Performance Evaluations Are Powerful
You will not be surprised to learn that some superintendents will not welcome a dialogue with the board on CEO-specific leadership targets. But they've got no choice if they really want to have a strong, mutually satisfying relationship with their school boards.
August 2008
Making Education Research Work for You
School leaders are inundated with research findings they can't sift through. Making matters especially difficult is talk of "data-driven decision making" and "scientifically based research," implying that translating research into policy is a relatively straightforward matter of latching onto the right solutions and making them work. If only it were that simple.
August 2008
An Interview with Daniel Domenech
Former Fairfax County (Va.) Schools Superintendent Daniel Domenech returns to Washington, D.C., as the new executive director of the nation's largest superintendents association. Known for his hands-on style, Domenech wants to have a bigger seat at the table as Congress continues its work on the revision of No Child Left Behind.
August 2008
Ways to Make Your Board Meetings More Efficient
Most school boards try to do too much with their agendas, keeping a watchful eye on all sorts of district activities yet failing to accomplish the board's most basic functions. The difference between board and staff business is primarily, but not exclusively, a matter of ends and means.
August 2008
Training for New School Board Members
With the average board member serving either one or two terms, periodic turnover is inevitable, as is the need for training those joining your board. But who should conduct the training? And how do you ensure new board members are getting the training they need?
August 2008
Taking Risks for Reform
When ASBJ asked education consultant Deborah Meier to name some failed and successful school reforms of the past three decades, she e-mailed back this short reply: "In fact, the successes have also been the failures." Let's take a look at what has worked, what hasn't, and why.
August 2008
Doing Your Superintendent's Performance Evaluation Right
School boards around the country have taken very practical steps to ensure that the very precious, high-stakes--but oh, so fragile--working relationship with the superintendent remains close, positive, productive, and enduring. Easily the most important step is implementing a well-designed and executed process for evaluating superintendent performance.
July 2008
Health and Your Older School Employees
Employees over 50 are extremely valuable. They tend to be more loyal, have more experience and better attendance, be more punctual, have lower job turnover, hold a stronger commitment to quality, maintain a willingness to be mentors to new hires, and use better judgment on the job. That is, except when it comes to their own health.
July 2008
Crafting a Contract with Your New Superintendent
Superintendent contracts often are much more than a legal document that specifies employment terms. In most cases, they are a symbol of the desired relationship between the board and superintendent, and they are very local in nature.
July 2008
Implementing Board Committees
If organized and run properly, committees are a proven tool for high-impact governing. Getting these powerful "governing engines" up and running takes two major steps -- a set of detailed guidelines to govern the operations and a staff support structure and process.
June 2008
Are We Supporting New Principals?
Diversity, reform initiatives, accountability demands, scarce resources, and other changes have put more demands on the principal than ever. We also know that principals are important to the academic success of our students and our schools. But how can we help our principals if we don't support them?
June 2008
The Value of Travel
Many young people do not travel with their families, and because of that, they are not being prepared to assume a constructive role in our increasingly global society. That's why school-sponsored educational travel is critical to a complete education. School boards that offer these opportunities are giving students life-changing experiences.
June 2008
Rudy Crew's Lessons Learned From the Miami School Chief
An interview with Miami-Dade County Public Schools' superintendent Rudy Crews, 2008 National Superintendent of the Year.
May 2008
School Board Committees Enhance Effectiveness
If you'd asked me about the importance of board standing committees 20 years ago, I would have advised you not to pay much attention. Well, experience has educated me, as it always should, and now I number well-designed committees among the top three determinants of board effectiveness. Committees help the board divide the work of governing into "chewable" chunks.
May 2008
Your Unions: Harmony or Strife?
When striking teachers display a giant inflatable rat outside a school—and name their new mascot after the surperintendent—it's clear that relations between school leaders and the teachers union are not good. Another clue: Teachers are spitting on cars crossing the picket line.
April 2008
The Merit Pay Conundrum
After a series of marked failures in the 1980's, salary reform efforts in America's school districts are experiencing a resurgence. Increasing numbers of school districts and states seem more willing to make adjustments to teacher pay to achieve better educational outcomes. Teacher buy-in is only one part of an extremely complex enterprise.
