FYI: Important Update for Washington State Principals and Assistant Principals – New Evaluation Deadline in Effect!

As winter winds down and we can see spring just around the corner, we just want to remind principals and assistant principals that your own evaluation must be wrapped up on or before June 1 of each school year. This includes your summative conference, scoring, final eval, etc. This is the first year this date has been REQUIRED, per the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 392–191A–190(8) (see the WAC text below).

This new June 1 deadline marks a significant shift for completing your own evaluations. Be mindful of this date and plan accordingly to ensure your part in a smooth and timely evaluation process. Please make sure you and your supervisor are on the same page with this new requirement.  

Stay on Target

• Mark Your Calendar: Make a note of the June 1 deadline for your own evaluation and set reminders to stay on track.
• Plan Ahead: Ensure that all necessary steps in the evaluation process are scheduled and accounted for well in advance.
• Collaborate and Communicate: Engage in open communication with your evaluator to try and facilitate an open, growth-oriented process.

Reach out if you have any questions about the changes. We appreciate your commitment to excellence in education and all you do for your students and staff each and every day.

WAC 392–191A–190

Minimum procedural standards—Conduct of the focused evaluation for certificated principals and assistant principals.

The conduct of the evaluation of principals or assistant principals must include, at a minimum, the following:

1. One of the eight criterion for certificated principals or assistant principals must be assessed in every year that a comprehensive evaluation is not required.
2. The selected criterion must be approved by the principal’s evaluator and may have been identified in a previous comprehensive summative evaluation as benefiting from additional attention.
3. The evaluation must include an assessment of the criterion using the leadership framework rubrics and the superintendent of public instruction’s approved student growth rubrics. More than one measure of student growth data must be used in scoring the student growth rubrics.
4. The focused evaluation will include the student growth rubrics selected by the principal or assistant principal and approved by the principal’s evaluator. If criterion 3, 5, or 8 is selected, evaluators will use those student growth rubrics. If criterion 1, 2, 4, 6, or 7 is selected, evaluators will use criterion 3, 5, or 8 student growth rubrics.
5. A summative score is assigned using the summative score from the most recent comprehensive evaluation. This score becomes the focused summative evaluation score for any of the subsequent years following the comprehensive summative evaluation in which the certificated principal or assistant principal is placed on a focused evaluation. Should a principal or assistant principal provide evidence of exemplary practice on the chosen focused criterion, a level 4 (Distinguished) score may be awarded by the evaluator.
6. Should an evaluator determine that a principal or assistant principal on a focused evaluation should be moved to a comprehensive evaluation for that school year, the principal or assistant principal must be informed of this decision in writing at any time on or before December 15th.
7. Districts shall implement the changes described in subsections (5) and (6) in this section no later than the 2017–18 school year. A district has the option to implement beginning in either the 2016–17 or the 2017–18 school year.
8. Principal and assistant principal evaluations, including a scheduled summative conference with their evaluators must be held on or prior to June 1st of the school year for which the evaluation is being made.