Code No. 302.5
Superintendent Evaluation
The board will conduct an ongoing evaluation of the superintendent’s skills, abilities, and competence. At a minimum, the board will formally evaluate the superintendent on an annual basis. The goal of the superintendent’s formal evaluation is to ensure the education program for the students is carried out, promote growth in effective administrative leadership, clarify the superintendent’s role, clarify the immediate priorities of the board, and develop a working relationship between the board and the superintendent.
The superintendent will be an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by:
Facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community.
Advocating, nurturing and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional development.
Ensuring management of the organization, operations and resources for a safe, efficient and effective learning environment.
Collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs and mobilizing community resources.
Acting with integrity, fairness and in an ethical manner.
Understanding the profile of the community, and responding to and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal and cultural context.
The formal evaluation will be based on the following principles:
The evaluation criteria shall be in writing, clearly stated and mutually agreed upon by the board and the superintendent. The criteria will be related to the job description and the school district’s goals;
At a minimum, The evaluation process will be conducted annually at a time agreed upon;
Each board member will have an opportunity to individually evaluate the superintendent, and these individual evaluations will be compiled into an overall evaluation by the entire board;
The superintendent will conduct a self-evaluation prior to discussing the board’s evaluation, and the board as a whole shall discuss its evaluation with the superintendent;
The board may discuss its evaluation of the superintendent in closed session upon a request from the superintendent and if the board determines its discussion in open session will needlessly and irreparably injure the superintendent's reputation; and
The individual evaluation by each board member, if individual board members so desire, will not be reviewed by the superintendent. Board members are encouraged to communicate their criticisms and concerns with the superintendent in the closed session. The board president will develop a written summary of the individual evaluations, including both the strengths and the weaknesses of the superintendent, and place it in the superintendent’s personnel file to be incorporated into the next cycle of evaluations.
This policy supports and does not preclude the ongoing, informal evaluation of the superintendent’s skills, abilities and competence.
Legal Reference: Wedergren v. Board of Directors, 307 N.W.2d 12 (Iowa 1981).
Iowa Code §§ 279.8, .20, .23, .23A (2013).
281 I.A.C. Ch. 83; 12.3(4).
Cross Reference: 214 Closed Sessions
302 Superintendent
Approved: April 10, 1989
Reviewed: February 16, 2016
Revised: February 16, 2016