April 2008
Teacher Contract Negotiations
Negotiating a new teachers' contract can be daunting. Whether your board is planning to subcontract or lead its own negotiations, you will be up against a seasoned union veteran trained in negotiation strategies. You likely can't match your opponents in experience, but you can take steps to increase the likelihood that you will come away with a deal that is acceptable to the board.
April 2008
Rescuing Schools in Distress
NCLB has affected state departments of education as much as any other type of institution. Looming in the legislation was the knowledge that any school that repeatedly failed to meet academic standards could be subject to state intervention. This was a new direction for the Arizona Department of Education. We were just as nervous about the concept of state intervention as the schools.
April 2008
The Secrets of My Board Success
Ask yourself, "Do I enjoy being on the school board?" If the answer is "no," you need to make a change. Modify how you handle the job or remove yourself from the board. Life is too short to voluntarily do something you don't enjoy. (Includes the list, "Top 10 Secrets of Successful School Board Members.")
April 2008
Interest-Based Bargaining Helps Boards and Teachers
What's the difference between traditional and interest-based bargaining? Traditional bargaining is power-based; each side aims to win. Interest-based bargaining encourages the parties to work in partnership to solve mutual problems. Why should you consider using interest-based bargaining? For one thing, it starts with the facts.
April 2008
The Importance of School Board Policies
From a legal standpoint, school boards exist for one reason: to govern K-12 schools by exercising their power as a policymaking body. A good policy can save a district's hide. The challenge for boards and the administration is making sure no reality gap exists between what is explained on paper and daily practice.
April 2008
Return on Investments for School Board Service
As a most likely unpaid volunteer who dedicates considerable time and energy to your school board's governing work, you have every right think about your return on investment (ROI) in terms of nonmonetary compensation for the hours you devote to the job. The governing experience should be enjoyable and relatively pain-free--at least a good deal of the time.
April 2008
Developing Your Governing Capacity
Every school board and superintendent have a clear choice in determining your "governing design"—the board's role, structure and processes. You can inherit the board of the past, taking the path of least resistance and minimum pain—or you can take the initiative in developing your board's governing capacity.
March 2008
The Challenges of Supplemental Educational Services
Successfully implementing supplemental educational services, or SES, is challenging—and local officials play an essential role in deciding whether students receive the quality tutoring they are entitled to under the law. Still, it's not clear that school boards are taking that responsibility to heart. Only 14 percent of the 3.3 million students eligible for services receive assistance.
February 2008
The Importance of School and Parent Partnerships
Despite a lingering national perception that schools are rigid, they have become pretty adept at adapting to change. As a whole, though, schools are struggling to connect with the one group that has the biggest impact on a student's academic career: parents.
February 2008
Newsmaker: Retiring AASA Chief Paul Houston
Paul Houston started his education career as a "wayward English major," became a principal by age 25, and hasn't looked back much since. But, on the eve of his final conference as executive director of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), Houston took some time to reflect on his 40-plus year career in education and the organization he has served since 1994.
February 2008
Do You Need a Strategic Change Portfolio?
The leadership "gold standard" for school boards is making strategic decisions that address critical issues facing your district. Here is the good news: Your district can take advantage of a dramatic advance in the field of strategic planning. Known as the strategic change portfolio, this tool makes it possible for your board to play a meaningful, high-impact role in leading change in your district.
February 2008
Change Happens
Change is a quality every district must have for public education to remain viable in the 21st century. And if that sounds like an overstatement, consider this: Today’s school leaders are under increasing pressure to raise student achievement, often in the face of criticism—warranted or not—that they work for immovable bureaucracies.
January 2008
School Transitions Made Easy
Unfortunately, not all schools understand the importance of creating a well-organized and well-thought-out plan to help ease the transitions kids make, especially between two of the most critical junctures in K-12 education: the move from elementary to middle school and from middle to high school.
January 2008
Are Mayors Threatening to Take Control of Your Schools?
