KNOX COUNTY SCHOOLS

ANDREW JOHNSON BUILDING

Dr. James P. McIntyre Jr., Superintendent

MEMORANDUM

To:

Chair and Members

Knox County Board of Education

From:

Dr. James P. McIntyre, Jr.

Superintendent

Date:

November 2, 2015

Subject:

Performance Self-Evaluation

The 2014-15 school year has been a time of extraordinary student learning and success in the
Knox County Schools. After several years of increased academic standards and significant
change, our school system, our educators, and our community appear to have settled in to a
new equilibrium where expectations have been significantly raised, the district leadership is
carefully listening to and supporting our teachers and staff, and students are learning and
achieving at unprecedented levels. I am extremely proud of the work our teachers, students,
staff, leaders, parents and our entire community have been doing to ensure that our children are
well prepared for a bright, competitive, and successful future. It is a great honor to continue to
serve the young people and families of our community as the Superintendent of the Knox
County Schools.

The Superintendents Performance Evaluation Protocol adopted by the Knox County Board of
Education on February 4, 2009 (and amended July 6, 2011 and May 1, 2013) outlines the
procedure for evaluation of the Superintendent of the Knox County Schools (KCS) through the
2014-15 school year1. That performance evaluation procedure calls for the Superintendent to
1

The procedure was amended again this past summer, but those changes do not take effect until the evaluation for the 2015-16 school year.

Post Office Box 2188 912 South Gay Street Knoxville, Tennessee 37901-2188 Telephone (865)594-1800

submit a self-evaluation to the Board in November of non-election years. Please accept this
memorandum as my performance self-evaluation for the period encompassing the 2014-15
school year.

In accordance with the Superintendents performance evaluation protocol and state statute 2,
this memorandum is organized around analyzing five key areas of focus:

Student achievement

Strategic planning and execution

Effective use of resources

Relationships with staff, personnel, and Board Members

Family and community engagement

Student Achievement
Students in the Knox County Schools have excelled academically by a variety of measures in the
2014-15 school year. The Knox County Schools saw increases in student proficiency as
measured by the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) in 20 of 25 tested
subject and grade combinations. Achievement in English language arts and reading continues
to be an area of focus, but notably our students made achievement gains in mathematics at
every grade level assessed. In addition, we experienced impressive academic progress at the
high school level, where students increased proficiency in 6 out of 7 categories.

As we seek to ensure Excellence for Every Child, it was gratifying to see that gains in academic
achievement transcended demographic and economic lines, as achievement gaps defined by
income, race, disability and language were narrowed in 11 out of 16 subject and sub-group
combinations, and achievement gains were seen among all categories of students3.

TCA 49-2-203 (a) It is the duty of the local board of education to: Develop and implement an evaluation plan to be used annually for the director of

schools. The plan shall include, but shall not be limited to, sections regarding job performance, student achievement, relationships with staff and
personnel, relationships with board members, and relationships with the community.
3

KCS passed the states sub-group improvement test which looks to see that for each racial/ethnic, income, disability, and/or language group
improvement in proficiency is made in at least half of the subject/grade combinations assessed. The Knox County Schools is identified as having nine
(9) sub-groups that fall within this test.

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In terms of value-added academic growth, the Knox County Schools achieved a Level 5
composite index on the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS), which is the
highest level attainable. In addition, as a district, the Knox County Schools scored a Level 5 in
literacy, a Level 5 in numeracy, and a Level 5 in combined literacy and numeracy. These
compelling results speak to the remarkable academic growth our students are experiencing in
our classrooms.

Just recently, the Tennessee Department of Education released four-year high school graduation
rates for school systems across the state. The Knox County Schools graduation rate was 90.0%
for the class of 2015. This represents an increase over the graduation rate for the class of 2014,
which was 88.7%, and a significant increase over the graduation rate of 79.3% which was posted
for the class of 2008, the year I was appointed as Superintendent. These figures indicate that 443
more students graduated this past May than would have if we had stayed at our graduation
rate from 2008. That is 443 lives that have been dramatically changed for the better, and 443
more young people who will have the opportunity to continue to learn and grow, and
contribute productively to our community and our society.

