Superintendent evaluation: Ann Arbor school board congratulates Green on successful first year

The evaluation took place during closed executive session at Wednesday’s 5:30 p.m. regular board meeting, from about 6:15 until 11:25 p.m.

Following the five-hour executive session, Vice President Christine Stead read aloud a statement, on behalf of the board, summarizing what was discussed and agreed upon during the superintendent’s evaluation.

Green, who entered into a five-year contract with AAPS on July 1, 2011, was praised for her ability to bring “new talent and leadership” to the district, making recommendations to the board that upheld the district’s primary educational mission, breathing accountability into various policies and procedures, her commitment to the strategic plan and help in passing the May technology millage, the board’s statement said.

The board solicited help in evaluating Green from local community stakeholders, including teachers, principals, union heads, members of parent associations and a handful of people recommended by Green herself. Each school board trustee also selected a few individuals to send out evaluation forms to.

The board sent out forms to 90 people and received 57 back, Stead said, adding as a group, trustees will be talking about possible changes to the evaluation process come August.

She said there are some potential new policies at the state level that could cause the district to weigh its procedures and evaluation tools. AAPS will need to identify set measurements it would like to use when conducting a performance review and set guidelines for what to do if an individual is not showing progress, Stead said. She added AAPS will be drafting board goals and superintendent goals for evaluations during the summer months.

When the board discussed needing to look at amending its evaluation process back in May, the idea of opening up the process to greater input from the general populace, either via a survey or favorability rating, came up. This topic likely will be revisited at the end of August, which is when Stead anticipated the amendment discussion could take place.

At the close of Wednesday's meeting, Green thanked the Board of Education for the "tremendous support" felt throughout the school year.

"I look forward also to a close affiliation in the years to come," Green said.

Read the entire Ann Arbor school board’s statement summarizing its evaluation of Green below.

Previous coverage: Should the public have role in Ann Arbor school superintendent's evaluation?

Superintendent Evaluation Summary for the Academic Year 2011-12:

"Dr. Patricia Green joined the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) as superintendent at the start of the academic year 2011-12. Upon Dr. Green’s arrival, there were several open positions in the executive cabinet and direct reports thereof; creating both a challenge and an opportunity for Dr. Green to bring in new talent and leadership as part of her first year with the AAPS. Dr. Green has demonstrated excellent judgment in her ability to attract and retain a very capable leadership team for the AAPS. At the same time, Dr. Green was faced with the second year of the most drastic cuts in education funding that the AAPS has experienced. The funding crisis established by the state, exacerbated an already difficult decade of declining funds for the AAPS. Dr. Green demonstrated an ability to make recommendations to the board that allowed the AAPS to preserve our core educational mission while addressing significant funding issues. Dr. Green was also successful in breathing new life and accountability into our systems, policies and procedures; using our strategic plan as a guidepost. Dr. Green was personally and significantly involved in the successful passage of the technology millage from early due diligence, to providing advocacy to our community on the district’s behalf. Dr. Green reinvigorated efforts to address the AAPS achievement gap, including a substantive effort on the role that discipline and behavior play in addressing this issue. Dr. Green has engaged in significant change management activities throughout her first year; an area of great interest to the board. We appreciate Dr. Green’s extensive work with groups within the community in her first year and we support and endorse her continued commitment to visible leadership throughout the district in the future. These accomplishments are highlights, among many, from her first year of service. The Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education looks forward to continuing to work with Dr. Green in advancing the success of the AAPS for all students in the years to come and congratulates her on a very successful first year in the AAPS in a very challenging environment."

Staff reporter Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.