TRAVERSE CITY -- A group of people asked to evaluate James Feil in his role as superintendent of Traverse City's public schools believe, on average, that he meets expectations.
The 62 respondents -- including school board members, employees, parents and community members -- think Feil's biggest strength is student achievement, and awarded him a 7.091 average score on a 10-point scale, results obtained by the Record-Eagle through the state's Freedom of Information Act show.
His largest weakness, in keeping with the board's formal review this month, is his ability to maintain positive community relationships, both inside and outside of school. He earned an average score of 5.873 from all respondents.
Feil did not return calls seeking comment. He sent board members a letter, dated Dec. 10, to accompany the results.
The memo, which he labeled "personal & confidential," described Feil's method for inviting the participants -- 82 were asked -- and cited superintendent-board relations, board policy development, teacher support and communication as areas to focus his attention.
The survey was considered a "self-evaluation" and was done in conjunction with his annual performance review.
Some survey recipients did not respond, including a board member, Feil's letter reads. It's also possible one board member answered it twice.
Feil wrote that he chose teachers who are "highly credible instructional leaders," some of whom are active union members, and "parent and community leaders who have expressed strong opinions regarding past deliberations and decisions."
Feil rated himself the highest among all groups in nearly every area, giving himself scores of 10 for some leadership questions, such as "models appropriate value systems, ethics, and moral leadership."
Administrators ranked him second-highest among groups in many categories, and in some cases rated Feil higher than he scored himself -- including "motivates others" and "maintains composure."
But the latter question earned Feil his lowest score of the entire survey, an average of 2.571 from board members. Four of them gave him a 1, considered "least skilled," results show.
Feil gave himself scores of 7 and 8 for communication.
Board members and teachers, as a whole, consistently gave Feil the lowest average scores. The board's results were based on seven respondents, and teachers had 17.
Board members Marjie Rich and Fred Tank both said the survey results are intended for Feil to determine ways to improve. Other board members could not be reached for comment.
"It was always understood that this was not a tool of the board to evaluate the superintendent. We were using other things," Tank said. "I'm interested now to see how he does with it. But I'm not going to tell him what to do with it, and I'm not going to base my opinion of the job that he's doing on the information that he gathered."
For more information
Write-in questions on an online evaluation survey for Traverse City Area Public Schools Superintendent James Feil ranged from the supportive to the critical.
Comments were compiled without names or representative groups attached. Sample opinions about communication, rated the area in which Feil needs to most improve, include:
-- "When working with people who support him, he is congenial and respectful. (He did an excellent job with the millage campaign.) However, when Mr. Feil is faced with criticism or opposition, he is challenged to control his emotions. He must learn to control his temper, both in public and private."
-- "Mr. Feil has exceeded my expectations in the communication area. He conveys a sense that everyone's opinion matters."
-- "Jim is open to hearing people's ideas. I think there are times when Jim's responses area (sic) bit lengthy and at times stray from the original question. I know he makes a good-faith effort to have two-way communication with parents and staff."
-- "The Superintendent has a VERY poor relationship with virtually all of his employees with the exception of his close inner circle. The general public and many, many parents do not trust him. He is arrogant, rude and intimidating to anyone, including the Board, who disagrees with him. He does not communicate, he gives orders."
PDF files of TCAPS Superintendent James Feil's evaluation results can be viewed by clicking the following links:
Evaluation Survey Comments
Evaluation Survey Results by Category
Evaluation Survey Results (FINAL)
Superintendent Self Assessment Cover Letter
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