As our high school graduation rate rose, so too did the composite ACT score for our students in
the class of 2015, demonstrating that not only are more students graduating, but they are
graduating with an even more rigorous and meaningful high school diploma. Our composite
ACT score increased from a 20.4 for the class of 2014 to a 20.7 for the class of 2015, a significant
jump when considering more than 3,600 KCS students were assessed.

Finally, as a result of all of these exciting increases in student learning and success, the Knox
County Schools was designated by the state of Tennessee as an Exemplary School District. KCS
is one of only 12 school systems in the state so designated (out of more than 140 districts), and
the only large metropolitan school system to ever earn this distinction. We were pleased to
receive this wonderful recognition of the outstanding instructional work that is happening in
the Knox County Schools, but we are even more excited that this award means our students are
learning, succeeding and excelling at unprecedented levels!

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Strategic Planning and Execution

At the beginning of the 2014-15 school year, the School Board adopted our new five-year
strategic plan, entitled Excellence for Every Child. The new strategic plan was the culmination of
a full year of community dialogue and input, and many months of synthesizing, writing and
refining. The result is a strategic plan that builds on our successes, lays out a compelling vision
for our future, and sets clear goals and measurable objectives for the education of our children
over the next five years.

At the Annual State of the Schools Address in February, I outlined a series of seven stakeholder
conversations that would help elucidate and define the implementation of the strategic plan.
Those structured discussions included the following critical initiatives:
1. The Task Force on Disparities in Educational Outcomes
2. Redesign of our professional development offerings
3. Restructuring Strategic Compensation
4. Discussion on Balanced Calendar
5. Development of a Budget to support our educational mission
6. Continuing the Teacher Advisory Committee, and
7. A Comprehensive Student Assessment Inventory
I am pleased that we have been able to make significant progress regarding each of these
important discussions with our stakeholders, which demonstrates our seriousness of purpose
regarding implementation of our strategic plan.

Effective Use of Resources

In Fiscal Year 2015, we continued to identify strategies to ensure the efficient use of resources to
best support the effective education of our children. We have continued to take a hard look at
specific areas of spending to make certain that we are maximizing the educational return on our
communitys investment of tax revenue in our school system. For example, we are currently
undertaking an independent third-party expert review of our student transportation program
to ensure maximum effectiveness.

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In addition, the Knox County Schools has continued to leverage grant resources to augment our
general fund budget in supporting our educational priorities. One notable example is the
Verizon Innovative Learning Schools (VILS) grant that was made possible through our
participation in the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools. The VILS grant allows two
more of our schools, Carter and Bearden middle schools, to deploy comprehensive instructional
technology, and provides a 24/7 data package for all students, addressing the critical issue of
connectivity for learning. Another great example is the continued expansion of our Community
Schools effort, which leverages resources in our community to address the needs of our
students and families, so that students come to the classroom ready to learn and succeed.

The Knox County Schools also leveraged partnerships and outside resources by opening a new
high school, the Career Magnet Academy, on the Strawberry Plains campus of Pellissippi State
Community College. This unique educational experience not only maximizes budgets by
sharing space, but also allows students to utilize state resources available for dual enrollment
and dual credit courses at the college level, even as they pursue their high school diploma.

Perhaps the most notable development with regard to effective use of resources this year has
been the FY16 budget compromise that I proposed collaboratively with Mayor Burchett. This
comprehensive budget agreement, approved by the School Board and the County Commission,
allowed for our teachers to receive a 2% raise and for two new schools to be built. In addition,
the compromise articulated joint goals around fiscal responsibility and budgetary efficiency.

Relationships with Staff, Personnel and Board Members

There have been some very positive dynamics this past year with regard to teacher and staff
satisfaction and relationships. The Teacher Advisory Committee has continued to be an
incredibly productive and valuable structure, not only for me to hear the insights and
perspective of classroom teachers directly, but also for me to develop strong collegial
relationships with a representative group of amazing educators. In addition, this past year I
have continued the practice of periodically having lunch with groups of 8-10 teachers at a
variety of schools to hear their thoughts and reflections on our educational work.

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The 2014-15 school year also saw the beginning of a new practice, where several times a year I
have visited school staff meetings, without a specific agenda, just to hear what was on teachers
minds and make sure I had a pulse on the daily challenges and triumphs in our schools. In
addition, I have taken to personally sending brief e-mail messages and updates directly to all
teachers and staff on a fairly regular basis.

