Components Rubric

	Ineffective	Basic	Proficient	Distinguished
1. The board commits to a servant-leader and growth mindset.	The board:  acts as if it has no higher authority;  service to others (public/staff/students) is not valued;  ‘gives away’ board authority;  doesn’t believe all people can learn at high levels;  doesn’t believe in staff’s (or the board’s) capacity to grow.	The board:  is generally committed to service and board leadership;  has no specific idea of how to take a servant-leadership role;  follows staff lead;  rarely asserts authority independently;  is not aware of staff efforts to impact organizational results.	The board:  adopts the value of service to others;  serves the community as loyal subordinate;  takes responsibility to lead the organization team via policy;  adopts a growth mindset;  believes all people can learn and grow based on individual effort;  also believes in staff and board potential; acts on those beliefs.	The board:  adopts mindset of servant-leadership;  commits to serve state, community, customers & staff;  takes responsibility for top team;  governs via strategic board-level role;  promotes belief that all people can learn through effort;  pursues growth of staff/board to positively impact organizational results.
2. The board has a strategic and systematic approach to governance.	The board:  shows no concern for its impact on the organization;  fails to view the organization as a system;  has no clear plan (policymaking, board meetings, accountability) for how it approaches board work;  undermines staff by ‘dabbling’;  has no routines.	The board:  has routines, not tied to a plan for board work;  goes through the motions;  allows CEO to guide policymaking, meetings, even accountability;  aligns board role with that of staff; voices interest in deliberating before deciding, but takes shortcuts.	The board:  considers decisions’ effects on the system; defines board work;  has a clear approach to its work, thru processes and routines of governance/ policymaking, meetings, budgeting, accountability;  has a strategic view of the board’s job;  demands staff alignment with the board’s governance role.	The board:  nurtures systems thinking, with professional development; has clear and comprehensive system of governance practices;  with the CEO aligns resources with the board’s strategic goals, board processes and routines;  leads the organization by doing the work it has designated as ‘board work’.
3. The board connects with the community to learn its values	The board:  neglects its duty between elections to connect with the community;  reacts in ad hoc manner to complaints, inquiries;  responds selectively to input; makes decisions without regard to community values or attitudes.	The board:  sometimes schedules community events;  informs community via public relations effort;  mostly ‘tells’;  lets CEO lead in community engagement;  usually listens to the community;  sets policy with minimal or no community input.	The board:  connects with community;  seeks community input and guidance;  sets aside time in meetings to inform and to listen;  engages with the community to build public confidence and learn community values and priorities;  ensures that policy and other board decisions reflect community input and values.	The board:  takes the lead in connecting to its community;  continuously improves that connection;  ongoing relationships in community keep the link fresh;  listening is the main board interaction with the community;  listens to learn values;  acts on community values, embedding them in policy;  enforces policy values.
4. The board is steward of a vision for student learning	The board:  has no shared goals for the organization;  has no sense of overarching purpose;  sets own goals;  reacts to CEO goals;  offers no proactive directional guidance;  its work shows no evidence that goals exist;  short-term thinking is the norm.	The board:  relies on a ‘visionary’ CEO to set vision;  responds to CEO goals;  occasionally refers to long-term vision, which is developed by the CEO;  board goals vary from year to year, and do not focus on long-term organizational goals.	The board:  makes strategic planning the board’s job;  goals reflect long-term vision;  ensures board goals are equivalent to organization goals;  teams up with CEO to set long-term and stable goals;  aligns goals with organizational vision and values;  sets priority on desired organiational results;  supports supt goals for instruction.	The board:  stable, long-term goals for organizational results;  board goals are equal to district goals, and equal to CEO goals;  staff align strategies with board-guided community vision and values;  aligns organizational and individual goals;  strategies are stable over time.
5. The board guides its own members	The board:  sets no expectations for individual board members;  has no written protocol for board member behavior;  depends on members to control selves, but has no written guidance;  members often try to take a role they do not have;  ethical lapses get in the way.	The board:  has a general protocol, but seldom refers to or enforces it;  depends on good will among members to maintain order;  occasional lapses cause disruption;  tries to respond to disruptions as needed;  tolerates conflicting agendas.	The board:  has clearly written protocol;  individual members are encouraged to attend professional development to learn boardsmanship;  publishes board member expectations;  disruption of the board is infrequent and readily handled by the board chair;  individual agendas are not supported.	The board:  sets comprehensive policy for boardsmanship  regularly refers to its policy;  continuously reviews/refines board protocol;  learns/enforces board basics;  regularly pursues professional development;  regularly reviews member performance, correcting as needed;  helps members contribute.
