Good Governance for School Boards

INTRODUCTION

Bill 98: The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act

In 2023, Bill 98, known as the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, was passed in Ontario. It contained 5 key focus areas to support future regulatory and education policy reforms.

The Director’s Performance Appraisal process is aligned with goal #2 of this legislation.

The key focus goals of Bill 98 are to:

1. Increase accountability and transparency by driving provincial priorities and expectations for Ontario's education sector from the province through to Ontario's classrooms.
2. Ensure effective governance through reforms that establish standardized processes and expectations for boards of trustees, directors of education and supervisory officers.
3. Maximize capital assets of boards to support building modern schools faster and better utilize school capacity so that students can attend school as close to home as possible.
4. Strengthen teacher training and oversight to ensure teachers are trained for the needs of today's and tomorrow's classrooms and support student safety through fair and effective disciplinary processes for teachers and registered early childhood educators.
5. Encourage consistent information and approaches to student learning through more accessible information and opportunities for parents to get involved, and greater consistency in student mental health and well-being supports.

Ontario Regulation 83/24: Director of Education Performance Appraisal

In 2024, a new regulation was introduced in Ontario. Ontario Regulation 83/24: Director of Education Performance Appraisal and applicable policies and procedures require that all publicly funded school boards annually appraise their director of education based on mandatory assessment criteria and any additional, locally focused priorities identified by the board in collaboration with the director of education.

Part A: What is the Director Performance Appraisal Process?

Role of the trustee and the role of the director

The board of trustees play an important role in the oversight of the functioning of the school board and ultimately, the progress of students. They do this through their director of education. (See Module 3: Roles and Responsibilities for details of the position).

Trustees hire the director of education, who is their sole employee, to oversee all operations of the school board. The director is responsible for implementing the board’s multi-year strategic plan (MYSP) in addition to developing and maintaining an effective organization with programs and services that operationalize the board's policies. The director reports directly to the board of trustees and through their director, the school board holds all of its schools accountable for improving student achievement and well-being, providing an equitable and inclusive environment and enhancing public confidence in publicly funded education. These goals are based on expectations set at both the provincial and local board level. (See Module 3: Roles and Responsibilities).

What is a performance appraisal:

As per legislation, trustees are to support their director of education through a performance appraisal that they complete annually (Ontario Regulation 83/24). A performance appraisal is a written report based on evidence that is provided to the director. This report clearly outlines the strengths of the director and their leadership; and highlights progress made in the school board based on agreed upon, previously set goals (i.e. that are specified in the Annual Performance Plan). The report also shares areas for improvement based on these same goals and feedback for next steps.

What is the purpose of a performance appraisal?

A performance appraisal is an opportunity for the director to share their work with the board, to share evidence of progress and success and to help trustees understand the decisions made by the director. A performance appraisal is also an opportunity for the board of trustees to gain deeper insights into the work of the director and the board and to provide thoughtful, evidenced feedback to their director which will support the director in their complex role. It is the responsibility of the Performance Appraisal Committee (a committee of trustees) to work with their director to implement a process that is fair, thorough and supportive.

Why is the performance appraisal process helpful?

Done well and with good intention, a performance appraisal provides an excellent opportunity for the director and the board to recognize the director’s leadership strengths and to identify areas of progress in the board. It is also extremely important for trustees, with their director, to understand and describe priority areas for continued development and growth.

Understanding the performance appraisal process:

What it is:

• An opportunity to highlight the strengths of the director and their leadership skills
• An opportunity to provide opportunities for improvement and growth, as well as specific feedback for the next steps that will support the progress of the director and the work in the board
• An opportunity to review specific data around key priorities as identified in the MYSP
• An opportunity to gather insights and input from specific stakeholders
• An opportunity to celebrate growth and progress made to date

What it is not:

• The time to address a personal issue or concern with the director
• A comprehensive picture of everything that is working and/or not working within the board or a full review of all data related to the MYSP
• A disciplinary procedure (i.e. disciplinary procedures are identified in board policy and procedure)
• A forum to hear unsolicited voices or feedback
• A popularity review of the director

Preparing for the performance appraisal process:

Central to an effective appraisal process, for both the director and the trustees, is a mindset of opportunity, trust and growth. It is important for the chair of the Performance Appraisal Committee to communicate often and openly to ensure the director is aware of expectations and is clear about each step of the process.

The director and trustees will work with a 3rd party consultant/entity to collect data/information for this process, and if needed, to lead and support the process. There should be ‘no surprises’ to either the director or trustees during this process.

Part B: The Details of the Director’s Performance Appraisal (DPA) Process:

The DPA process begins over the late spring, early summer typically. It begins with the director building an Annual Performance Plan which outlines the goals for the coming school year. Trustees provide input into each step of the DPA process including the Director's Annual Performance Plan. The Annual Performance Plan is what the Performance Appraisal Committee will use to evaluate the performance of their director.

Components of the DPA process include:

1. Director’s Annual Performance Plan (summer)
2. Mid-year feedback from the trustees to the director on the progress of the goals set out in the Annual Performance Plan (winter)
3. Collection of data from multiple stakeholders on the goals of the Annual Performance Plan (spring)
4. Final written performance appraisal summing up the strengths, and areas of growth and development for the director based on achieved goals (late spring)

Many trustee associations have built helpful templates which can be used by trustees on the Performance Appraisal Committee to guide this process with their director of education. Please look for these templates on your association’s website.

