Lorain Schools CEO earns 'skilled' evaluation

LORAIN — Lorain Schools CEO Jeff Graham received his six-month evaluation Monday evening. Per Graham's contract, the district's Academic Distress Commission was required to evaluated Graham 180 days after his start with the district. He earned a 3, or "skilled" rating, during a joint ADC-School Board meeting. The evaluation levels were based on standards for teachers and superintendents defined by the state: 1 is ineffective; 2 is developing; 3 is skilled and 4 is accomplished. In a voicemail, ADC Chairman Randall Sampson was pleased with the evening. "The evaluation process went well," he said. "Lots of areas that the commission found that were of vast improvement areas, considering the circumstances that we're in right now with COVID." He noted there is room for improvement, but for the most part the Commission was excited by Graham and his administration's performance. He referenced statements made by Commission members in a Zoom session after the ADC and School Boards adjournment that evening, but that portion of the meeting was not live streamed to the district's social media and could not be immediately viewed by The Chronicle-Telegram Monday. Sampson could not be reached for further comment. Commission member Steve Cawthon said members had "good conversations regarding the direction of the district." School Board president Mark Ballard confirmed the Board was involved in this evaluation, a sign of a more unified front in Lorain Schools. "(The Ohio Department of Education) was involved somewhat, at least in observance, the Board had their input and then the ADC did what they're charged to do," he said. "But the cooperative manner in which we're working, everyone's very pleased at this point." Graham appreciated much of the compliments paid during the session recognized the talents of his staff — from the district-level administrators to building level staff. "I'm not here to question the scores," he said. "And the reality is we have a lot of work to do and I just appreciate having a seat at the table and being surrounded by great people. As I understand it, we'll talk more moving forward to get some more detail — but obviously it's six months in and we have a whole lot of work to do." Graham's evaluation marks the first time the district's CEO has received the contract-required assessment on time. Former CEO David Hardy Jr. was not evaluated during his first two years with the district, despite his contract stipulating appraisals at the 180 day mark, 365 day mark and annually thereafter. It also comes days after a Commission member was replaced. Diane Xander, appointed to the ADC by former Mayor Chase Ritenauer, was removed effective Dec. 1 by current Mayor Jack Bradley. Her replacement, retired Lorain Police Chief Cel Rivera reportedly recused himself from the evaluation process. Xander's removal left her and fellow Cawthon questioning the timing of the replacement, as it coincided with the start of Graham's evaluation. Contact Carissa Woytach at 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.