Another supervisory responsibility of the job of principal and vice-principal is performance appraisal. It too requires a strong management team effort. Discipline and performance management are not the same thing. While often inter-related, it is important to deal with them separately. Performance appraisal for teachers is governed by the Education Act and Regulations and the Technical Requirements Manual. Performance appraisal for other staff is governed by school board procedure. Performance appraisals should:
- promote staff development
- provide meaningful appraisals of performance that encourage professional learning and growth
- identify opportunities for additional support where required and
- provide a measure of accountability to the public.
Every occupation, every business and every public institution has underperforming employees. Research indicates that two to five percent of staff need support to perform at a satisfactory level. Even with intentional support, some employees can’t or won’t perform at a satisfactory level. Maintaining a positive and proactive school culture means that as principal and vice-principal, such situations cannot be ignored. As principal and vice-principal, it is not a responsibility you should address alone or without advice and assistance. Find out which of your colleagues has expertise to offer in the area of performance appraisal and seek their advice and assistance. Inform your supervisory officer of the situation and seek their support and advice. Ideally, every school board should have a process in place to support and assist the principal and vice-principal from the moment an unsatisfactory performance appraisal is being considered. Many school boards help principals and vice-principals by reviewing drafts of performance appraisals and offering suggestions before presentation of the performance appraisal. Some school boards require the supervisory officer to be part of improvement plan meetings and to conduct the final performance appraisal when the employee is on review. Such practices facilitate best practices and a collaborative management team.
Work with your colleagues to encourage the school board to:
- provide training regarding performance appraisal to school administrators and supervisory officers together
- develop processes to support and assist principals and vice-principals in conducting performance appraisals.
Every staff member knows who may be underperforming. Facilitate union representation for an individual staff member who is receiving an unsatisfactory performance appraisal. Handling such difficult situations with both courage and humanity continues your work toward developing a collaborative culture with staff based upon mutual respect for each role and their responsibilities.
Dismissal because of unsatisfactory performance is also subject to the grievance/arbitration process. The onus again is on management to show “just cause.” An arbitrator has ruled that the teacher performance appraisal process meets the just cause standard. It is therefore important to follow the process and timelines meticulously while providing support to improve at every step. Just as with discipline, evidence matters. Every performance appraisal, whether satisfactory or not, should:
- make repeated and specific reference to the school and board focus to improve instruction
- use specific examples to support general statements
- avoid evasive language
- reference the annual learning plan
- avoid emotional thanks and commentary (as they remain part of the historical record)