Evaluations Scheduled for School Board and Director

The DeKalb County Board of Education will conduct its annual performance evaluation of the Director of Schools and a School Board self evaluation on Tuesday, January 28 at the Board of Education Building.
A workshop on Director Mark Willoughby’s evaluation will be held first at 6:00 p.m. followed at 7:00 p.m. by a special called meeting on the board’s self evaluation.
The evaluations are performed annually in January in accordance with board policy and Director Willoughby’s contract. The board has used the same basic instruments for making the evaluations and itself for several years.
Willoughby’s contract states that the evaluation of the Director shall occur no later than January 31 each calendar year during the term of the contract. The board will review the Director’s performance, progress toward established goals, and the working relationship between the two parties.
During the workshop, the school board members will evaluate Director Willoughby on his relationship with the board, community relationships, staff and personnel relationships, educational leadership, business and finance, and strategic planning skills. Board members are to make a check mark on the four page evaluation form in each of 52 areas, if they determine expectations have been met. Spaces are also provided on the form for board members to write comments.
Willoughby’s current contract with the board is scheduled to expire June 30th, 2014. He has served as Director of Schools since July 1st, 2006.
In the self evaluation, each board member will be asked to rate the board’s performance on a scale from one to six in team building, decision making, governance, school improvement, community, planning, communications, motivation, influence, and policy. A score of “one” is the lowest and a score of “6” is the highest. They are also to rate themselves on how much is being done now in each of 46 areas and how important those issues are to them.
Sixth district member Doug Stephens also wants the school board to hold a workshop soon to establish long term goals and future plans of the school system.