School boards should review 6 areas to help focus their efforts: the state, the community, the students, the district, the superintendent, and (most important) the board itself.
6 Focus Areas for the School Board
4 Types of Boards
What types of boards are there? And how does board governance compare with teaching as a profession? Understanding the Danielson Framework for Teaching may offer a starting point for answering these questions. Boards might be categorized into one of four different types, the first three of which are readily distinguished by their current levels of performance in the practice of governance. These board types are: 1. Dysfunctional – those that do actual harm to the board and the organization governed Read More …
Gaining New Members? Renew Your Whole Board (Part 3 of 3)
The Board Takes Responsibility for Accountability “Whenever the board gets a new member, a new board is formed.” Part 1 of this post introduced the idea of making the new members’ first day on the job one of intentional induction, not only for the new member but for the “new board” that is being formed. What if the board, seriously accepting responsibility for its own performance, took the opportunity to induct its newest members, while at the same time guiding Read More …
Gaining New Members? Renew Your Whole Board (Part 2 of 3)
The Board Takes Responsibility for Strategic Voice and Operational Guidance “Whenever the board gets a new member, a new board is formed.” Part 1 of this post introduced the above (a traditional saying about boards) as rationale for making the new members’ first day on the job one of intentional induction, not only for the new member but for the “new board” that is being formed. What if the board, seriously accepting responsibility for its own performance, took the opportunity Read More …
Gaining New Members? Renew Your Whole Board (Part 1 of 3)
The Board Takes Responsibility for Board Readiness Most boards are underperformers when it comes to helping their newest members rapidly become knowledgeable, contributing members of the governing team. Except for the formal swearing-in that is mandated by law, boards leave professional development up to the individual, and for most new board members, that means the slow and haphazard nature of on-the-job experience. This is partly due to board members acknowledging the independent nature of elected (or appointed) office by keeping Read More …
Are Principals Perfect?
When I read this article from EdWeek, I was reminded of a study I had done a long time ago, comparing leaders’ self-assessments with assessments that can be obtained from subordinates, from peers, and from supervisors. Turns out that principals, like all leaders, are not perfect, even if their self-image seems to say so. And others, including our own subordinates, have plenty to offer in helping to round out the full picture. Here’s the EdWeek article: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2019/03/teachers_have_lower_perceptions_of_principals.html?cmp=SOC-EDIT-LI What this means Read More …
What We Do in Board Meetings Matters
Comedian Henny Youngman had a joke (often repeated) that went like this: The patient says, “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” [The doctor’s response:] “Then don’t do that!” Sometimes the first advice a board should follow if it wants to improve its performance is to find out what it does that hurts…then stop doing that.
The Case for Supervision – Part II
The best boards keep their noses in the business and their fingers out. Jim Brown (The Imperfect Board Member) The Board Role in Supervision As Jim Brown implies, the best boards supervise but do not run the business. The board role in supervision of a school district is to set expectations about what is to be achieved as far as desired outcomes for students are concerned (what the community wants students to know and be able to do) and provide Read More …
The Case for Supervision – Part I
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lord Acton The Problem Early in my first career (24 years in the US Army) I occasionally heard of a senior officer being removed from command due to misconduct of some sort. Although relatively rare in an organization of hundreds of thousands, these incidents seemed to occur more often in situations where the leader was isolated from the next higher level of command, removed from the “prying eyes” of direct observation and supervision. Leaders Read More …
Boards Matter – Part IV
Boards Matter – Part IV (4th of 4 parts) Only boards, because of the democratic power they derive from the people, because of their close links with the people, and because of their stability, can provide the leadership required to redesign and sustain over decades school districts that provide equity and results for all children. – Don McAdams The board contributes to stability. Because of its institutional nature, it is the board, not the superintendent and not its individual members, Read More …