Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 3, March 22, 2024
I.
PURPOSE
The State Board of Education, (SBE) through the South Carolina
Department of Education (SCDE), is required to adopt statewide performance
standards and criteria that shall serve as a foundation for all processes used
for assisting, developing, and evaluating principals employed in the school
districts of this state. School districts shall use the standards and
procedures adopted by the SBE for the purposes of conducting evaluations and
guiding the professional development of principals. Districts are to consider
evaluation results in making decisions regarding principal development,
compensation, promotion, retention, and removal.
The SCDE shall ensure the implementation of principal
evaluation in the school districts.
Principals must be evaluated using the Performance Standards
and Criteria for Principal Evaluation adopted by the SBE. Additional
performance standards and criteria may be established by the superintendent. As
required by S.C. Code Ann. Section
59-24-30,
the principal's annual Professional Development Plan (PDP) shall be established
on the basis of the PADEPP Performance Standards and Criteria and the school's
renewal plan.
II.
DEFINITIONS FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS EVALUATION PROGRAM
A. PRINCIPAL: A principal is the chief
administrative head or director of an elementary, middle, or secondary school
or of a vocational, technical, special education, or alternative school.
Induction principals are those serving for the first time as building-level
principals. These principals are considered probationary until they have
completed the requirements of the Principal Induction Program (PIP) and have
received an overall rating of Proficient or higher on the PADEPP evaluation
instrument.
B. EVALUATOR: The
evaluator is the district superintendent and/or the superintendent's designee.
All evaluators must have successfully completed the SCDE's PADEPP training
before evaluating principals.
C.
EVALUATION INSTRUMENT: The evaluation instrument developed by the SCDE is based
upon the PADEPP Performance Standards and Criteria and is available from the
SCDE. In lieu of the state instrument, districts and charter schools may
request permission to use an alternative evaluation process that meets state
requirements and national standards. This instrument must be approved by the
SCDE and the SBE.
D. EVALUATION
CYCLE: The evaluation cycle shall be consistent with the school year as defined
by law. After induction, principals shall be evaluated as stated in Section
III.
III. PROGRAM
IMPLEMENTATION
A. PRINCIPALS WITH TIER 1
CERTIFICATION
(1) First-year principals shall
participate in an induction program as provided for in SBE Reg. 43-167,
"Principal Induction Program." The superintendent or his or her designee shall
provide the first-year principal with written and oral feedback relative to
each performance standard and criterion. Principals are to receive this
feedback at least at mid-year and end-of-year conferences. The superintendent
or his or her designee will observe, collect relevant data, consult with the
first-year principal on a regular and consistent basis, and provide the
first-year principal with an informal written evaluation.
(2) Upon successful completion of both the
South Carolina PIP and a full evaluation on the PADEPP evaluation instrument or
the approved alternative evaluation instrument, the principal will be eligible
for Tier 2 principal certification. If the overall rating on the PADEPP
evaluation instrument or the approved alternative evaluation instrument in any
year immediately subsequent to the induction year of employment as a principal
is below Proficient, the principal will remain on Tier 1 certification until
the SCDE receives verification from the employing school district that the
principal has achieved an overall rating of Proficient or higher on PADEPP or
the approved alternative evaluation instrument.
B. PRINCIPALS WITH TIER 2 CERTIFICATION
The superintendent or his or her designee shall evaluate Tier 2
principals annually. A full evaluation using all PADEPP Performance Standards
will be conducted at least every third year. The evaluation shall address each
of the PADEPP Performance Standards and accompanying Criteria. Principal
evaluations on years between full evaluations will include Performance
Standards for Instructional Leadership, Principal's Professional Development,
and all Performance Standards rated the previous year as below "Proficient," as
well as any additional Performance Standards identified in the Principal's PDP.
Full evaluations may, of course, be conducted every year, if the superintendent
chooses to do so. A principal is to receive feedback from the superintendent or
his designee regarding the principal's performance at least at mid-year and
end-of-year conferences.
IV. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND CRITERIA
Principal preparation programs and school districts must
address, but are not limited to, the Performance Standards and Criteria for the
PADEPP, as specified in the SBE's PADEPP implementation guidelines.
V. EVALUATION PROCESS
A. The evaluation of each principal shall
consist of both formative and summative phases.
(1) The formative phase shall begin with an
initial review of the evaluation instrument by the evaluator with the
principal. Regular conferences shall be held to discuss the principal's
progress and shall include an analysis of the data collected during the
year.
(2) The summative phase shall
provide for evaluative conclusions regarding the principal's performance based
upon the data collected. Upon completion of the evaluation, the evaluator will
meet with the principal to discuss the findings in terms of each of the PADEPP
Performance Standards, as well as the overall results. At the conclusion of the
meeting, the evaluator and the principal shall sign the evaluation form, and a
copy shall be given to the principal.
B. After reviewing the overall results of the
evaluation, the principal and evaluator shall establish the principal's annual
PDP on the basis of the identified strengths and weaknesses, as well as the
school's renewal plan and identified areas of student growth.
C. Satisfactory performance on an evaluation
does not guarantee reemployment as a principal.
D. Each principal has the right to respond in
writing to the completed principal evaluation instrument. This written response
must be submitted to the evaluator within ten working days of the summative
conference.
E. All appeals shall
follow local school district policies and procedures governing the local appeal
process.
VI. DISTRICT
RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Each school district shall
ensure that principals receive awareness training that includes
(1) the PADEPP Performance Standards and
Criteria for Principal Evaluation,
(2) the PADEPP principal evaluation
instrument, and
(3) Reg. 43-165.1,
"Program for Assisting, Developing, and Evaluating Principal Performance
(PADEPP)."
B. Each
school district shall ensure that the district superintendent and the
superintendent's designee(s) are trained as evaluators of principals.
C. Each school district shall designate one
individual to be trained as a district coordinator for the PADEPP. This
coordinator shall be responsible for the administration of the evaluation
program consistent with this regulation, including an annual submission for all
principals in their district.
D.
Each school district shall maintain principal evaluation data and shall ensure
the confidentiality of the evaluation results in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act.
E. Each school
district shall submit annual assurances and required principal evaluation data
to the SCDE indicating compliance with this regulation and the PADEPP
implementation guidelines.
F. Each
school district shall utilize the results from the principal evaluations in
decisions regarding principal development, compensation, promotion, retention,
and removal.
VII. SCDE
RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITY
A. The SCDE
shall ensure that the PADEPP is appropriately implemented by each school
district in accordance with this regulation and the PADEPP implementation
guidelines.
B. The SCDE shall
collect from school districts required principal evaluation data, as well as
Assurance/Validation forms, in order to
(1)
determine trends and inform decisions concerning educational leadership
preparation and professional development, and
(2) ensure that the PADEPP is being
appropriately administered in accordance with this regulation and the law
governing the evaluation of principals.
C. The SCDE shall provide school districts
with ongoing technical assistance in the form of training, consultation, and
advisement. Specifically, the training will ensure that participants have the
knowledge and skills necessary to collect and document data relative to a
principal's performance, analyze the data to identify the principal's
performance strengths and weaknesses, provide feedback to the principal in
terms of the PADEPP Performance Standards and Criteria, and counsel, coach, and
assist the principal to improve effectiveness. Additionally, the training will
ensure that participants are prepared to evaluate the principal in a valid,
reliable manner, and to make a summative judgment regarding the principal's
performance.
D. The SCDE has the
authority to develop guidelines, approved by the SBE, in accordance with the
provisions of this regulation.
