Superintendent Dana Bedden has made it his mission to better inform Richmond County residents about the state of education, and his speech to the Kiwanis Club this week was in keeping with that.
What was different, however, is that he now knows he will be graded on how well he relates to the community, one of the measures listed in his newly approved evaluation procedure.
Community relations might be the most important aspect of running the school system, school board member Jack Padgett said.
"I think if you don't have good community relations, you're not going to have a successful system, because you can't do it by yourself," he said.
Superintendents had been subject to a generic evaluation, one that wasn't tailored to the needs of the community, board member Venus Cain said.
Mr. Padgett said the new procedure avoids numbers games by requiring the board to vote up or down on whether a goal has been met.
Dr. Bedden began work in August.
"It's important to do it right than to just put it on paper," the superintendent said.
THE EVALUATION
Three of Superintendent Dana Bedden's goals are tied to pay incentives and six goals grade Dr. Bedden's overall performance. Each goal lists evidence the superintendent can use to show progress on meeting the measure.
THE INCENTIVE-BASED GOAL:
- Development of a student achievement benchmark system: The benchmark system provides periodic measures of student progress so that teachers can adjust instruction promptly to address areas where students are struggling.
- Involvement in community relations
- Development of a process to improve department and school performance: Previously, only schools on the "needs improvement" list were required to develop improvement plans.
Dr. Bedden is requiring all schools and all central office departments to develop annual goals and plans to achieve them.
THE SIX GOALS FOR HIS EVALUATION:
- Student achievement
- Systemic improvement
- Organization structure
- Human resource management
- Financial and operational management
- Community relations
WHAT'S NEXT: The board will meet behind closed doors, likely sometime this summer, to evaluate the superintendent using the new document. For each of the three incentive measures met, Dr. Bedden will receive a $5,000 bonus.
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