The threat of mayoral and state takeovers is real. Today, takeovers are permitted by statute in about half the states, and they’re allowed by some city charters. The question is: Do takeovers work? Despite political criticism, posturing, and rhetoric from public school opponents, research on the financial or academic impact of takeovers remains sparse.
January 2008
Can Poor, Rural Schools Reverse Their Fortunes?
Public schools are perceived as an obstacle to a better future in a small Mississippi town and county. So what can be done to turn them around...?
December 2007
Sharing a Business System Saves Time and Money for Schools
Five Wisconsin school districts develop a planning system to streamlines business practices.
December 2007
Politics and Research
As a deluge of reports offers commentary on everything from abstinence to vouchers, is today's information credible, or rooted in ideology?
November 2007
Resisters in Our Midst
Dealing with reform saboteurs
October 2007
Outsourcing Survival Tips
Going outside can control costs and improve services, but advance planning and common sense are critical to success
October 2007
How Do You Manage Yourself?
To be a high-impact school board, you have to constantly develop your knowledge and skills, and be explicitly accountable to your community.
September 2007
Summer of Fate
On a sweltering July evening in 1967, Detroit police descended upon an illegal saloon in one of the city’s largest black neighborhoods—and unwittingly unleashed a maelstrom. What followed was one of the most brutal riots in U.S. history. What does this 40-year-old tragedy have to do with public education today? Quite a lot, actually.
August 2007
Come Together
Oakland’s efforts to reinvent itself after decades of decline and deterioration are hamstrung by its reputation. Progress undoubtedly is being made, as the antiestablishment radicals of the 1960s and ‘70s embrace revitalization policies that they would have decried four decades ago. But much work is left to be done, and the schools—which are central to the city’s renaissance—have their own set of problems.
August 2007
Gathering Intelligence
New board members and administrators must have the right information and know how to use it.
August 2007
The Search for Character
What are you looking for in a superintendent? Your ultimate action can sometimes uncover your motives.
August 2007
Life in the Governance Sphere
For new board members and administrators, getting a firm grasp of the 'business' is key to your long-term effectiveness.
August 2007
Advancing By Retreating
Retreats are probably the best way to involve your board creatively in generating critical products that can’t be handled in regular meetings. If you haven’t used retreats as a board involvement tool, you should. Just make sure you keep these tips in mind as you put your retreat together.
July 2007
Managing Your Money
Just about anything can throw a district's budget off. Too many kids. Too few kids. Natural disaster. Human error. Old buildings. New mandates. About the only constant in the business of educating the next generation is that the stakes will get higher. To squeeze more out of less, districts are relying on creativity and outside-the-box thinking to keep budgets balanced.
May 2007
The Bible and the Board
One thing we know is that there are strong feelings both for and against teaching the Bible in schools, and the issue is almost always divisive. What we may not understand is the serious potential for legal entanglement when the Bible—and religion in general—is introduced in schools. As a result, school districts, and most certainly board members, are often caught in the middle of a controversial quandary that could end up as a prolonged court battle and an intense public ordeal.
May 2007
A Real 'Reality Show'
If you're a school board member, you know what it's like to be recognized when you are out in public. It usually happens when you are waiting in a line, say at the post office, the bank, the dentist's office, or standing on the sidelines of your kid's soccer match. My least favorite place to hear that inevitable question, "Hey, aren't you on the school board?" is the grocery store.
May 2007
Building a Budget
Many superintendents take a defensive posture where their boards’ involvement in budgeting is concerned. Of the hundreds of board members I’ve interviewed, only a handful have ever said that they’ve found their role in shaping the annual budget fulfilling. They’ve expressed lots of frustration, often verging on anger, and their working partnership with the superintendent has been seriously frayed. The budget process can be irritating and frustrating for the board, but the board does have a role and should be involved in a meaningful way.
May 2007
Moment of Truth
If not schools, then what institution will prepare today’s children to live and work successfully in a nation that’s increasingly diverse racially? A generation after white flight ravaged many of the nation’s largest urban school districts, both racially and economically, a number of small metropolitan areas are now facing, in the words of one education analyst, “their moment of truth.”
