HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Guam Department of Education Superintendent Erik Swanson needs to improve his performance, based on a performance evaluation of his first six months on the job.
The Guam Education Board has spent the last couple of weeks evaluating the superintendent on his performance over the last six months. The board used a scaled rating system, much like the tiered grading system used to evaluate the proficiency of GDOE students.
“The board has indicated, out of a 4-point scale, an evaluation of 1.38,” GEB Chair Mary Okada said.
Okada said the board has identified three main areas where the superintendent needs to improve.
“The superintendent will be focusing on three main areas from his evaluation, primarily accountability, leadership and communication,” Okada said. “So these are the three areas we discussed with the superintendent to work on for the next evaluation period.”
Swanson will be evaluated again on June 30 for his one-year evaluation.
By law, the GEB is required to develop and adopt a set of performance standards for the GDOE superintendent. Failure to meet the standards can be grounds for termination.
Swanson’s predecessor, Jon Fernandez, at his six-month evaluation received an above satisfactory rating, at the time garnering a grade of 4.4 on a 5-point scale, according to Post files.
Swanson’s rating of 1.38, if compared to the GDOE 4-point student grading system, would fall under the rubric, “help is needed.”
Kenneth Erik Swanson, Guam Department of Education superintendent, testifies during an oversight hearing at the Guam Congress Building in Hagåtña on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024.
