The purpose of school administration is to help create and to foster an environment in which students can learn most effectively. All administrative duties and functions should be appraised in terms of the goals and objectives and the mission statement created by the District.
The Board and the administrators of the District shall work together to share information in decisions under a management team concept. The Board and the administration shall work together in making decisions and setting goals for the District. This effort is designed to obtain, share and use information to solve problems, make decisions and formulate policies and regulations concerning the District.
The administrators of the District shall be responsible for implementing and enforcing the policies of the Board, overseeing the employees, monitoring educational issues confronting the District and informing the Board about District operations. Each administrator shall be responsible for fully participating in the management of the District by investigating, analyzing and expressing their views on issues.
Approved: 10/12/1987 Reviewed: 1/24/2022 Revised: 1/8/2018
The superintendent, the building principals and any other administrators, for purposes of this Section (Section 300) of this Policy, shall be referred to collectively as “administrators.”
Superintendent of the School District
The Superintendent of the School District shall be the head administrator and the executive officer of the Board of Directors, and shall be directly responsible to the Board for the execution of the District’s policies, for the faithful and efficient observance of the District’s rules by all employees throughout the system, and for the enforcement of all provisions of the law relating to the operation of the schools.
Other Administrators of the School District
The building principals and other administrators shall assist the superintendent and the Board in the daily operation of the District.
Approved: 10/12/1987 Reviewed: 1/24/2022 Revised:
Superintendents
In order to provide the most capable leadership available for the District, the Board of Directors will engage in a search for applicants for the position of Superintendent of the School District. The services of a consultant may be engaged to assist in screening candidates to be interviewed by the Board of Directors.
Other Administrators
In order to provide valuable administrative assistance, including qualified building principals and other administrators, the Board of Directors will consider applicants who meet or exceed the standard set by the Iowa Department of Education and the qualifications established in the job description for the position.
Approved: 1/8/2018 Reviewed: 1/24/2022 Revised:
The length of time of the contract for employment between an administrator and the District shall be determined by the Board and stated in the contract. The contract shall also state the terms of employment.
The first three (3) years of the administrator's employment will be considered a probationary period. The Board may waive this probationary period or may extend this probationary period for an additional year upon the consent of the administrator.
In the event of termination of the administrator's contract, the Board shall afford the administrator appropriate due process. The board may offer the administrator a one-year nonrenewable contract. The administrator and Board may mutually agree to terminiate the administrator's contract.
Approved: 1/24/2022 Reviewed: 1/24/2022 Revised:
The Board has complete discretion to set the salary of the administrators. It shall be the responsibility of the Board to set the salary and benefits of the administrators that will include consideration of, but not be limited to, the economic condition of the District and the training, experience, skill and demonstrated competence of the administrators. The salary shall be set at the beginning of each contract term and shall be included in the contract.
In addition to the salary and benefits, the administrator’s actual and necessary expenses may be paid by the District when the administrator is performing work-related duties. The Board may approve the payment of other benefits or items of an administrator’s contract.
Approved: 1/8/2018 Reviewed: 1/24/2022 Revised:
Superintendent
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:
Mission, Vision and Core Values: Develop, advocate and enact a shared mission, vision, and core values of high-quality education and academic success and well-being of each student.
Ethics and Professional Norms: Act ethically and according to professional norms to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Equity and Cultural Responsiveness: Strive for equity of educational opportunity and culturally responsive practices to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment: Develop and support intellectually rigorous and coherent systems of curriculum, instruction and assessment to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Community Care and Support for Students: Cultivate an inclusive, caring and supportive school community that promotes the academic success and well-being of each student.
Professional Capacity of School Personnel: Develop the professional capacity and practice of school personnel to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Professional Community for Teachers and Staff: Foster a professional community of teachers and professional staff to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Meaningful Engagement of Families and Community: Engage families and the community in meaningful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial ways to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Operations and Management: Manage school operations and resources to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
School Improvement: Act as an agent of continuous improvement to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
The formal evaluation will be based upon the following principles:
The evaluation criteria will be in writing, clearly stated and mutually agreed upon by the board and the superintendent. The criteria will be related to the job description, the Iowa Standards for School Leaders, the school district's goals, and the goals of the administrator’s individual professional development plan.