April 2007
Win-Win Partnerships
Across the nation, school board members and administrators are seeing how their districts benefit when corporations, universities, and local businesses come together in partnerships. Partnerships range from providing mentors for students, to offering leadership training for principals and other administrators, to recognition programs for teachers, students, and others. These partnerships can be critical for districts that are time strapped and cash squeezed.
April 2007
Leader of the Pack
You wouldn’t know it by looking at them, what with their slow gaits and sad, brown eyes, but cows may be savvier than school boards when it comes to selecting leaders. Or so the latest research suggests. Scientists in France found that bullying, selfishness, size, and strength weren’t recognized within the herd as suitable leadership qualities. Intelligence, inquisitiveness, confidence, experience, and good social skills were. Cows realize this. You’d think we would, too.
April 2007
Practitioners and Practice
Comedian Paul Reiser has a routine in which he explores Americans’ inordinate faith in "them" and what "they" say. There is an ill-founded assumption in public schools that some people somewhere else—"they"—are sorting out the big issues while the administrators and practitioners tend to the daily business of running schools. Yet, the absence of strategic thinking is hindering the breakthrough solutions and innovations that are necessary for public schools to remain viable.
March 2007
The Compassionate Leader
With all the recent research and discussion about competency, change leadership, communities of learning, commitment, and collaboration, we must not ignore a leader's need for the essential ingredient: compassion. In our push for academic excellence, we must not take the heart and soul out of our schools.
March 2007
Look Back, Look Ahead
To ensure a smooth transition in leadership, boards should take time to study where the district has been—and where it hopes to go. One way to avoid making the wrong choice is by commissioning what's known as a transition case study—a timely and focused look at where the district has been in the past decade and where it hopes to be going.
March 2007
A Precious But Fragile Bond
What is at the very top of the list of factors that influence the educational and administrative performance of every school district? The answer is simple. It’s the most precious but always-fragile professional marriage between the school board and its chief executive officer, the superintendent. When this precious bond is allowed to become badly frayed, your school system is in for real trouble. The cost of a ruptured board-superintendent partnership can be awesome.
March 2007
Wired-World Mishaps
New media communications like blogs, podcasts, e-mail, and websites are making it easier for educators to connect with one another and with students and their parents. Used wisely, these tools can build relationships in new and more powerful ways. Used inappropriately—or even criminally—the new media can mean new headaches for school officials. Digital mishaps are particularly potent because the viral nature of the Internet means that one errant key stroke can result in global embarrassment.
March 2007
The Tech-Savvy Leader
In school districts, you must be a quick study, watch changing and evolving trends, and have a clearly defined picture of success to be at the top of your game. Here are lists of Edtech Leaders to Watch, Top-Ranked Digital School Boards, Top Tech Tools, and Most Helpful School Technology Reading Materials to help.
February 2007
Crossing the Line
Boundary hopping—the practice of falsifying residency status to attend a particular school—has been around for years. In a handful of states, it has been alleviated by open enrollment, choice programs, and, to a lesser extent, charter schools. But in a number of top school districts, many of which are already at or over capacity, it continues to be a problem.
January 2007
Moving the Lines
To me, a truly valuable school board member walks a fine and constantly shifting line between representing one’s constituents as well as all the children in the school district. All children matter in all decisions, not just a select few. Almost immediately, a debate over school boundaries put my noble principles to the test.
January 2007
Learning from Experience: One District’s Story
School boundary changes are an issue of effective operations for districts and an issue of image, identity, and culture for many communities and parents. The differing interests often result in a natural clash among the community, the superintendent, and the school board.
January 2007
Board Members Play Political and Diplomatic Roles in the Community
But you must strike a balance in your non-governing roles when reaching out to key constituents.
December 2007
Take It to the Limit
As large-city mayors continue efforts to gain control of schools, the track record for takeovers remains mixed.
November 2007
The Value of Collaboration
To avoid takeovers, school districts must learn to collaborate with city leaders
November 2007
The New Breed
Today's big-city mayors eye takeovers as an opportunity to produce results
November 2007
Hiring a Board-Savvy Superintendent
When deciding who to pick for the top job, board members should look for several telling characteristics among the candidates.
November 2007
Unspoken Rules
Make your board's implicit rules explicit through a customs manual.
