BATTLE MOUNTAIN - Lander County School District's new Superintendent Jim Squibb has been busy settling into his job and says he is enjoying it. He started his new job as superintendent on July 1.
"I love this job," he said. "Every day is a little bit different."
Board members said they are happy with the job Squibb has been doing.
"I think Mr. Squibb is doing very, very well," said school board Chair Susan Davis. "He is learning the ropes and it is not an easy task to come into a district and have everything going on at one time when a person is not familiar with things but Mr. Squibb has demonstrated his ability to learn quickly and apply those things he has learned consistently. We are lucky to have him. There is no doubt about that."
School board member Todd Thompson agreed.
"I think he is doing a great job," said Thompson. "I think for being a brand new superintendent and never having been a superintendent, I think he is fantastic. I think he is doing everything we've asked him to do."
Board member Jan Morrison said she is pleased with the job Squibb has been doing.
"Our new superintendent, Jim Squibb, has been on the job several months now," said Morrison. "He hit the ground running and quickly got up to speed on many of the complex issues facing our school district. I have been very happy with him and feel he is the right leader for us."
After some deliberation, the Lander County School Board voted unanimously three times on Sept. 28 (board member Kathy Ancho was absent).
They voted on a motion to accept a revised draft of the 360 Evaluation and they voted on a motion to schedule Squibb's formal evaluation for June 13, 2012.
"(The 360 Evaluation) gives everyone an opportunity to present their thoughts and ideas about the job they thought he is doing and it's open to everyone including members of the community, staff, board members and principals," said Davis.
Thompson said the 360 Evaluation tool is important because it provides a way for community feedback.
"It allows all of the stakeholders to have input including the community, the teachers and the administrators," said Thompson.
Morrison said, "The 360 Evaluation tool, originally introduced by former Trustee Joel Lenz, is invaluable in evaluating our superintendent. It allows input from the board, school district staff and the community. It provides great transparency throughout the process and is also a good tool for our superintendent to use."
On Sept. 28, board members also voted to approve the goals and objectives as well as the performance objectives for the 2011-12 school year. The goals and objectives are for the school district to be supervised by Squibb and the performance objectives are for Squibb. The performance objectives were developed from Squibb's job description as well as other important elements, said Davis. They were approved as evaluation tools.
"(The goals, objectives and performance objectives) give him an idea of where the direction of the school district is going and also give him an opportunity to work with individuals in the school district, for example principals and others, to make these goals and objectives happen and finally, all of us working together on these goals and objectives, specifically Mr. Squibb, makes for a better learning environment for students," said Davis.
Thompson said these goals, objectives and performance objectives are a good way to gauge Squibb's performance.
"So that we have something to measure him by," he said. "It is important for the district to reach and maintain performance levels."
Morrison said, "Among other things, the Board of Trustees is charged with the superintendent's annual evaluation. By setting goals and objectives, both the superintendent and board are able to focus efforts and quantify results."
During his formal evaluation, board members will utilize the 360 Evaluation and the goals, objectives and the performance objectives to measure Squibb's performance.
The goals, objectives, performance objectives and the 360 Evaluation are established each year by the board so these could change next year, remain the same or be revised, explained Squibb and Davis.
The board will be measuring him on the progress he makes in each area during the formal evaluation. Achievement of these goals, objectives and performance objectives is an ongoing process, Squibb stressed.
Informal evaluation dates for Squibb were set for Dec. 14 and March 14. One informal evaluation was already held on Sept. 14, he said.
Squibb said all of the 360 Evaluations will need to be submitted and the data compiled before his June 13 formal evaluation at the school board meeting.
Squibb said he is aiming to make significant progress toward achieving the district goals and objectives and his performance objectives by his formal evaluation date.
