Board Policies & Administrative Procedures

Administrative Procedure 432: GROWTH, SUPERVISION AND EVALUATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS

Background

This Administrative Procedure operates under the assumption that administrators are competent and accountable, and that they are accomplished teachers who practice quality leadership in the provision of opportunities for optimum learning and development of all students in the school. They are willing to improve their administrative leadership through a collegial process of administrator growth, supervision and evaluation.

Administrators have a professional responsibility to provide quality leadership to foster growth and to support optimum learning in the best educational interests of students. It is expected that school administrators will foster effective relationships, model commitment to professional learning, embodying visionary leadership, lead a learning community, support the application of foundational knowledge about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, provide instructional leadership, develop leadership capacity, manage school operations and resources and understand and respond to the larger societal context. The Superintendent further believes that Division Office personnel will use reasoned, professional judgement in supervising and evaluating professional administrators.

Procedures

The Superintendent shall be responsible and accountable for:
1. Supervising the implementation of this Administrative Procedure,
2. Supporting administrators in their growth, supervision and evaluation,
3. Reporting annually to the Board regarding the implementation of this policy.
Growth
1. All Principals shall complete an annual professional growth plan that:
  1. Reflects goals and objectives based on an assessment of his/her learning needs,
  2. Shows a demonstrable relationship to the performance criteria,
  3. Takes into consideration the educational plans of the school, the Division and Alberta Education.
2. The annual professional growth plan shall be submitted to the Superintendent.
3. All Principals shall submit their annual professional growth plans in writing to the Superintendent at the beginning of each school year.
4. Subject to approval, an annual professional growth plan:
  1. May be a component of a long term, multi-year plan,
  2. May be developed in collaboration with professional colleagues.
5. All Principals shall develop plans that foster improvement of leadership, professional growth and/or improved practice. Plans are to be meaningful and pertinent to the current administrative assignment.
6. Each annual professional growth plan shall include:
  1. Goal/objective statements(s),
  2. Strategies for goal/objective achievement and resources,
  3. Indicators and measures of goal/objective achievement,
  4. An estimated plan timeline.
7. All Principals shall, prior to the end of the school year, provide the Superintendent with a written culminating report. The report shall include specific indicators that support the degree of goal completion.
8. The Superintendent shall, in consultation with the Principal, determine whether progress within the professional growth plan demonstrates satisfactory effort.
9. Principals are responsible for maintaining information that relates to the achievement of their growth plans
10. The Superintendent shall, annually submit to the Board, written verification that Principals have submitted their culminating reports for the previous school year.
11. Principals who do not submit a professional growth plan, or whose progress toward their growth plan is determined not to be satisfactory, or do not submit a culminating report may be subject to disciplinary action as well as a formal evaluation.
Supervision
1. The Superintendent shall:
  1. Provide support and guidance to administrators,
  2. Observe and receive information from any source about the quality of leadership an administrator provides to staff and students; and
  3. Identify the behaviours or practices of an administrator that for any reason may require an evaluation.
2. Supervision shall be conducted and communicated in a manner that is fair and equitable.
3. As instructional leaders, Principals are accountable for the quality of education provided student(s) in their schools. A fundamental component of this Administrative Procedure must be ongoing supervision of the administrators by the Superintendent. Supervision will be carried out in the following manner:
  1. Direct observation of leadership practices through school visits,
  2. Observing the manner in which an administrator interacts with students, colleagues and parents,
  3. By communicating regularly with administrators,
  4. By dealing with administrator concerns generated by stakeholders,
  5. Providing assistance and feedback to the Principal as a result of the supervision process.
Evaluation
1. Evaluations may be conducted:
  1. Upon the written request of the Principal,
  2. For purposes of gathering information related to a specific employment decision,
  3. When, on the basis of information received through supervision, the Superintendent has reason to believe that the practice of the Principal may not meet the performance standards.
2. All copies of reports generated during the evaluation process shall be signed by both parties and kept in the Principal’s personnel file at the Division Office. A copy shall be provided to the Principal being evaluated prior to the report being placed on file.
3. A Principal being evaluated shall be given the opportunity to respond in writing to all written reports pertaining to the evaluation. These responses will be included in the evaluation report.
4. When an evaluation is deemed necessary, it shall include the following procedures:
  1. The Superintendent shall communicate clearly in writing to the administrator:
    1. The reasons and purposes for initiating the evaluation,
    2. The process and criteria,
    3. The possible outcomes of the evaluation,
5. The Superintendent or assigned Central Office administrator will conduct an evaluation referred to as Phase One, which consists of:
  1. Multiple observations,
  2. Providing assistance and feedback to the administrator,
  3. A formal written report based on the findings as they relate to the performance criteria and the reason for conducting the evaluation. The report may include areas of strength, directions for growth and recommended strategies,
  4. A copy of the report will be placed in the administrator’s personnel file,
  5. This may conclude the evaluation process, or a recommendation for remediation.
Remediation
1. If remediation is necessary, then the Principal shall receive a notice of remediation and the evaluation will proceed to Phase Two.
  1. Where, as the result of an evaluation, it was found that a Principal’s behavior or practice needed to change, the Superintendent is required to provide the administrator with a written notice of remediation. This notice will describe:
    1. The behaviours or practices that do not meet the performance criteria and the changes required,
    2. The remediation strategies the administrator is advised to pursue,
    3. How the determination will be made that the required changes in
      behavior or practice have taken place, applicable timelines, and the consequences of not achieving the required changes including, but not limited to, termination of an administrative designation.
  2. Notice of remediation may stipulate that the Principal be relieved of the task of developing or implementing a Principal’s professional growth plan for that year.
  3. The Superintendent or assigned central office administrator will call a meeting which begins the remediation process with the Principal being evaluated. The purpose of this meeting is to:
    1. Review the notice of remediation,
    2. Discuss the assessment tools and procedures,
    3. Provide all pertinent documents and policies to the administrator,
    4. Advise the Principal of the opportunity to secure the assistance of a mentor or peer support team to assist at any/all times throughout the evaluation.
2. If the time period specified for remediation is interrupted for any reason other than a scheduled holiday or break, the time period will be suspended for the duration of the interruption and will be reinstated on the date the interruption ends.
3. The Superintendent or assigned central office administrator will conduct an evaluation based upon the notice of remediation in the following manner:
  1. Multiple observations,
  2. Providing assistance and feedback to the Principal,
  3. A formal written report based on the findings as they relate to the performance criteria and the reason for conducting the evaluation (the report may include areas of strength, directions for growth and recommended strategies).
  4. The Superintendent shall convene a conference and file a written report with the Principal to discuss the assessment which may recommend:
    1. Conclusion of the evaluation procedure,
    2. Termination or continuation of the Principal’s designation
    3. Making other recommendations believed to be in the best interest of the Principal or the jurisdiction. A copy of this report shall be given to the Principal.
Procedures for Principals on a One (1) Year Probationary Contract:
1. A Principal in his/her first year will undergo an evaluation. The procedure will follow the same steps as outlined through Phase One for Principal’s on a fixed-term contract.
2. At the conclusion of Phase One, the Superintendent:
  1. May offer a second probationary fixed-term contract for one year.
  2. May offer a continuing Principal Contract.
  3. May terminate the Principal’s designation.

Appendix

Alberta Education Leadership Quality Standard

Reference

Section 33,52,53,197,202,203,204,222 Education Act

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

Leadership Quality Practice

Collective Agreement

Approved: December 1, 2009

Amended: June 19, 2003; December 1, 2009; August 21, 2018

Last Updated: October 29, 2019