Our enhanced efforts at communication and support for teachers and staff appear to be having
a positive impact. In April of 2015, teachers were administered a survey regarding their
professional experience, which they had also been given in December of 2013. The positive
changes in survey responses were nothing short of remarkable. When asked to respond to the
statement, Teachers in my school/district are trusted to make sound professional decisions
about instruction, the percentage of teachers who agreed or strongly agreed increased by
26.6% from December 2013 to April 2015. In April, 2015, more than 80% of teachers agreed that
their school was a good place to work and learn. Encouragingly, those who agreed or strongly
agreed with the statement Overall, my district is a good place to work and learn, increased by
25.3% from 2013 to 2015. I am extremely proud of the progress we have made in this area the
past year, and I look forward to continuing to enhance communication and relationships with
teachers and staff.

With one or two notable exceptions, my relationships with School Board members have been
very positive, collaborative, and productive. Mr. McMillan and I, for example, were able to
work quite cooperatively while he served as Chairman of the School Board this past year.
While we didnt always share the same perspective on every issue, we were always able to
come to a mutual understanding and collegial agreement about how to proceed. I have actively
sought to develop effective and professional working relationships with all School Board
members, and I believe I have found success in doing so with every member who is interested
in developing such a relationship. Overall, I believe I have been respectful, cordial, and
professional toward every School Board member, and I have worked hard to ensure that they
had the information and the support they needed to do their important job effectively.

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Family and Community Engagement

We have made important strides in the area of family and community engagement this past
year. We have continued efforts such as the District Advisory Committee and Principal for a
Day, but perhaps even more importantly, we have sought to provide more information to our
stakeholders, and more meaningfully engage parents and community members in the
important decisions of the school system. One example is our efforts around the Balanced
Calendar. Our strategic plan called for KCS to explore this alternative academic calendar, and
to do so, we embarked on a campaign to inform the public about the balanced calendar, and
then solicit their input as to whether it was something they wanted us to pursue. Dozens of
school-based community meetings were held to disseminate information and solicit feedback.
While we ultimately decided not to move forward with the Balanced Calendar, this
comprehensive engagement process was an excellent model to replicate in the future.

This years State of the Schools event at Austin-East Magnet High School was one of the best in
recent memory. Not only did I give remarks on the state of education in our community, but
we also heard from a teacher, a principal and a student, as well as benefitted from student
involvement in a variety of ways. Students assisted with production, refreshments, presenting
of the colors, and even performed a stunning student-choreographed dance number. This has
become a wonderful night to connect with our stakeholders in an engaging and informative
dialogue about the importance of education.

One of the priorities identified by the School Board in recent years, and memorialized in the
strategic plan, was an interest in developing a Community Relations function. At the nexus of
community engagement, advocacy, and communications, a Community Relations function
would help the School Board and the Knox County Schools better engage our stakeholders in
the important work of educating our children. I was very pleased not only to create a
Community Relations function this past year, but also to hire an extremely competent
professional to lead this effort, Jeannie Dulaney. Ms. Dulaney has a wealth of experience,
community knowledge and relationships, and lots of great ideas about how to advance
Community Relations in the Knox County Schools. I am delighted that we have fulfilled this
expectation, and look forward to the wonderful work ahead in Community Relations.

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I continue to enjoy visiting about three-quarters of our schools each year (I have now made
more than 500 such school visits) and attending a variety of school and community events,
including ball games, student performances, and every high school graduation. I appreciate the
interactions in our schools and out in the community with our parents, educators, and
especially our students. We have also been able to reach out to more stakeholders through
social media, having begun a Facebook presence this year, and having solidified our use of
Twitter (with more than 15,000 followers). I will continue to seek ways to reach out and make
connections to as many individuals and organizations in our community as possible, as we
enhance our information-sharing and communication efforts.

Conclusion
I am extremely proud of the outstanding education that children are receiving in the Knox
County Schools. While we can always improve, and we continuously seek ways to do so, our
school system and our students have experienced extraordinary success in the 2014-15 school
year. I look forward to the continued collaboration with the School Board, as we seek to achieve
our ambitious goal of Excellence for Every Child.

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