October 2007
Taking One for the Team
To develop good relations among board members, you must pay more than lip service to the notion of working together
October 2007
From Information to Action
Well-designed committees can strengthen your board's ownership and commitment to the work of governing.
April 2007
Shared Values, Shared Success
Your board must work as a team. A first step is establishing a code of conduct and operational guidelines, sometimes called operating principles. This foundation piece is a cornerstone for building a positive climate and a healthy learning community for everyone in the district. Once the school board develops its principles, it’s easier to encourage the involvement of everyone in the district to develop districtwide principles.
December 2006
Developing Your Staff
If the mere mention of the phrase staff development elicits eye-rolling, sarcastic muttering and loud exhalations among the teachers in your district, you’re not alone. Despite three decades of research and millions of dollars spent annually on professional development, many building level and central office administrators fail to capture teachers’ interest or commitment to these training activities. For training to be meaningful, you need to listen to your teachers about their wants and needs.
December 2006
The Hardest Choice
Closing a school, or schools, is one of the most emotionally charged issues a district can face. In so many communities, schools hold much more than learning opportunities. They hold memories and milestones, prominence and perspective. Tenuous as it is, schools hold life, and shutting one down snuffs out the vitality of a neighborhood.
December 2006
Dealing with Decline
Why are urban districts having such a rough time? Details vary from city to city. In some, families are abandoning the city because of a rising crime rate, a weak job market, or housing prices that are out of reach. Elsewhere, public perceptions about the quality of city schools and competition from private and charter schools are cutting into enrollment. State funding may be inadequate, and with declining enrollments, per-pupil state aid is falling. In any given city, some—or all—of these factors are at work.
December 2006
Courting the Middle Class
What can schools do to keep parents from going private, or moving to the suburbs? Once as revered as mom and apple pie, the public school brand has crashed and burned spectacularly since the 1970s, when the general public and most parents believed their children’s schools were better than when they attended them. To win back middle-class parents, school leaders must seize the agenda and focus the rhetoric on public education’s successes rather than its challenges.
December 2006
Politics and Policy
To maintain its momentum, the abstinence-only movement needs to convince more Americans that abstinence-focused curricula will help delay teen sexual activity and limit unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. But there may be a problem: There’s a paucity of research showing that the abstinence-only message works. When abstinence and sex education are on the agenda, boards must be prepared for bruising debates over ideology, morality, and money.
November 2006
What Boards Want from Schools
No Child Left Behind and similar state policies place school board members in a quandary. The basics are important, but so are critical thinking and social skills. Today’s school board members, along with state legislators, superintendents, and the general public, are in good company when they assert that developing basic skills should not be the schools’ only mission.
October 2006
How to Win a Bond Referendum
School construction and maintenance are at the top of nearly every board member’s to-do list. Finding the resources to finance these projects is critical to your district’s future—but often the decision to borrow the money does not lie in the hands of the board or the superintendent. Instead, it’s up to the district’s voters. A campaign to gain public support will go a long way when you need to ask your voters for money.
October 2006
Board Member Boot Camp
The basics of board service are pretty much the same—beginning with why people run for school board in the first place. Many newly elected board members win because of campaigns that focus on worthy causes. Taking fast action on those causes is often out of the question. But don’t lose sight of those causes. Over time, you may be able to get them accomplished—especially if you follow these 10 clear rules of board service.
August 2006
Keys to Effective Communications
One of the great ironies of modern life is that as the world gets more complex and connected, people feel more disjointed and alone. That’s why relationships and face-to-face communication will always matter more than an award-winning marketing campaign or a front-page "good news" story. Technology can help you manage relationships in new and better ways. But an e-mail exchange will never replace the discussion you can have over a cup of coffee at the donut shop.
August 2006
Technology and Hiring
Online recruiting is a must these days, but it’s just the first step in finding the right candidates for school district jobs. Two new tools can help you find candidates who are the best matches for vacancies in your schools. Online advertisements will net a larger pool of candidates than traditional searches to begin the hiring process. And behavior-based interviewing—which assumes that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance—will help sort candidates for efficient selection.
