Erica Techo
Vestavia Hills Board of Education president Nathaniel Robin and superintendent Sheila Phillips.
The Vestavia Hills Board of Education discussed Sheila Phillips’ performance during her first year as superintendent at their June 11 meeting.
Phillips was evaluated using a tool from the Alabama Association of School Boards, which got feedback from the school board members, administrators and community stakeholders. This was the first year AASB provided this tool, and it was used as an evaluation for a handful of other superintendents this year.
Phillips was ranked above average in the evaluation, and AASB director of leadership development Susan Salter said Phillips’ evaluation was the highest of all the superintendent evaluations this year.
“The ratings from the board members averaged a 4.6. The board was very pleased with Sheila’s performance,” Salter said.
The board members ranked Phillips on a scale of 1 to 5 based on her performance as CEO of the school board, educational leadership of the schools, personnel management, community relations, management of pupil personnel services, professional development and leadership, technology management and financial management.
“Because Sheila works for the board as a whole, it is important that you speak to her with one voice about your expectations,” Salter said. “What you said collectively is the piece she needs to take the most guidance from. That said, there is remarkable agreement from the board members about the job she is doing.”
Administrators and community stakeholders rated Phillips on different categories, and both groups ranked her success as above average as well.
Evaluations such as this are important to help facilitate conversations about how the superintendent and board can improve, and Salter recommended setting goals yearly and taking a similar evaluation every two or three years.
“The way that a school board and superintendent team move a school system forward is by having lots of conversations about the vision, the mission, the direction, setting goals,” Salter said.
In other news, the school board:
- Approved an amendment to the budget, which reflected an increase in state funds and other changes.
- Approved a contract with Schoolwires, Inc. for the school system’s new web design.
- Accepted the low bid of $111,325.21 from Southland International for a new school bus.
- Approved the new district athletic director job description and amendments to the athletic director employment contract for Jeff Segars.
- Approved the job description for the child nutrition program associate.
- Approved corrections to the policy manual.
