A long-held tradition in the West Vancouver District, the Growth Plan is one of the most powerful components of our learning culture. Every year, district teachers and administrators review their professional growth plan with opportunities to share their progress with others in their school, as well as across schools. The plan cycle is based on reflection, collaboration, data analysis and evidence.
West Vancouver Superintendents also participate in the same process.
Our Board of Education employs the BCSTA Performance Planning and Review for School Superintendents model, which is connected to my duties and to our Board’s Strategic Plan. We meet three times a year as part of the cycle of reviewing, renewing and updating the plan.
Based on the Board’s key objectives in the Strategic Plan, an initial performance plan with specific goals and a series of strategies is agreed to at the beginning of the year (outlined in the presentation below):
In a recent update to the Board, I shared evidence of my progress in each goal area under the individual strategies:
We will meet again in the fall, likely, in advance of the Board adopting a new Strategic Plan following the November elections. This next session will both refine and guide my work.
There is a lot of discussion about accountability and improvement in education. This process of working with the Board to set clear goals, collecting and sharing evidence and being held accountable, is very effective. The process itself supports the short and long-term development of my own goals and performance. And, it is a process that also fosters and strengthens relations with the Board through open communication, trust and clarity of role expectations.
We all want to be better at what we do, and it is great to work in a district where continuous improvement for all is part of the culture.
I am looking forward to extending this plan further in the fall.
IF YOU ARE RECEIVING THIS VIA EMAIL YOU MAY NEED TO GO TO THE BLOG TO SEE THE EMBEDDED SLIDES.
cultureofyes.ca 
Wow, you along with your team have accomplished a lot in a very short period of time. This I think speaks to your leadership and ability to bring others along with you. Well done Chris. The next few years should prove pretty exciting for learners and leaders in West Van schools!
Thanks Brian. Having to do this process has been helpful at reminding me at how much we have done. We all sometimes get stuck on what we want to do and forget how much we have done. And yes, we have a great team. Thanks for all your support and encouragement this year!
Congratulations on your first year Chris! I was intrigued by your presentation but particularly some of the Organizational Realignment. Would it be safe to presume that you are creating more “feet on the ground” to support school staff and students? Would like to hear more….Congrats again
Thanks Johnny. It has been wonderful to connect with you in the digital space. I am trying to create an organization that has less hierarchy than we sometimes see in school districts. We are not a large district, so we all need to be immersed in the daily operations and learning focus. It is probably a good topic for a more complete future blog post.
Thanks again for the comment.
Really enjoyed the slides and appreciated that the photos were of real people in your district rather than generic photos – showed the quality of the work.
Linda Kaser
Thanks Linda. It is always great to show real teachers and real kids – a good reminder that we are not working in the conceptual but with real people.
[…] Clear Superintendent Evaluation Process – Our Board uses the framework from the BCSTA for the Superintendent Performance Planning Review. As a superintendent, having a clear view of the process is very important. With our model of policies and procedures, I have been given a high level of responsibility and, thus, should be held by the Board to a high level of accountability. In our district, all of our education staff participate in a growth plan model; our principals and vice-principals work with district staff on their growth plans and all teachers have growth plans they share with principals and colleagues. I meet with our Board three times each year to review my growth plan. I have three areas of focus — the first is from the role description that is in policy, another is based on the district’s strategic plan, and the third area of focus is personal-professional growth. I have previously blogged about my growth plan and shared it publicly here. […]