July 2006
Electronic Recruiting
Software makers have been busy inventing tools that enable school districts to prescreen applicants online, virtually inhale resumes, automatically redistribute resume data into district databases, and automate the process of candidate referrals from in-house personnel with easy-to-use Web portals. If you’re looking to retool your school district’s site with the latest Internet recruiting tools, here’s an overview of what to look for.
July 2006
Breaking the Hiring Barrier
Qualified minority candidates are out there—why aren’t they hired as superintendents? There are African-Americans in the pipeline, but while white candidates can take positions in both white and minority districts, the reality is that African-American candidates are rarely considered for positions in nonminority districts.
June 2006
Overlooked Leaders
Women constitute the other half of the talent pool, so why aren’t they better represented in the superintendency? Sad to say, gender, racial, and ethnic bias are alive and well in America. What does all this mean for school boards? We believe the most important lesson is to recognize that the issue is a matter of social justice. Board members should learn how to recognize policies and practices that are gender biased and should remove or change them.
June 2006
Local-Option Levy
To promote educational equity, many states have adopted formulas that redistribute local property tax revenue evenly across school districts. Many districts also attempt to pass local-option levies to generate additional tax dollars so they can improve the quality of education. Is this something your district should consider?
June 2006
Links in the Chain
The problem of board members becoming inappropriately involved in matters best handled elsewhere is not limited to a particular size or type of district. It’s a temptation for board members everywhere. Your role as a school board member is always clouded by the emotional needs of the people around you. The public views you as its elected official and partner in solving problems.
May 2006
Working Together
It goes without saying that a good working relationship between the school board and the superintendent is key to a school district’s success. But does your district or state have policies that outline how to achieve that, and have you taken the steps to make those policies work? Connecticut’s board-superintendent governance statement provides a road map for success.
May 2006
Who's in Charge
Washington Post columnist William Raspberry recently aimed his pen at an urban school board that hired a new superintendent as the first step in district reform. Decrying the seemingly never-ending cycle of such searches, he compared superintendent turnover with replacing bus drivers on a vehicle whose brakes are shot, gauges are rusty, and steering is loose. Raspberry’s preferred solution: Fix the bus. What’s wrong with the bus? And—whose driving it?
April 2006
Governance by Committee
Standing committees can be powerful "governance engines" for your school board, and are one of the preeminent keys to doing the kind of high-impact governing work that makes a significant difference in district affairs. Many school boards have adopted operating guidelines to help ensure that standing committees provide strong support to the board in carrying out its governing mission. A brief sidebar, “Guidelines for Committees,” is part of this article.
February 2006
Squeeze Play
From politicians to parents to advocacy groups, school boards are being pressured on all sides. Over the past two-plus decades, the tradition of local control has been shaken to its core, beset by state and federal mandates, battles over consolidation and choice, and the growth of well-funded national organizations that put schools at the center of the political and culture wars. Parents, chafed by loss of control, are taking out their frustrations on board members.
January 2006
Democracy's First Step
Some of the nation’s most respected public servants began their political careers on the school board. Jimmy Carter began his political career on his local school board. So did U.S. Sens. Richard Lugar and Patty Murray, and former Arkansas Gov. Dale Bumpers. Serving on a school board for some is a vocation; for others, it’s the genesis of a political career that could -- as was true with President Carter -- take them all the way to the top.
January 2006
What Do You Teach?
School boards once made curriculum decisions simply by conferring with the administrators and content specialists in their districts. Those days, as you probably already know, are gone. Now, parents and community members increasingly want—and expect—a say in what and how schools are teaching their children.
November 2005
Teaching About Origins
One of the most confrontational issues before American school boards and administrators is the effort by some Christian fundamentalists to have their views on life and its origins taught in science classes as a scientifically valid alternative to biological evolution. A scientist explains why intelligent design isn’t science.
November 2005
Reform at the Table
When collective bargaining agreements and contract provisions run up against reform initiatives, the resulting debate can be impassioned. If you think collective bargaining agreements restrict school improvement, this new study says you should think again.