Recommended best practices for the DPA process

• The DPA process is most effective when co-developed between the director and board of trustees
• Areas for feedback should be mutually decided upon between the director and board of trustees and must be based on the annual performance plan
• The process should align with the board's Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) and the Ministry of Education's priority areas
• The focus of a DPA process is on the positive leadership attributes of the director and the progress of the school board under their leadership as well as on continuous growth and improvement
• The process would be most effective when facilitated and supported by a third-party entity

The Director’s Annual Performance Plan:

The Annual Performance Plan must include the following elements:

1. A list of the actions that the director of education will implement during the evaluation cycle to achieve each of the following goals*:
   1. Advance the provincial priorities in education set out in O. Reg 224/23 Provincial Priorities in Education- Student Achievement
      • Achievement of learning outcomes in core academic skills
      • Preparation of students for future success
      • Student engagement and well-being
   2. Manage human, capital and fiscal resources to achieve the goals identified in the board’s multi-year plan developed under clause 169.1 (1) (f) of the Act.
   3. Promote a healthy and inclusive workplace with effective systems for staff selection and oversight
   4. Create and maintain respectful and collaborative relationships with students, parents, staff, school board communities, community partners and stakeholders, Ministry staff and the Minister
   5. Demonstrate leadership that maintains or improves the reputation of and public confidence in the board
   6. Ensure compliance with applicable laws, Ministry policies and guidelines, and board mandates

   * All four provincial trustee associations: Ontario Public School Board Association (OBSPA), Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA), Association des conseils scolaires des écoles publiques de l’Ontario (ACÉPO), and Association franco-ontarienne des conseils scolaires catholiques (AFOCSC) adhere to these goals outlined in the legislation, through the lens of their respective organizations.

2. Identification of leadership competencies and practices needed to achieve the goals and actions that the director of education shall implement during the evaluation cycle to improve at least one of those competencies or practices.
3. Qualitative and quantitative measures to show whether the director of education successfully implemented the actions set out in the performance plan during the evaluation cycle, and the degree to which the actions achieved the goals.
4. Any additional appraisal elements aligned with the board Multi-Year Strategic Plan, board-specific policies and procedures, or other applicable sources.

Steps of the Director’s Performance Appraisal process:

Step 1: The DPA evaluation cycle determined

The timing of DPA evaluation cycles is dependent on when the director of education has started in the position, as outlined in the following chart:

* After a director of education’s first evaluation cycle, performance appraisals will be conducted annually, by the dates identified in stages 1 – 4 of the full evaluation cycle.

Step 2: Director’s Annual Performance Plan - development and planning

The Director’s Annual Performance Plan is to be completed by the director with input from the Director’s Performance Appraisal (DPA) Committee. Once the plan is developed, notice must be given to every member of the board and to the Minister of Education.

Step 3: Mid-year feedback on the Annual Performance Plan

The director of education will share with the board of trustees a mid-year update on their progress towards implementing and achieving the goals in the Annual Performance Plan. There will then be an opportunity for all trustees of the board to provide informal feedback to the director, based on what the director shares with them. This feedback will support the progress towards the goals set as the year progresses.

Step 4: Bi-annual feedback collection

In a director of education’s first full evaluation cycle, and every second full evaluation cycle after that, bi-annual feedback for the performance appraisal of the director is to be requested from the list of persons noted in O. Reg 83/24 section 8.(2) (referred to throughout this document as feedback groups)

*The board shall procure an entity that has at least five years of experience conducting multi-source executive performance assessments.
**Director and trustees need to agree on areas of focus for the feedback and which questions go to which groups.
***The board and entity shall agree on an efficient and cost-effective method in which to gather feedback and ensure that any method is equitable and accessible.

Step 5: Draft performance appraisal report

The bi-annual feedback once gathered will be analyzed and a report will be submitted from the consultant/entity to the Performance Appraisal Committee and the director of education.

The director of education will use this feedback to update their performance plan, and the process begins again with a draft copy of the updated plan being given to each member of the board for their feedback. This new performance plan will guide the work of the director and that of the board for the upcoming year.

*The performance rating is based on evaluating the director of education’s success in implementing the actions and achieving the goals set out in the performance plan developed.

Step 6: Final performance appraisal report

This is the final stage where the Annual Performance Plan is finalized by the Performance Appraisal Committee in collaboration with the director of education. The Performance Appraisal Committee will then provide a final Performance Appraisal Report to the director and to the board, and a written confirmation of completion will be submitted to the Minister.

* The Performance Appraisal Committee finalizes the Performance Appraisal Report, taking into consideration:

1. the feedback from the members of the board and the director of education
2. the feedback bi-annually from persons noted in O. Reg 83/24 section 8.(2), and, if applicable, other survey information on school climate, etc.

** The director of education and the chair of the committee shall each sign the performance plan and each of them shall retain a copy for at least six years.

Conclusion

Prior to this legislation, Director’s Performance Appraisal processes were varied across school boards. The benefit of a more prescribed process for all boards provides trustees with confidence that the DPA process will lead to improvement strategies, transparency, and will enhance public confidence in education across the province.

When trustees work with their director of education to thoughtfully plan and implement the DPA process, the director will gain insights to improve personal leadership ultimately resulting in improvement across the entire district. The DPA process is a vital part of a school system’s commitment to shared goals, public trust, and clear direction.