Editor's Note: During Monday's Vinton-Shellsburg School Board meeting, the Board went into closed session to evaluate the Superintendent. While comments made in a closed session are not made public, we asked Mrs. Hainstock to share her thoughts about the review process, and to share her views on the progress of the district. Below is her response to our request:

 

The board went into closed session last night for my evaluation.  It is something that we do at least once a year and sometimes more often.  It is an opportunity to review the Iowa Standards for School Leaders, how I am meeting those standards, set goals, and then review the work towards those goals. 

 

The seven standards are wordy (as are too many things in education).  Briefly, they have to do with:

·         Leading a vision of learning that is shared and supported by all;

·         Developing a culture that supports student learning and professional development;

·         Managing the organization;

·         Working with families and community members;

·         Acting with integrity, fairness and in an ethical manner;

·         Working within the larger community (political, social, economic, legal and culture).

 

I am proud of the work we have done this last year although I know we have many areas that need to improve and we need to constantly stay focused on our students’ learning and how we are supporting it.  Some accomplishments as a district we had from this past year would include:

·         We were able to start school and all of our activities on-time even though we had about $750,000 worth of damage from the July 11 windstorm.

·         We transitioned in two new administrators and a new business manager successfully.

·         We had a very positive report from the Department of Education Accreditation Review that demonstrates we are meeting the requirements of Iowa Law plus they noted many strengths within the district.

·         The work we are doing with our literacy project is supporting our students’ growth in reading and they have showed tremendous gains in their reading achievement.

·         The work we are doing with data teams is helping us focus on students’ learning so we identify what is expected for students and exactly how students are meeting that expectation – and then adjust instruction if they have not achieved it yet.

·         The implementation of the math strategies and materials at the elementary grades indicates we are making strong gains in math achievement.

 

As we work on developing goals for next year, maintaining financial stability will be a priority area.  We continue to have a decline in the number of students we serve and so we will also have to consider how we can reduce expenses.  Another priority area is developing the leadership within the district – with our school board members, our administrators, our teachers, our other staff, and with our students.  One of the recommendations from the Department of Education team’s site visit was that we need to consider how we have a more cohesive school district with more alignment from building-to-building.

 

One of the other findings in the Department of Education’s report was that the administrators are viewed as “approachable” by students, staff, families and the greater community.  That is also an accomplishments that we can all be proud of!  If you have any questions about the evaluation process, or anything that has to do with the school, feel free to contact me atmaryjo.hainstock@vscsd.org or 436.4728 Ext. 101.