Our Process

Exterior shot of a high school building

The mission of Center for Evaluation and Educational Leadership (CEEL) is to support district and building level leaders to lead, organize, and implement the most effective and equitable learning environments for students. As each school district and community is different, so are the resources educational leaders need to ensure student and educator success.

Representatives from the Center for Evaluation and Educational Leadership will meet with school district leadership staff to develop and implement strategic plans that lead to educational success and ensure all student populations have access to high quality supports and services.

There are three key phases of CEEL's district work:

Needs Assessment, Implementation, and Follow-up.

Phases of Work

CEEL conducts a customized needs assessment of the district, which includes district data analysis, surveys of key district staff and community, and in-person focus group discussions. This will lead to a set of recommendations that will fold into a set of flexible district and building action plans that:

  • Identify and understand the current district academic structure, including varying reform initiatives underway.
  • Review communication systems and strategies being employed.
  • Analyze the Strategic Plan and various analyses of its implementation and effectiveness.
  • Analyze the learning environment including multiple measures of success.
  • Review organizational structures.
  • Evaluate district finances.
  • Assess community engagement and demographics.
  • Assess facility needs.

Types of Needs Assessments

 

Upon completion of the needs assessment, CEEL brokers talents and services for the district to ensure a successful implementation of the strategic plan, including services from:

  • University of Kansas faculty and staff.
  • Kansas State Department of Education, including the Technical Assistance Systems Network.
  • Educational Service Center.
  • The Kansas Association of School Boards, United School Administrators, the Kansas Leadership Center, and the Ewing Kaufman Foundation.

In addition, the CEEL will ensure district strategic plans are aligned to the Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA) process and meet the requirements for the Kansas legislature’s statutory requirements for a comprehensive needs assessment.

The CEEL will remain a support to district leadership months after the first two phases and will schedule a time 8-12 months later to follow-up with the district on steps and actions taken to implement the plan. This will serve as a form of accountability to implementation.

School districts interested in engaging the center should email ceel@ku.edu.