Board Self-Evaluation and Superintendent Evaluation
Evaluations go badly when they’re improvised.
A superintendent evaluation built the week it’s due becomes a referendum on the last thing that went wrong. A board self-evaluation nobody prepared for becomes an hour of polite agreement that everything is fine.
Both are wasted opportunities, and both are avoidable.
Superintendent Evaluation
An evaluation is only as good as the goals it measures. Those goals should have been set at the start of the year, in writing, with the superintendent in the room, and they should match the board’s own priorities.
I help boards build a process that includes:
- Goals set collaboratively at the start of the cycle, tied to the district’s strategic plan
- Evidence gathered across the year rather than recalled in June
- A structured instrument every board member uses the same way
- A single consolidated board voice, not seven separate reviews
- A conversation the superintendent can actually act on
When the process is solid, the evaluation stops being an event people dread and becomes the mechanism that keeps the board and superintendent aligned
Board Self-Evaluation
Boards ask a great deal of their superintendent. A board willing to hold up the same mirror earns considerable credibility.
Self-evaluation gives a board a structured moment to ask honest questions. Are we governing or managing? Do our meetings accomplish what they should? Are we prepared? Do we handle disagreement well? Did we meet the goals we set for ourselves?
Boards that do this annually catch small problems early. Boards that skip it tend to discover the same problems later, usually in public.
Why an Outside Facilitator Helps
Board members answer honestly to a neutral third party in ways they don’t across the table from each other. Someone who wasn’t in the room for the past year’s decisions asks better questions, and can deliver an uncomfortable finding without it landing as a personal accusation.
Evaluation From Both Sides of the Table
I’ve been evaluated as a high school principal and as a superintendent. I’ve evaluated administrators and built the systems used to do it — including an employee handbook governing human resources functions for a statewide organization, and personnel growth plans across multiple districts.
I know which evaluation processes produce improvement and which just produce paperwork.
Common Questions
How often should a board evaluate its superintendent?
Annually at minimum, with a mid-year check-in. Formal evaluation should never be the first time a superintendent hears about a concern.
Should a board self-evaluation be public?
Indiana’s Open Door Law governs when a board may meet privately. Your board attorney can advise on what your specific situation permits. Regardless of format, results are more useful when the board discusses them together rather than reviewing them individually.
What if our board has never done a self-evaluation?
Starting is straightforward. The first one is usually the most valuable, because it surfaces things the board has never formally discussed.
Let's Talk About Your Board
The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Tell me what's happening with your board, and I'll tell you honestly whether I'm the right person to help.