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New trustees press for SMART metrics as superintendent evaluation is approved
Summary
Newly elected trustees said the superintendent's evaluation was completed before they took office and urged future evaluations to use specific, measurable (SMART) goals. The superintendent and other trustees said student‑growth rules changed at the state level and offered further review meetings.
Several newly seated trustees told the Dearborn City School District Board of Education they were concerned that the superintendent's evaluation process had concluded before they took office and urged the board to adopt more specific, measurable goals in future evaluations.
"What it needs is smart goals with specific measurables," said Trustee El Jahami, who described the difficulty of approving an evaluation without having been part of developing the objectives. He said much of the current evaluation felt subjective and asked for clearer numeric targets for items that can be measured, such as proficiency improvements or attendance.
Trustee Watts and other trustees noted some district and strategic goals already include numeric measures and that the state changed evaluation rules this year; the superintendent told the board the student‑growth component of evaluations shifted in weighting from 40% to 20% under recent state action. The superintendent offered to meet individually with trustees and district staff to walk through the metrics and suggested the evaluation committee would review the feedback for next year's process.
Although trustees raised concerns about the timing and measurability of parts of the evaluation, the superintendent evaluation remained part of the omnibus approval of agenda items that passed that evening. Several trustees asked that future evaluations better highlight where objective measures apply and where qualitative judgment is required.
