Center for Evaluation and Educational Leadership (CEEL)'s Personalized Approach to District Support

The majority of professional development and guidance that exists for school district and building level leaders is often broad and impersonal, focusing on general advice for school leaders and not the specific needs of the whole administration and school district. Center for Evaluation and Educational Leadership (CEEL), housed within the Achievement and Assessment Institute's (AAI) at KU, is looking to change that through personalized and holistic approaches.  

Led by Director Bart Swartz, CEEL is well positioned to serve and uplift school district and building level leaders across Kansas and beyond facing any challenges that may appear within their work. CEEL offers personalized services, a wealth of experience, and connections across industries and fields. Staff work closely with school district leaders, administrative teams, and teachers to find solutions that are relevant and specific, because every school district is different. 

“Everywhere has their challenges, and sometimes the scope of them may seem bigger or smaller based on the size of the school district, but we serve and support all districts in whatever they need,” Swartz said. “There's really nothing that we can't do to support school districts.”  

Before coming to CEEL, Swartz worked at Greenbush, an education service center in Kansas, for 15 years. He has also worked as an assistant superintendent, a school district HR director, a building administrator, and as a teacher and coach. Swartz said he understands many of the challenges faced by school districts and that his experience helps him better serve clients. When he doesn’t have the answers, CEEL relies on the broad range of resources offered by the University of Kansas.  

“There are so many people doing so much great work across the university, and I don't think districts know about a lot of it,” Swartz said. “Helping connect them to some of that work furthers the mission of supporting schools.” 

A large part of CEEL’s services come with CEEL’s Annual Support Services package. The package has over a dozen built-in services ranging from administrative team consultation and needs assessments to interview preparations and transition planning. Additionally, clients can choose from 10 customizable supports such as one-on-one admin mentoring, superintendent evaluation support, annual goal settings, and data reviews. CEEL also sends out a newsletter to district leaders with resources, tips and tricks, updates, and opportunities.  

This broad range of services was specially designed to address the large scope of work district leaders take on. Understanding that many unexpected situations can arise, CEEL staff also consult closely with clients to offer support and guidance outside of the listed offerings. Even if the request is outside of CEEL’s expertise, staff will find solutions and connect leaders with the help they need.  

As an example, Swartz recently got a call from a superintendent about their aging facilities and the need for an inspection and assessment of what needs to be repaired. Swartz immediately got in contact with one of CEEL’s business partners that specializes in project management so that the company could do a complete facilities audit of the district buildings. Swartz then met regularly one-on-one with the superintendent to figure out how the district could pay for the repairs and helped set up a community meeting to receive feedback from other district staff. 

“You just don't know what to expect when that phone call comes. But when it does, I've always tried to operate on ‘If you need help, the answer is yes,’” Swartz said. “We will sit down and figure out the best path forward to get you that help, no matter the challenge.”  

If you are a school district leader interested in receiving the CEEL newsletter or want to learn about CEEL’s services, please email Bart Swartz at bartswartz@ku.edu.