As the first semester of 2014-2015 is winding down, principals and superintendents are gearing up for their first site visits. Site visits, required twice a year, are one source of evidence that is included when determining a principal’s overall professional practice rating. School site visits, applied in a variety of settings, provide information on a wide range of contributions made by principals. The site visit provides insight into the principal’s progress toward Principal Performance Standards and PPGES goals (Professional Growth, Student Growth, and Working Conditions). Most importantly, the site visit provides the opportunity and occasion for formative feedback and discussion between the superintendent and principal.
School site visits may range from watching how a principal interacts with others to observing programs and shadowing the administrator. Site visits can follow a formal protocol (such as the School Walk Around developed by Mike Rutherford) or follow a format developed at the district level. Regardless of the format, the purpose is to observe the principal (not teachers or other staff) in their leadership role.
Feedback is the most critical part of the site visit process. Both superintendent and principal should be prepared to discuss guiding questions prior to, during, and after the site visit to facilitate meaningful formative conversations. Questions, aligned to the Principal Performance Standards, help establish evidence for the evaluation process and guide the feedback and discussion. Suggested questions are provided in the site visit form.
The principals should also be prepared to identify/share evidence during the site visit of strategies and actions they implement to support the Principal Performance Standards.
Currently, the site visit form is not included in CIITS/EDS, so superintendents and principals should use the site visit form in paper format and retain for entry into CIITS/EDS when that functionality becomes available.
As your district begins to implement the site visit component of PPGES, consider these questions to ensure the site visits are beneficial to the principal and to student achievement:
• How could our district use the site visit process to impact principal professional growth and student achievement?
• During a site visit, what feedback would be useful for a principal to impact professional growth?
The site visit form is on KDE’s website at: http://bit.ly/PGESsitevisits.
The KASA/KDE training module on site visits (which includes the Mike Rutherford School Walk Around protocol) can be found at: http://bit.ly/KASAmodule.