The Waunakee Community School District board on Aug. 11 heard a presentation on a proposed district administrator performance-evaluation system and agreed to postpone a final choice until its September meeting.

Dr. Kelsey Brown, the district administrator, introduced the topic and said the district is piloting COPES — the Central Office Performance Evaluation System — for central office staff and is considering a separate District Administrator Performance Evaluation (DAPE) modeled and supported by CESA 6. "I am very familiar with the system as it was used in my previous district," Brown said, adding the tool allows uploading evidence and artifacts for board review.

Tim, a representative from Cooperative Educational Service Agency 6, described the DAPE as aligned with existing teacher and school administrator rubrics and said the tool uses six standards with proficiency-level language recommended by CESA 6. Tim said the system supports a year-round, unified process that begins with a superintendent self-assessment in July and recommends two to three focused annual goals for the district administrator.

Board members asked how customizable the measures are, whether district-level KPIs can be included, and how evidence and documentation appear to members. Tim said the evaluation is personalized to the administrator for the summative rating and that boards and superintendents can add district goals but should distinguish those from the administrator's personal goals. He explained that artifacts and documentation are stored in Frontline, the districts online management tool, and are viewable by board members.

No formal vote was taken. Board members asked for hands-on comparison: use the board's existing evaluation form now to produce an assessment for Dr. Brown and revisit a possible switch to the CESA 6 model at the September meeting. Rebecca (staff) was asked to distribute the board's current instrument; Joan (board member) said she would send scheduling information and requested completed feedback in a short time frame so results could be compiled before September.

The discussion also included an offered service from CESA 6: Tim said CESA 6 can synthesize board feedback and, for a fee, lead the summative consensus process in person to help calibrate rubric scoring. Tim quoted a fee for travel and facilitation and said the service is intended to build board capacity rather than create a permanent dependency.