Performance Evaluation

Mr. Chad Lewis

Superintendent, Sycamore School District
Board Evaluation 2021-2022

Overall Assessment

The Board of Education evaluates Sycamore Community Schools Superintendent on an annual

basis. The purpose of the evaluation is to review Mr. Lewis' goals for the school year along with
his overall performance and discuss areas of strengths and opportunities for growth. This
assessment included analysis and discussion of Mr. Lewis' mutually agreed upon goals, a
Board evaluation and an opportunity by the District Flight Team and Building Leaders to
participate in a board developed questionnaire.

This assessment takes into account that this is Mr. Lewis' first year as a Superintendent. In
addition, the Board recognizes that there were many challenges faced by Mr. Lewis during this
school year, including Covid resurgence, mask discussions, board elections, new administrative
hires, and our on-going construction projects.

Mr. Lewis had a strong first year as Superintendent of Sycamore Community Schools. The
Board recognizes the many strengths he has brought to the District as well as opportunities for
growth and professional development.

Our District Mission is to cultivate a culture of academic excellence through inclusive and
innovative learning opportunities for the whole child. Our Vision is to empower all learners to
reach their full potential in a globally competitive world. Mr. Lewis highlighted our Vision and
Mission in team meetings and goals were developed and aligned around them.

Mr. Lewis has a strong work ethic. He is visible in the schools and throughout the community.
He represents our district well and has developed relationships with key community partners.
Mr. Lewis is caring, emotional and passionate about the success of our students and our staff.
He effectively communicates with members of our community and responds to emails in a timely
manner.

Under Mr. Lewis' leadership, despite strong headwinds, our multiple construction projects
remain on schedule and on budget. Mr. Lewis' team has kept the Board and community up to
date throughout the projects including regular Board meeting updates, email communications,
and Community Lunch & Learn Sessions.

Mr. Lewis has worked hard to promote a workplace culture that emphasizes everyone moving
together towards the same goals for the district and vertical alignment. This collaborative
culture is evident in board and administrative relations.
Mr. Lewis has been instrumental in the hiring of key people in critical positions in our
administration. He has revised the hiring process to ensure his Flight Team and Administrators
advance the Mission and Vision of Sycamore Community Schools.

Goals

Standard 1: Vision, Continuous Improvement, and Focus of District Work

• Mission and Vision regularly used and communicated.

• Team concept and culture.
• Curriculum review completed with initial work beginning.
• EMIS audit completed, and changes being implemented.
• Data more effectively being used throughout the district.
• District and Building Leaders' goals aligned to the Strategic Plan.

Standard 2: Communication and Collaboration

• Participated in numerous events and meetings with various stakeholders.

• Started a group for Asian American and Pacific Islander community leaders.
• Montgomery Diversity and Inclusion committee member.
• Blue Ash YMCA board member.
• Started student leadership groups at JHS and HS.
• Held Staff listening sessions.
• Started weekly board update videos.
• Community Lunch and Learns for construction projects.
• Monthly evaluation meetings with all direct report administrators.

Standard 3: Policies and Governance

• Mask policy and Healthy Aves were high focus.

• Participated in the full review of Board Policy.
• Implemented decision making framework for administration to better understand the
information and steps required before receiving approval for a new initiative.
• Building culture throughout the district.
• Met with legislators to advocate for matters critical for students and our district.

Standard 4: Instruction

• Led the development of instructional systems designed for high student achievement.
o Goal of Performance Index of 108.
o ACT scored for college bound seniors of 29.
o College and Career Readiness goal at eighth grade of 70% with 80% by the end
of 3 years.
• Reinforcement of the implementation of state standards and research-based best
instructional practices.
• Created a process for any new curriculum initiatives.
• Curriculum review completed and initial steps underway to develop better common
assessments, curriculum maps, and pacing guides which are aligned vertically.
• Implementation of curriculum review is a collaborative process between all Sycamore
Community School Educators including, special education teachers, gifted instructors,
ESOL teachers and intervention teachers to ensure equal opportunities for all students.
• Professional development for teachers guided by the curriculum department and aligned
with goals of the district. Staff feedback from previous sessions embedded into
Professional Development.

Standard 5: Resources

• Led the oversight of our $130M construction project, delivering projects on schedule and
on budget
o Symmes construction of addition completed.
o EH Greene will have occupancy by June 30th with full opening at the start of the
22-23 school year.
o JHS project on schedule to date.
o Phase 1 of the HS completed with the start of Phase 2 June 2022.
• New district office staff hired to support our district mission and vision. Key people were
hired in the critical positions.
• Candidates that reflect the diversity of our student population were brought forward and
hired for district office staff.
• Built Team culture to retain talent.
• Developed an accountability aspect to leadership structure.
• Investigating ways to improve and restructure departments to address staffing needs.
• Identified equitable allocation of materials and technologies to support district goals.
• Kept our schools open and staffed during difficult periods of Covid.

Note on Instructional Goals

Performance Index is calculated by the State of Ohio Report Card. The results of this years'
tests are not available typically until September. The Board recognizes that changes will be
made to the calculation of the Performance Index and the State Report Card.

Both ACT scores and College and Career Readiness Scores are also not available currently.

The Board will include an addendum to this evaluation after the above-mentioned scores are
completed.
Focused Improvement

The Board of Education believes in continuous improvement and development for Mr. Lewis.
The Board recognizes the many strengths that Mr. Lewis has and the significant contributions
he has made to our students, staff, and district.

The Board would like to see Mr. Lewis improve his Emotional Quotient (EQ). EQ is the ability to
understand, use and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate
effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. The Board
believes better use of his EQ will help with his executive presence, leadership and his
representation of our district to the students, community and staff. Mr. Lewis needs to be open
to collaborative discussions, feedback, new ideas, questions and continuous improvement.

As Superintendent, Mr. Lewis is the Chief Executive Officer of our District. The Board realizes
that Mr. Lewis does not need to be the district expert in all areas and relies on his highly skilled
Flight Team to be the experts. However, the Board would like to see Mr. Lewis develop a
deeper understanding of curriculum such that he can lead district conversations on curriculum
and teaching and learning.

As a new Superintendent with many new staff members, Mr. Lewis has done a good job of
bringing the right people to critical positions. He has worked hard to on-board the new district
office staff and principals. Moving forward, Mr. Lewis needs to ensure that he delegates
responsibility to the right person to allow him to focus on higher key initiatives.

In his first year, Mr. Lewis made improvements to Professional Development Days for our staff.
This included additional collaboration days, feedback from staff, and alignment of the
Professional Development with our district goals. The on-going development of our teachers is
critical to the academic success of our students. The Board of Education would like continued
focus on high quality, research-based Professional Development for our educators with
continued input from the teachers.

The Board expects that the results of the Curriculum Audit will be used to ensure that the district
curriculum, instruction and assessment programs are designed to provide full access and
opportunities for all students.

The Board requests that board material is sent to the Board to allow adequate time to prepare
for the meetings. Unless an emergency, no new material should be sent to the Board less than
24 hours prior to the meeting.
In summary, the Board of Education appreciates the hard work, dedication, and work ethic that
Mr. Lewis has demonstrated in his first year as Superintendent of Sycamore Community
Schools. We look forward to his continued development and an on-going collaborative board
relationship.

Board Discussion Date: June 15, 2022

Date

Paul Balent, President Sycamore Board of Education Date