November 2005
The Promise of Partnership
Critics argue that teachers unions are a fundamental threat to comprehensive education reform. But we believe school reform efforts can and must involve teachers unions as full and equal allies in change. When unions become partners in education reform, teachers become partners as well. Change becomes something teachers do, rather than something that is done to them. Here is one district’s story of union-management collaboration.
November 2005
Wanted: School Board Candidates
When were you last on the stage of a high school auditorium? Were you a junior playing trombone in the band? Well, maybe it's time for a return visit to the stage of a high school auditorium—as a member of the board of education. Fed up with your school district? Join the board.
November 2005
The Real Business of Boards
How did the issue of achievement get taken away from school boards? There are at least four reasons: failing to focus on results; fear or aversion about comparing our district’s results to others; not accepting responsibility for poor results; and a loss of focus about our mission.
September 2005
Helping New Teachers and Principals
As all of us in the education community are painfully aware, the attrition rates of new teachers and principals are higher than those of any other profession—a sad trend considering most of these young educators enter the profession brimming with passion, optimism, and a desire to serve. Camden, N.J. is successfully tackling this issue by building an environment in which students excel, teachers inspire, and the community connects.
September 2005
Growing Leaders
Four years ago, trouble was brewing in three school districts in the western tip of Texas. Concerned citizens and business leaders were embarrassed and at a loss to stop the board infighting, micromanagement, political agendas, and limited accountability that dominated the districts and the headlines. The headlines were not only symptomatic of serious problems in the schools, but also just plain bad for business.
June 2005
School Boards Surrounded
Almost every week another judge, legislator, or bureaucrat dreams up another rule or regulation that intends to fix some perceived educational problem. And, in the process, each further constricts the freedom of local education institutions that historically have assumed primary responsibility for governing public schools. Would-be reformers are coming from nearly every direction, and they are coming all the time.
May 2005
A Story of School Governance
When Alan Bersin steps down as superintendent of the San Diego City Schools this June—a year before his contract is due to expire—it will mark the end of a creative but tumultuous experiment in urban education. How governance issues played out between Bersin and the five-member elected school board has important implications for other school districts, especially urban ones.
April 2005
A Long Journey to School Reform
The San Diego School System hired Alan Bersin to forge a new school system. Six tumultuous years later, with many successes as well as a few casualties, the district’s mission statement of “raising student achievement by supporting teaching and learning in the classroom” has come to life. The heroic efforts of teachers and principals, supported by classified staff and a revamped and much smaller central office, are paying off in reaching the vast majority of students.
April 2005
The Real Lesson of San Diego
My erstwhile colleague Michael Usdan did his usual stellar job of describing the full panoply of issues arising in a recent large-city school board conflict that led to the dismissal of the superintendent [“A Story of School Governance,” April, 2005]. However, he erred in putting forth one of the “solutions” he claimed would obviate similar conflicts elsewhere in the future. Here’s what he got wrong.
July 2005
Leader of the Board
President of the school board—it’s an impressive title, and it should be, since only a handful of people are elected to serve on a school board, and fewer still become president. Election to the office assumes the new president somehow automatically gains the leadership skills necessary to meet the responsibilities of the position. But few board presidents are prepared for the demands they will face. Serving as president calls for special skills.
February 2005
The Board Member's Soundtrack
In difficult times, lines from the movies often provide good advice. I even wish now that during my six years on a local school board I had followed more closely the advice implicit in some of the lines that echo in my head. You might feel similarly once you hear them.
January 2005
The Change Challenge
The only constant is change, as you no doubt already know. Dealing with change is one of the biggest challenges you face as a school board member. Changes come in two forms: as opportunities, and as threats. Sometimes, change represents both opportunity and threat, depending on your perspective. The federal No Child Left Behind Act is an excellent example of such a change. How you deal with constant threats—and opportunities—will determine your effectiveness as a board.
December 2004
Total Recall
Why does an individual or group organize a recall or vigorously campaign against an incumbent in a school board election? There's no easy answer. But board recall efforts and politically motivated campaigns against incumbents often have similar characteristics, such as the existence of an organized opposition group or effort that goes beyond a tradtional campaign. Even when board recall efforts fail, they can still affect morale and student achievement.
