Ypsilanti Board of Education gives superintendent high praise in evaluation
Ypsilanti Public Schools Superintendent Dedrick Martin “exceeded expectations” and impressed the Board of Education in 2011, earning high marks on his evaluation.
Martin, who has been superintendent since 2009, received a 4.56 rating out of a possible five points, an increase from last year’s overall rating of 3.9. The scale ranges from 1 being “below expectations” and 5 “exceeds expectations.”
Ypsilanti Public Schools Superintendent Dedrick Martin
Of the five areas taken into consideration, Martin’s highest score was in “Communication and Community Engagement,” where he was rated a five.
“He really has a good grasp on what the needs of the district are,” said David Bates, YPS Board president. “He knows the importance of community support and engaging in the community. He wants the district to be a community success.”
The evaluation goes on to call Martin’s active community outreach as “near herculean” and required “exceptional effort.”
“Educational Quality and Achievement” is the second highest on Martin’s review at a 4.8 rating. The evaluation states “great strides” have been made with graduation rates, exceedingly at the elementary school level, while maintaining a leadership role in the county.
In “Personnel Management and Auxiliary Programming,” he scored a 4.6 and “Strategic Planning” came in at a 4.3. Martin’s lowest score was a 4.1 in “Fiscal Management, Operations and Facilities,” which is higher than his lowest category score last year of 4.0, and ranks just below “exceeds expectations.”
“The Superintendent is to be commended for a substantial improvement in the condition of the district’s facilities, under the new Director of Maintenance and Facilities, while simultaneously controlling expenses,” states the evaluation.
Even though the year-end review focuses on the superintendent, Martin said it’s more than just an evaluation of his performance.
“I worked with a lot of great staff members around me to respond better to the needs of the community, the students and the school board,” Martin said. “I think that ultimately led to a better rating for me as an individual, but it’s only reflective of the work of a team.”
While the board shows confidence and approval of the superintendent, there were concerns about how to make the district more financially stable in the future.
“We’re taking a more in-depth look at the budget because we cannot continue to limp along financially,” Martin said. “We’re bringing in more eyes, ears and minds to the table to find ways to deal with our financial challenges.”
Comments
Teri Marshall
Tue, Dec 27, 2011 : 5:09 p.m.
After having been present at Ypsilanti Middle School and High School state of the District presentations over the past two years, where Superintendent Martin goes into grave detail about where we are at and how we are getting there. He explains the numbers and the changes in the expectations and how those affect the numbers. Every time I have sat through one of these, I walk away blown away at how Superintendent Martin handles all of the incredible many issues facing our school system and no matter how many questions are asked, he always is able to give a status update on where things are at on that particular issue. I am thrilled to see AnnArbor.com writing a story on the positive things going on in Ypsilanti. Teachers are going above and beyond. They are working harder everyday with less money, less resources, but still keep in mind the education of our children. The Ypsilanti Bands led by Matt Kazmierski put on an incredible concert on December 17, 2011 at Pease auditorium. He managed to do this with having at least 4 high school programs feed into his band program. It was a fabulous evening. My son missed a week of school prior to break due to the flu and there were teachers that said, "Have him email over break, if he has any questions, and I will try to answer, when I can.". This is a dedicated staff lead by Superintendent Martin and I have been watching him ever since he took over and he is doing a great job of handling the incredible weight on his shoulders of the Ypsilanti Public Schools and I applaud and Thank him!
sc8
Tue, Dec 27, 2011 : 3:57 p.m.
It is great that graduation rates are up. That's interesting. The high school did not make AYP status for the '10-'11 school year. The school is in Phase 8. If you look here (<a href="https://www.mischooldata.org/DistrictSchoolProfiles/ReportCard/Dashboard/Dashboard.aspx)," rel='nofollow'>https://www.mischooldata.org/DistrictSchoolProfiles/ReportCard/Dashboard/Dashboard.aspx),</a> you will see that graduation rate for '10-'11 was 75% (meaning that 75% of the class of 2011 graduated in four years), yet 4.9% of YHS juniors who took the MME in the '10-'11 school year were considered to be proficient. This data applies to the class of 2012. You can't wish away problems by believing in a smooth talker. Sounds like it is time for another coffee chat.
pseudo
Tue, Dec 27, 2011 : 1:57 p.m.
While I understand that this story is about the evaluation of Superintendent Martin, I would be interested some sort of supporting information for the evaluation from this board - not just some sort of meeting summary as printed here. Graduation rates have gone up? How much? Community Outreach is excellent? How did Ypsilanti School Board reach that conclusion? Educational Quality is better? Great, they why isn't the supporting information (you know - that pesky measurement stuff) being reported along side this.