302.5 School Leader Evaluation

Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to document how CCS evaluates those in administrative, supervisory, and instructional leadership roles, using the Board-established qualifications in Policy 302 as the basis for each evaluation.

Every school leader is evaluated on an annual cycle. The Board evaluates the District Superintendent — its single employee; the District Superintendent evaluates all other school leaders twice each year.

1. Instrument. A Board-adopted performance survey that gathers anonymous staff input alongside Board feedback. To protect candor, individual survey responses are not shared with the Superintendent; results go to the Board.
2. Annual cycle. The Board's evaluation committee conducts a mid-year review and a final annual review, summarizing results and bringing a recommendation to the full Board. The evaluation committee is composed solely of non-employee members of the Board of Directors; a director who is also a CCS employee does not serve on the committee, because it is not appropriate for a subordinate to review the performance of their superintendent. The full Board deliberates in a closed session (Minn. Stat. § 13D.05, subd. 3(a)) late each summer, with the formal evaluation completed in September. Closed-session recordings are retained with CCS HR.The Board summarizes its conclusions about the evaluation at its next open meeting.
3. Ongoing engagement through the year. The Board engages in leadership evaluation activities well beyond four times per year, each documented in meeting minutes: (1) discussion of and feedback on the Superintendent's monthly report at every regular Board meeting; (2) the standing "Academic, EE, and PIP Updates" agenda item at every regular meeting, tying feedback to the district's Osprey Wilds contractual goals; (3) periodic 1:1 check-ins between the Superintendent and the Board Chair; and (4) the Board self-assessment completed at every meeting. Together these constitute the periodic reviews of school leadership contemplated by the district's authorizer.
4. Criteria. Performance relative to the qualifications in Policy 302, the Superintendent's job description, progress on the strategic plan and Exhibit G academic goals, environmental education goals, Performance Improvement Plan expectations, financial stewardship, the authorizer relationship, and community input. 302.5 -1
5. Outcome. A written summary of the evaluation, shared with the Superintendent, with goals for the coming year.

1. Principals and district-wide managers/coordinators in supervisory or instructional leadership roles are evaluated twice each year — a mid-year and an end-of-year review — by the District Superintendent, using self-assessment, observation, performance data, and SMART goals.
2. Each evaluation measures performance against the Policy 302 qualifications, the role's job description, school/district goals (including the retention and engagement goals adopted for SY 26-27), and completion of any required training — a required component of the annual evaluation under Minnesota charter law.
3. The evaluation includes a written summary, a conversation, and growth goals; records are kept in the personnel file with the HR/Business Manager.

Evaluation records are personnel data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act; only the final disposition and other public personnel data elements are public.

Legal References:

• Minn. Stat. § 124E.12, subd. 2 (Qualifications as the Basis of Evaluations)
• Minn. Stat § 124E.12, subd. 6 (Training as an Evaluation Component);
• Minn. Stat. § 13D.05, subd. 3(a) (Closed Evaluation Sessions);
• Minn. Stat. § 13.43 (Personnel Data)

Cross References:

• Policy 302 (School Leader Qualifications);
• Procedure – Teacher Evaluation and Peer Review (Q Comp);
• CCS–Osprey Wilds charter contract, Exhibit 

Download 302.5 School Leader Evaluation Policy