At a minimum, the evaluation process will be conducted annually at a time agreed upon;
The superintendent will conduct a self-evaluation prior to discussing the board's evaluation, and the board as a whole will 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 board president will develop a written summary of the board’s evaluation, 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.
Other Administrators
The superintendent will conduct an ongoing process of evaluating the administrators on their skills, abilities, and competence. At a minimum, the superintendent will formally evaluate the administrators annually. The goal of the formal evaluation process is to ensure that the educational program for the students is carried out, ensure student learning goals of the school district are met, promote growth in effective administrative leadership for the school district, clarify the administrator's role as defined by the board and the superintendent, assess administrator competence in the Iowa Standards for School leaders, ascertain areas in need of improvement, clarify the immediate priorities of the responsibilities listed in the job description, and develop a working relationship between the superintendent and the administrator.
The superintendent is responsible for designing an administrator evaluation instrument to assess, among other things, the administrator’s competence in meeting the Iowa Standards for School Leaders and the goals of the administrator’s individual professional development plan. The formal evaluation will include written criteria related to the job description and the Iowa Standards for School Leaders. The superintendent, after receiving input from the administrators, will present the formal evaluation instrument to the board for approval.
The formal evaluation will also include an opportunity for the administrator and the superintendent to discuss the written criteria, the past year's performance and the future areas of growth. The evaluation is completed by the superintendent, signed by the administrator and filed in the administrator's personnel file.
The principal will be an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by:
Mission, Vision and Core Values: Develop, advocate and enact a shared mission, vision, and core values of high-quality education and academic success and well-being of each student.
Ethics and Professional Norms: Act ethically and according to professional norms to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Equity and Cultural Responsiveness: Strive for equity of educational opportunity and culturally responsive practices to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment: Develop and support intellectually rigorous and coherent systems of curriculum, instruction and assessment to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Community Care and Support for Students: Cultivate an inclusive, caring and supportive school community that promotes the academic success and well-being of each student.
Professional Capacity of School Personnel: Develop the professional capacity and practice of school personnel to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Professional community for Teachers and Staff: Foster a professional community of teachers and professional staff to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Meaningful Engagement of Families and Community: Engage families and the community in meaningful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial ways to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
Operations and Management: Manage school operations and resources to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
School Improvement: Act as an agent of continuous improvement to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.
It is the responsibility of the superintendent to conduct a formal evaluation of the probationary administrators and non probationary administrators prior to May 15.
NOTE: The Iowa Board of Education previously adopted the new Iowa Standards for School Leaders which will take effect on July 1, 2021. Districts are required to use these new standards in conducting evaluations of school administrators.
Approved: 1/8/2018 Reviewed: 1/24/2022 Revised:
Administrative regulations may be necessary to implement Board policy. It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent to develop administrative regulations. In developing the administrative regulations, the superintendent may consult with administrators or others likely to be affected by the regulations.
Once the regulations are developed, employees, students and other members of the community shall be informed in a manner determined by the superintendent.
The Board shall be kept informed of the administrative regulations utilized and the revisions. The Board may review and recommend changes of administrative regulations prior to their use in the District if they are contrary to the intent of Board policy.
It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent to enforce administrative regulations.
The administrative regulations shall be monitored and revised when necessary. It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent to monitor and revise the administrative regulations. The superintendent may rely on the Board, administrators, employees, students and other members of the community to inform the superintendent about the effect of and possible changes in the administrative regulations.
In the absence of the superintendent, it shall be the responsibility of other administrators to assume the superintendent’s duties. If the absence of the superintendent is temporary, the successor shall assume only those duties and responsibilities of the superintendent that require immediate action. If the Board determines the superintendent will be absent for an extended period of time, the Board shall appoint an acting superintendent to assume the responsibilities of the superintendent. The successor shall assume the duties when assigned by the superintendent or the Board.
Approved: Reviewed: 1/24/2022 Revised: