Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free newsletter to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
The Memphis-Shelby County school board is asking teachers and principals to rate Superintendent Roderick Richmond’s performance as he enters the latter half of his interim term.
It’s the first step in an informal evaluation process for the MSCS leader, which will end in a public board meeting reviewing collected feedback in the first week of January. Teachers and staff are expected to receive an anonymous survey starting next week.
Richmond, who’s worked in the district for over 30 years, has spent 10 months in the top position. Board members still haven’t decided whether they will launch a search for the new superintendent before his term expires on July 31.
“We haven’t had that conversation yet,” Chair Natalie McKinney said.
The last search, which ended in the appointment of former Superintendent Marie Feagins, took over a year. It also stalled multiple times due to board member infighting and sparked community pushback for a lack of transparency.
Richmond took over the superintendent spot in January after the MSCS board voted to oust Feagins. He said then that he’s interested in leading the district in a permanent role.
In a board meeting Tuesday, evaluation committee leader Amber Huett-Garcia praised Richmond for “proactively seeking out feedback” from all district employees.
“I think that’s a culture we want to continue to nurture,” she said.
Teachers and staff members will rate Richmond’s performance on a 1-5 scale across four categories: leadership and strategic vision, student achievement, staff relations, and operations and finance.
Surveys will close on Dec. 5. Board members are expected to complete their own evaluations before the holiday break, which will center on Richmond’s progress in his 100-day plan. The plan outlines goals in what Richmond calls the “5 A’s”: academics, attendance, attitude, arts, and athletics.
Since January, Richmond has introduced a new “regional superintendent” model that splits the district into five different zones to target academic support and management. In September, he recommended four schools to close by the end of the academic year, while overseeing the creation of a comprehensive facilities repair plan.
Meanwhile, the suit Feagins brought against MSCS is still ongoing. Feagins wants to be reinstated to the superintendent role. But in August, a Shelby County judge denied her request to be immediately given the district’s top job.
The next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 17.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
