The school board has completed its annual superintendent evaluation process and commended Dr. Gustavo Balderas for a successful first year as superintendent. Dr. Balderas has been superintendent of Eugene School District 4J since July 1, 2015.
Board Chair Anne Marie Levis noted, “Dr. Balderas has provided exceptional leadership during his first year as our superintendent. He has immersed himself in our district and tackled some of the key issues that were important in his first year. Dr. Balderas always approached issues with a student-centric focus and worked to put systems in place to provide exceptional educational opportunities for all of our kids.”
The superintendent was evaluated on five distinct areas: student achievement, staff capacity building, stewardship of district resources, stakeholder engagement as well as relationship with the school board, and leadership and professionalism.
The board also called out three themes as areas of both expertise and future focus.
- Communication: The board commented on the superintendent’s accessibility and openness: “Dr. Balderas listens well to all voices of the external community and our internal audiences and is very respectful to all. Building trust is key to his work. Also, he is consistent in communication and keeps the board and others well informed. All this will help with building a more cohesive district. As we move forward, continuing to explain the reasons for decisions, especially when decisions are controversial, will be important.”
- District Culture: The board is pleased with Dr. Balderas’s emphasis on student-centric decision-making for all work. “Balderas’s focus on equity is both important and to be praised. We appreciate him bringing clarity and focus to this important initiative for the district. We appreciate Dr. Balderas’s aligning the district and helping get us out of a ‘silo-oriented’ organization and mindset. Articulating priorities in the coming years will be critical to moving forward on these issues.”
- Forecasting of Issues for the District: “Superintendent Balderas is willing to tackle big subjects and is open to talking about difficult issues in a public and effective way. Superintendent Balderas is a good systems thinker. Our district needs to operate as one system, and Dr. Balderas understands complex systems and looking for ways to improve them for effectiveness and efficiency. We think the superintendent has done a very good job of becoming familiar with the district, community, people and systems, while still forecasting what issues are on the horizon.”
The board praised Dr. Balderas for a very good first year in 4J and said they are looking forward to their next year with him.