The goals and objectives adopted for the 2011-12 school year are: student achievement which consists of the subcategories of contributing to all schools and the district making AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) last year; contributing to all schools making AYP in the core subjects as well as subgroups making AYP; directing and evaluating elementary, middle school and the high school cooperation to increase high school graduation and decrease the dropout rate; directing and evaluating the use of map scores, CRT tests and other AYP contributors to measure results; directing and evaluating these instruments for use as the basis for the district improvement plan and school improvement plan development; and directing administrators and teachers that school and district improvement plans will be based on what the data shows.
Another goal and objective set was physical facilities - buildings and grounds to include the directed assessment, planning and report of maintenance and repair to the board for the current year to include exteriors, parking lots, sidewalks and other priority items listed in the five-year plan.
In the long-term plan, the following objectives were directed by the board as far as physical facilities including buildings and grounds: add a 10- and/or 20-year plan to the current five-year plan; planning objective - when will we need to build new facilities; and establish plans for major repairs to buildings, grounds and other facilities. Also under physical facilities including buildings and grounds is to initiate the goals set by the board with an appropriate timetable.
The third goal and objective set is parent/community participation which includes communicating the idea to stakeholders that parent/community participation in the school is critical for student achievement; directing the preparation of parental involvement plans in a timely manner to administrators including the core standards that apply to parental involvement; planning the reporting of each school's parental involvement plan to the board in a timely manner; and directing the administrators to develop an annual report for the board on the effectiveness of the parental plan in their schools in the 2011-12 school year.
The performance objectives consist of promoting a positive working environment and effective communication including keeping others up to date with accurate information; providing clear objectives and procedures for a team to consider as they plan for the accomplishment of district goals; informing employees of their duties and responsibilities related to school laws and regulations and taking appropriate action when laws and regulations are not followed; and assigning or delegating duties appropriately and providing training where necessary.
They also include providing feedback to improve the performance of others; utilizing the ideas and skills of others as appropriate; bringing difficult issues in the district to the attention of the board and resolve them; fostering an encouraging and supportive environment where the Lander County School District stakeholders feel valued and free to express their ideas; helping meet the needs of the Lander County School District employees; communicating positively and effectively with members of the community and the board and following through on requests and inquiries; and modeling honestly and integrity with the Lander County School District stakeholders.
The performance objectives also consist of demonstrating the effective performance of job responsibilities as outlined in the superintendent's job description, contract and by board directive which includes: demonstrating a clear understanding of the budgetary process; providing accurate, appropriate figures and information for board consideration concerning the budget; operating within the district budget; considering the financial impacts of decisions and actions; carrying out the duties of everyday operations within the district as CEO effectively and appropriately; and recognizing negative issues and acting before situations in the district become problems.
They also include: demonstrating a short- and long-term planning process; placing priority on district goals and policy rather than team or career needs; working to achieve performance objectives; directing the application of best practices to school district instruction; and striving to improve district performance.
Squibb said he feels comfortable with the goals and objectives as well as the performance objectives and added that they mesh perfectly with his own personal job goals and objectives.
"A lot of this is just promoting the things we are already doing and making the community aware ... just keeping the lines of communication open between me and the board and our patrons," said Squibb.
He plans to use communication as a major tool to make progress in these areas during the upcoming school year. He said good communication is key in any work environment.
"It goes a long way in ensuring whether you are going to be successful or not," he said.
He said he spends a major portion of his days in meetings with people throughout the school district and handling issues such as staffing, personnel and custodial.
His favorite part of the job is each morning when he starts his day visiting one of the local schools to interact with students, teachers and administrators. He enjoys "watching good teachers teach," he said, and being in the classrooms connecting with teachers and students.
"Make sure you are visible," he added.
He also works hard to attend athletic events and other school district events and activities.
Squibb sees his main challenges as guiding the school district and the community in developing a vision for the local schools - how people envision the schools to be, which he is hoping to tackle through the goals, objectives and performance objectives and through the district improvement plan.
The difficult part of his job comes in the form of taking corrective actions which he prefers to tackle with a humanistic approach with good explanations and reasoning. He said he works every day at being a good people person.
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