On Tuesday, Washoe County School Board Trustees held a special meeting to evaluate Superintendent Susan Enfield, who received high marks across the board from trustees, and received the most commendations the facilitator has seen in evaluations.
As part of the process, six objectives were agreed upon to evaluate the superintendent in her work toward achieving the district’s goals. Those included student retention, community engagement and safe schools.
The review was compiled by consultant Thomas Alsbury, who was contracted by the board to facilitate the evaluation without a conflict of interest.
Trustees were asked to rate the superintendent using a scale of one to four, with four being highly effective and one being ineffective. Trustees were directed to use the “highly effective” rating only for someone who should “write a book, hit the road, and go on a speaking tour” because they are so good at their job, according to Alsbury.
“A normal rating is a three,” he said. “Only if someone is truly exemplary should you give them a four.”
Even still, Alsbury said, several trustees rated Enfield in certain categories with a four, which created an overall high evaluation for Enfield compared with other district reviews. Trustees were also asked to write commendations if the superintendent performed above and beyond her job duties.
“This is the most commendations that I’ve ever seen,” Alsbury said. “Now, I haven’t worked with every board [in the state] … but for me, this did turn out to be the most I’ve ever seen.”
In total, between the seven trustees, 85 commendations were written for the superintendent.
The board also submitted over 50 recommendations for growth for the superintendent to consider. These included improving the curriculum by monitoring the results of iReady evaluations to develop targeted programs, looking for ways to reduce teacher workload and bring relief to oversized classrooms, improving the work-life balance of all personnel, developing a district-wide comprehensive plan for school safety, and more.
Enfield thanked the board and said she is committed to seeing the district continue to evolve.
“It’s been a remarkable year, and we are a district on the rise,” she said. “We have more work to do, but what I commit to is showing up every day and working to the best of my ability.”
Trustee Colleen Westlake said that in the opportunities for growth, she has already seen Enfield take the initiative to address many of them.
“I enjoy reading [the superintendent’s highlight] because it keeps me apprised of how hardworking she is, and what she’s actually doing out there in the community and schools,” Westlake said. “I’m seeing a lot of these recommendations for growth … I’m seeing a lot of this already transpiring.”
Trustee Alex Woodley said leadership is an important quality and spoke directly to the superintendent, saying, “No matter how anecdotal a comment may be, I’ve noticed that anything you hear, even if it’s not said to you directly, you immediately act on. I’ve seen the change made or the action needed to be taken, and I appreciate it because that’s how you do business.”
Trustee Joe Rodriguez said the district is “leaps and bounds” ahead of where it was two and a half years ago, especially in community engagement and student morale.
Trustee Adam Mayberry said he believes Enfield is doing a fantastic job, particularly with it being her first year on the job.
Trustee Jeff Church said that the superintendent is “brilliant and hit the ground running,” and while he rated her highly in a number of areas, he said that Academic Growth and Safe Schools continue to be a problem.
Church was the only trustee to rate Enfield as ineffective anywhere on her evaluation.
“I still, as a very logical person, have to look at the stats and the goals that were set,” he said. “The stats for this past year. I recognize again that it’s the first year. … However, that said, in my heart, I can’t rate any higher at most in developing in those areas.”
Church said there is a serious violence problem within the schools, and academic scores were down across the board.
“I have to rate her as developing in those two areas, and I have a real concern with voting for anything that doesn’t.”
Church said he would like to see real goals that could be measured statistically next year to see what progress is being made.
“She has my support to continue, but I have to rate developing in those,” Church said.
The scores
Under Goal 2: Highly Effective Personnel, trustees selected two objectives: attract and hire highly effective personnel and continuously increase retention and engagement of highly effective personnel.
For the first, trustees gave the superintendent a rating of 3.57: Effective.
For the second, trustees gave the superintendent a rating of 3.29: Effective.
Under Goal 3: Family and Community Engagement, trustees selected one objective: Strengthen inclusive two-way communication and community engagement in order to foster authentic relationships and recover trust.
Trustees gave the superintendent a rating of 3.86: Highly Effective.
Under Goal 4: Continuous Improvement, trustees selected one objective: Business and Finance: Ensure that operational systems, central services, and finances are integrated and sustainably aligned to best support the needs of students, teachers, staff, schools, and departments.
Trustees gave the superintendent a rating of 3.29: Effective.
Under Goal 5: Safe and Welcoming Schools, trustees selected two objectives.
The first is: Provide and continuously improve a climate of belonging, self-worth, and justice among students, families, staff, and the community that is centered around an inclusive, collaborative, equitable, and engaging learning environment by providing equitable practices, strategies, and materials.
Trustees gave the superintendent a rating of 3.14: Effective.
The second objective is: Provide and continuously implement a District-wide comprehensive plan for school safety and crisis response, including training, facilities improvements, and the engagement of the community, schools, families, and students.
Trustees gave the superintendent a rating of 2.71: Developing.
The overall rating for all combined objectives was 3.22: Effective.
