With the guiding structure of LCAP goals in place, districts are well-positioned to identify further goal-setting protocols, empowering boards to perform their key responsibility of setting the direction for the district while at the same time giving superintendents clear direction as to how they articulate and prioritize their own goals.
Many districts find that a meaningful way to integrate the district’s and the superintendent’s goals is by ensuring that the superintendent’s evaluation process shines a light on ways that their progress toward goals is measurably demonstrated within the evaluation instrument itself. The evaluation tool guides and enriches subsequent conversations about how progressing toward the superintendent’s goals moves school systems forward toward reaching the broader district goals.
Questions for consideration:
- How does our goal-setting process reflect input from key stakeholders, and do we communicate goals widely once put in place?
- What specifics are built into goals so that targets and deadlines are clear and measurements are easy to understand?
- How are we envisioning goals that are realistic and possible in practical terms, yet are not too “safe” and lacking in ambition?
- In what ways do we fashion goals that are responsive and relevant to current circumstances and needs, with intermediate goals structured into the process when appropriate?
- How does our team utilize the practice of making mid-course corrections made necessary by changing conditions or shifts in important data?
- How does the board establish supportive practices that facilitate regular monitoring and evaluation of district and superintendent goals?