Austin Public Schools now has a say in state policy.

Superintendent David Krenz was recently named to a Principal Evaluation working group, which will create policy recommendations for statewide principal evaluation guidelines.

Krenz was chosen in part because he helped form a principal evaluation model in late 2009 and early 2010.

“We pretty much wanted and felt that we needed to get (this) out,” Krenz said.

Performance-based evaluations is a rising education issue as more states adopted a value-added, or data-added, evaluation system which holds educators accountable to data-based standards instead of previous evaluation models.

“Great schools depend on great school leaders,” said Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius. “It’s important to make sure we not only recognize effective principals, but that we also have tools in place to help them continue to grow professionally. I look forward to the recommendations of the working group about the best ways to develop an effective principal evaluation system that is consistent with our goals of providing a world class education to every Minnesota student.”

The group is a result of the state Legislature’s passage of performance-based evaluations into state law during last year’s special session. The group is expected to work on a principal evaluation model in coming months and present their findings to the state Legislature in February. Krenz expects the new principal model to be similar to the one he helped create last year.