School Board Meeting and Analysis
I attended our regularly scheduled board meeting which is always held the second Wednesday of every month. I am required to attend all meetings, along with the High School Principal, Maintenance Director, and School Psychologist. Our meetings start at 7:30 and are held in our Elementary Library. Typically there is a facilities committee meeting, technology committee meeting, or policy committee meeting that precedes our 7:30 School Board Meeting.
Our board meetings are very consistent each month where we address any old business, then any visitors can speak openly and the we move into new business. At that time the Administration gives their building report. This report is designed to discuss the great things happening in our buildings. It is a time to celebrate accomplishments, share with the board various things that our students are working on and give praise where it is deserved. Our school board is very supportive and follows the lead of the Superintendent. With that being said ,where it pertains to school improvement, strategic plan or setting goals this is something our district is lacking. Our district has the lowest mill rate in our entire Cesa and quite possibly one of the lowest in the entire state. We are in a good place financially, however we need to make some improvements to our system such as curriculum, technology and general maintenance of the buildings.
At various times throughout the board meeting either in our reports or during the committee report portion of the agenda the Administration educates the board on various changes that are happening throughout the state, such as EE and Common Core. We also report various test results (data) of how our students are performing, benchmark data, school report card, and any other pertinent data. The board typically will take that information, ask a few questions and then use that information to make some of their decisions. If I elaborate more on the "successes" or "failures" of the school board where it pertains to guidance from the Superintendent I would say the school board is doing exactly what the Superintendent wants. They don't ask many questions or challenge anything from the Administration. I think this is good because the school board doesn't micromanage, but when we are not moving forward consistently then I believe it isn't good they don't speak up more.
As for success or failures...I see our district as a school with a lot of promise, however needs some leadership that will focus on student achievement, continuous improvement and set some goals in the process. In my role as the Principal and DAC, I provide the data to the Superintendent and board, make recommendations to the Superintendent about improvements, however only to have things move slower (than I would like) in the forward progress of the district. Staff become frustrated because they also see this happening and realize because we are not making the necessary improvements then our school district isn't reaching its potential. I see our school board following the lead of the Superintendent, however I think our Superintendent lacks seeing any sort of vision for our district. Don't get me wrong, he has our district in a very good place financially, but at what expense? Student Achievement? Continuous Improvement? Providing all our students with the best possible opportunities for success? I guess it depends on who you ask and what their vision is for our district.
The three steps I would take to improve the boards focus on a continuous improvement is:
- To educate them about a strategic plan and work with them to put a plan in place. One that is balanced in three areas. Student achievement, Financial and School Improvement.
- Begin working with staff, school board and community members about a "Vision" statement for our district that will provide a constant reminder of what goal(s) we are striving toward.
- Educate them on how to interpret the data we use to drive our decisions we will make or need to make in order to improve our schools. I would also work collaboratively with the Administration team to ensure we are all on the same page and share the same goals as an Administrative team.
Hello John:
ReplyDeleteI too have sat through multiple board meetings that follow the same format you described. I wonder if many members are uncomfortable about discussing goals and strategies because they do not have clear understanding of how they function in the district. We have in-services for our staff during days but many of our board members have day-time jobs. I had an in-service presented by a member of DPI's special education department that two board members attended. They became advocates for changes in the program and demonstrated more confidence in discussing new strategies.
I think that as administrators we have to find ways to continually help our board members understand the learning process as policy so that educators can implement strategies.
John,
ReplyDeleteYou clearly have passion and want to see your district move forward. Your three points are fundamental in this process. I agree that creating a plan, creating understanding of the vision and educating the board are key components to success. Keep planting as many of these seeds from your current position as possible. Keeping the focus on what is best for students and making sure that the district stays in a good financial position will be a challenge for most districts. Thank you for your thoughts.