’t get sued?
Allow me to suggest that assessment of school head performance is an issue of trusteeship. The Board is holding the school in trust for God and some human moral ownership. It must be able to clearly assure acceptable administrative performance. Whether or not the school fulfills its vision rests on this issue.
School head evaluation is fundamentally a process of the Board asking two questions:
Did the head of school lead effectively toward the accomplishment of the school’s mission? Boards must keep the main thing the main thing when it comes to evaluating. If a board consistently evaluates a head on whether or not the school is accomplishing its mission, guess what the head will tend to concentrate on when choosing how to expend energies? Simply by asking this fundamental question in such a way that an answer is clearly expected, the board can help keep the school on track by keeping the head on track and less enamored with the tyranny of the urgent.
While leading the school to accomplish its mission, did the school head stay within the boundaries of the school’s stated philosophies and expectations? It is important that the Board use its key documents to provide a rudder. A school’s educational philosophy, statement of faith, and core values are more than mere verbal window dressing—they are genuinely guiding documents. The board’s policies should also make expectations clear to the administration regarding such key topics as:
Treatment of students and their families
Treatment of staff
Financial conditions and activities
Asset protection
Communication to board and constituents
A school head should know the range of acceptable behavior that belongs to him or her in the decision making process. If the board has failed to make these things clear, then it has failed to do its job.
Effective head of school evaluations are a product of effective boards. Effective boards make the mission clear and set definitive boundaries in advance for the head to know and honor. The Board must then take full responsibility for effectively monitoring progress by administrative monitoring reports, external audits, and at times, direct inspection.
Evaluating a school head is hard work. A board must first do its job of making the job of the head appropriately clear. Failure to provide the necessary clarity will make administrative assessment merely a form of “target practice” with board members taking “shots” related to their individual interests or concerns.
It’s time to do away with cookie-cutter assessment tools and call on board members to meet the challenge of being trustworthy trustees through effective evaluation of the school head.
Effective Evaluation of the School Head 5.2