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March 30, 2008

Imagine this, an IEP (Individual Educational Plan) for individual board members, the board as a whole, the superintendent and his or her administrative team. This fresh approach for assessing and improving that district's climate was presented my Chuck Namit who spoke as a school board member with valuable knowledge and tools to identify individual strengths and weaknesses.

According to Mr. Namit, "The Individual Educational Plan develops a training matrix to manage weaknesses and build on strategies, with the goal of better governance that leads to improved student achievement." This in itself is worth investing the effort to build stronger teams and creating environments conducive to learning.

We are all familiar with the development of IEP's for our students and the intended goal to improve their achievement. It is important to understand the three distinct teams that should also develop IEP's. The Leadership Team is comprised of the Governance Team (the Board) and the Management Team (the superintendent and his or her administrative team). With constant change in the composition of school boards and administrators, it is important to understand, that "whenever you have a new board member, you have a new team." This also holds true for a change on the Management Team.

Mr. Namit also discussed the ten characteristics of well functioning teams and challenged all in attendance to complete a team climate survey. This survey required that we rate our board's functioning on a 10 point scale, 1 being excellent. The questions were very thought provoking and are useful in assessing where your board currently is, in the eyes of its members. This exercise is the beginning of the process to build a Board IEP training matrix which identifies areas of weakness and strengths and results in goals being developed.

The importance of cultivating a climate of trust was explored. Individual board members have to understand that it's not just their words, but also their body actions that acknowledge whether or not trust exists. Key characteristics of trusting relationships include open communication and consistent behavior to name a few.

Two different governance models were discussed to indicate the varied responsibilities of each team. The traditional Governance Model and the Policy Governance Model were explored in detail to indicate how most boards are governed. By examining the two models, it is useful in identifying Governance Team and Management Team boundaries. Namit indicates that, “it is important to establish and maintain a supportive Board - Superintendent relationship.” By self assessing each individual team, the possibility for improving the school climate, increases greatly.

I appreciated this fresh approach and the tools that we were given to apply in our districts. It gives each board an opportunity to look in the mirror, identify areas for improvement and focus totally on governance and student achievement. Isn’t that what we really are supposed to be doing as board members? I plan to challenge the board that I serve on to participate in developing our own IEP. This type of action will make us stronger as a governing body for our children.

Posted by Terri Sharpp, Blog Team, at 11:51 AM | Educational Sessions & Workshops | Comments (1)

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