6. The board guides itself	The board:  is divided about its appropriate role;  holds dysfunctional meetings and creates confusion about what the board is for;  prioritizes effort and attention on staff business, while its own governance role is ignored, confused, or abandoned.	The board:  draws a general distinction between role of the board, setting policy, and that of CEO, implementing policy;  in practice the roles often overlap;  sets policy on board process;  seldom refers to it;  occasional dysfunctions occur.	The board:  respects the board role and the role/ authority of its chair in carrying out governance responsibilities;  writes policy guiding board work;  enforces policy on board work;  refers governance inquiries and complaints to the chair;  prevents individual members from obstructing board chair.	The board:  helps the chair fulfill his/her role by reminding its members of commitment to governing;  writes and enforces policy guiding board work by reminding members of the contents of policy;  defers to the chair for appropriate execution of the chair’s role, while retaining individual prerogatives.
7. The board guides management	The board:  directs staff throughout the organization; is reluctant to delegate decisions to the CEO;  is means-oriented, wanting to ‘help’ the CEO's management, or blocking the CEO's planning with required “Mother may I?” permission requests.	The board:  works cooperatively with a generally ‘board-savvy’ CEO;  recognizes and tries to overcome or reduce its tendency to micromanage, yet it still reviews and approves most staff plans/priorities before the staff can act.	The board:  defines CEO role;  hires CEO;  teams with CEO to clarify roles;  delegates decisions, yet retains review and approval authority over issues it deems important;  guides staff work, setting clear policy to direct the staff;  aligns resources with organizational goals.	The board:  leads the board-CEO team through policy, values-based guidance in lieu of directing the work of staff;  prescribes desired organizational results, and empowers CEO and staff to execute;  evaluates results;  assures resources and staff efforts align with goals and values.
8. The board accounts for the district	The board:  focuses on directing work without having decided what is to be achieved;  organizational results get only minimal attention;  plays after the fact ‘blame game’;  CEO evaluation is separated from oversight of district performance.	The board:  adopts a strategic plan led by the CEO; gets updates on progress without deciding before-hand what board expectations those updates should address;  is oriented to problem-solving (fixes problems as they surface).	The board:  sets benchmarks to compare with other districts; ties expected outcomes to criteria defining success;  demands data re: criteria for success;  regularly monitors progress and adjusts guidance in response;  gets data and interprets it;  is forward looking while reviewing the past.	The board:  sets benchmarks based on best practices and measures over time;  focuses on organizational results over other priorities;  monitors principle-guided, adherence to board-set parameters for programs and staff activity;  studies data and plans for improvement with an eye to the future.
9. The board accounts for itself	The board:  is not concerned with board effectiveness;  does not review its own performance;  fails to assess board–CEO team effectiveness;  doesn’t call out individual members who disrupt board work;  fails to respond to disruption of board business.	The board:  performs limited self-assessment, if time permits, after completing the annual CEO evaluation;  chair/board majority generally reviews board performance;  sometimes limits impact of disruptive members;  often fails to focus the board.	The board:  sets benchmarks to compare with other boards;  uses protocol for self-evaluation; demands data re: criteria for success;  annually reviews own performance;  owns its part in district success;  responds to monitoring, judging data against criteria;  is forward looking while reviewing the past.	The board:  uses policy criteria to assess its own effectiveness;  regularly self-assesses in meetings as well as periodic in-depth reviews tied in with CEO evaluation;  continuously adjusts its own actions based on self-assessment; follows up with revision of its policies.
10. Board helps its members account for themselves	The board lets members:  not be concerned with their own effectiveness;  randomly intercede in or interfere with staff work;  disrupt board work;  ignore individual board member responsibility for overall board effectiveness;  ignore critiques or feedback.	The board: encourages members to:  participate in annual board self-assessment;  become effective board members;  usually read board packets before meetings;  cooperate, but lets them sometimes be disruptive;  respond when reminded of protocol.	The board: helps members:  set benchmarks to judge their work;  support the chair in enforcing norms;  remind colleagues when protocol is violated;  demand data re: criteria for success; self-assess as part of board self-assessment;  respond to monitoring by judging data against criteria;  pursue growth.	The board develops members ability and willingness to:  regularly review and strengthen board protocol;  continuously pursue individual growth;  contribute to development of colleagues, informing them of protocol and reminding them as necessary;  contribute to board self-assessment and growth.

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