November 2004
Why Board Culture Matters
A school board’s most critical responsibility is to safeguard the public’s trust in public education. That trust hinges on a clear, unerring organizational mission to educate all students and challenge their level of achievement. Once that trust is lost, it is difficult to regain it. Allowed to go unchecked, boardroom dysfunction will erode the public’s trust.
September 2004
Building a Culture of Trust
Culture—that amalgam of traditions, beliefs, and norms—is the essence of a school district. Good school boards develop and set policies that affect and enhance the district culture. It’s incumbent on the board president to take the lead in making sure both students and staff embrace that culture.
September 2004
Still Committed to Committees
Which works best, governance by a school board acting as a committee of the whole, or by a board working through a committee structure? When I was superintendent of a small district, board members and other administrators agreed that the committee system was very successful. The big question, however, remained: Would this system also work in a large school district?
August 2004
Free to Focus
Would you like to use board meetings to concentrate on student achievement and respond to public concerns and demands for accountability? Finding a structure that will help the board president run meetings in an orderly fashion is a first step in that direction. One such structure is the consent agenda, which can help boards streamline meetings so they can spend more time on important matters.
July 2004
The Ethical School Board
Sure, you know not to commit the Seven Deadly Sins, but what about the more subtle temptations? How do you prevent board members from behaving badly? Well, you can't, of course. But if a board has done its homework—if it has engaged in ongoing professional development to explore the members' beliefs and define the board's goals—it will be much easier to act with authority.
May 2004
Finding the Best
Improving student achievement is the desire of parents and teachers, and it is the foundation on which the No Child Left Behind Act is based. But what is the magic that results in some districts having a strong board-superintendent leadership team that focuses on doing just that? How to attract and retain outstanding school board members.
March 2004
Life on a School Board: Challenges, criticism, praise, and fragile peace—it's all in a day's work.
What is the state of school board life today? Is it really more exhausting and challenging than it once was? As public education has changed, life on a school board has undeniably become more complex and more strained. This is not exactly news. What is news is that for the first time, more board members are joining teachers and administrators in viewing their jobs as more personally challenging than ever before.
December 2003
High-impact Governing
No school board can go it alone in accomplishing its complex and demanding governing work. The indispensable foundation for high-impact governing is a working partnership between the board and the superintendent that is close, positive, productive, and solid. One key to keeping the relationship healthy is for your school board to play an active role in overseeing the performance of the superintendent as your district’s chief executive officer (CEO).
July 2003
The Voice of the People
Even as the nation struggles to advance democracy abroad, there is growing sentiment that school improvement is hampered by an excess of democracy at home. Appalled by our inability to significantly improve urban schools, prominent professors and policy makers have suggested that—at least in urban districts—we replace locally elected school boards with boards appointed by state officials or the mayor.
April 2003
It's All About Policy
The path to traditional school board governance can be strewn with roadblocks and detours. I should know—I’ve been there. In the span of a single year, our nine-member board saw 19 board members and four different presidents. As you might imagine, precious little school board governance or deliberation over student achievement was accomplished during those 12 months. Our board survivors and newcomers turned to the comprehensive school board development program offered by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards for help.
April 2003
Canada's Crossroads
School boards in the United States have come under increased scrutiny over the past decade, but the pace of change is nothing compared to what has taken place in Canada, where the number of school boards has been radically reduced over the past seven years. This has left Canada’s school governance with many challenges and left the future of our country’s school boards at a crossroads.
April 2003
Role Models for Achievement
Across the country, school boards and educators are embarking on dramatic efforts to improve student learning. The heart of these efforts comes within the school system, through standards, assessments, professional development, and other initiatives. But community support and understanding are pivotal to the success of these efforts. How can your board engage the community around school improvement efforts?
February 2003
The Student's Voice
Many student board members serve in an advisory capacity, with their roles limited to providing reports on special events and day-to-day activities at their school. Although an increasing number of boards recognize the importance of having student representatives, few are in favor of giving students the right to vote on budget issues, student discipline decisions, or personnel matters. Many board members question whether students are mature enough to make proper decisions on personnel and finances. Liability also is an issue.
January 2003