Lorain Schools CEO evaluation based on state guidelines, commission members' 'justifications'

LORAIN — The Academic Distress Commission chairman is not focusing on the CEO's contract right now. At Tuesday's Academic Distress Commission meeting, Lorain Schools CEO David Hardy Jr. was rated "ineffective" for this past school year, earning a 1.6 on a scale of 1 to 4. For the 2017-18 school year he earned a 2.6, or "developing." Ineffective is the lowest rating possible. While some have called for his resignation or termination — including through chants during the meeting, ADC Chairman Randall Sampson said Thursday the focus right now is on the new school year, not Hardy's contract that expires August 2020. "At this point, Mr Hardy's contract is finished at the end of the year and school just started on (Aug. 21), so we're just trying to focus on making sure that we get all the enrollment in, that the kids are showing up, that we're providing good learning opportunities for our kids and we've got our first Friday night football game coming up, and that's very exciting for our high school kids," he said. Sampson explained Thursday the rating was the average of all five members' scores in five different categories: leadership, governance and communication; curriculum and instruction; human resources and professional development; student supports; and fiscal management. He noted the average score of the two years was a 2.1 or "developing," but Commission member Steve Cawthon said the group did not agree to average the scores together. Within each category, Hardy's scores dropped roughly a full point between the two school years. In leadership, governance and communication his score went from a 2.6 for the 2017-18 school year to a 1.6 this past school year. That section includes developing and implementing a district plan and maintaining effective communications systems. In the curriculum and instruction category, Hardy's score went from a 2.4 to a 1.6 between the two years. That element includes requiring a districtwide curriculum and creating a comprehensive assessment system. In human resources and professional development, Hardy's score dropped from a 2.6 to a 1.6. That includes recruiting, evaluating and retaining quality staff and overseeing human resource management and providing professional development. Under student supports, Hardy went from a 2.8 to a 1.8. That section includes advocating for children and families and adopting a districtwide attendance policy. In the final category, fiscal management, Hardy went from a 2.6 to a 1.4. That element includes overseeing the district's facilities and operations and fiscal managing resources. The individual categories were based on the state's superintendent evaluation system and its site evaluation system, with scores given based on individual members' reasoning and feelings on how the CEO was performing rather than district-provided data. Individual commission members' scores were not recorded, only the averages. When initially proposed after Sampson was appointed, his rubric called for binders of evidence from the district, with sections based on commitments outlined in The Lorain Promise, the district's strategic plan. He said he has emailed Hardy to set up a meeting to discuss the evaluation with him and give the administrator a chance for self-reflection and self-evaluation. Tuesday's scores will go into suggestions for the CEO moving forward and be combined with data from the state report card like graduation rates, attendance and the third-grade reading guarantee. "I always tell people it's a growth mindset, so there's always going to be an up and down," he said. "So when there's a down, everybody panics or people wonder about what's happening and when there's an up people get joyful and excited. So you want to stay even-keel so in school reform, school transformation, school improvement, there's going to be ups and downs constantly." He said the state superintendent and others are regularly updated on happenings in the district, including the ADC meetings. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.