THE SUPERINTENDENT AS CATALYST FOR EXCELLENCE IN

BOARD GOVERNANCE

Cindy Loe, Ph.D

cindyloe@leaderinstitute.org

April 15, 2015

THE GOVERNANCE TEAM

The governance team is composed of the elected members of the school board and the superintendent.

Without the board, the superintendent would just be managing the operations of the district.

Without the superintendent, the board would simply be providing oversight on behalf of the community.

“Together they comprise the governance team – a team that, if working effectively, has great potential to do good for children and the community.”

Peak Performing Governance Teams: Creating an Effective Board/Superintendent Partnership, by Tim Quinn and Shelley Keith, 2011.

THE GOVERNANCE TEAM

“What districts need are strong reform board-superintendent teams: boards that provide leadership for reform throughVision,Goals,Policy, and Astute politics; andSuperintendents empowered to manage for

excellence.”

What School Boards Can Do: Reform Governance

For Urban Schools, by Don McAdams, 2006.

DISTRICT LEADERSHIP:DISTRICT GOVERNANCE

INDICATOR DG-1. The board works collaboratively, efficiently, and effectively to fulfill its responsibilities for district governance and oversight.

  INDICATOR DG-2. The superintendent

provides skillful leadership.

© 2012 The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation Developed by RMC Research Corporation for The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, used with permission

THE GOVERNANCE TEAM

“A strong effective relationship between superintendents and school board members hinges upon clear definitions of each body’s duties and responsibilities.”

“Effective Board and Superintendent Collaboration” Hanover Research, February 2014.

BEST PRACTICES FOR BOARD/SUPERINTENDENT RELATIONS (HANOVER RESEARCH, 2014)

Clarify roles and expectations for board members and superintendents.

Establish and implement a clear process for communication between board members and administration.

Actively work to build trust and mutual respect between the board and administrative team.

Evaluate the whole team. Actively work on improved decision-making.

LESSON SUMMARY

Georgia School Boards Association http://sbu.eboardsolutions.com/eBoardsmanship/ebsindex.aspx?S=61236

ROLE CONFUSION (HANOVER RESEARCH, 2014)

The most common type of role confusion in districts involves superintendents focusing too heavily on policy and school boards extending too far into administrative functions.

Board member concerns about superintendents:Lack of respect for board membersLack of integrity/failure to comply with moral

standardsFailure to manage Inaccessible

Superintendent concerns about board members:Too political Involved in operational issues

ESTABLISHING CLEAR ROLES (HANOVER RESEARCH, 2014)

McAdams encourages board members to set student achievement priorities and plan district structures to support the superintendent in reaching those goals.

This form of collaboration keeps boards focused on strategy and, according to McAdams, also helps reduce superintendent turnover, a major inhibitor to district performance.

Value Statements

How will we change in order to achieve success?

What policies are needed to effect the needed change(s)?

How will we communicate and measure expectations?

Balanced Scorecard/Strategic Plan/School & Dept.

Plans

Superintendent and Board Evaluation,

District/School Measures

How do we define success?

How will weachieve it?

How do weimprove?

How will we know when we get there?

Vision/Mission

Beliefs

DETERMINING VALUES:THE FIRST STEP IN DEFINING SUCCESS

Value Statements

How do we define success?

Vision/Mission

Beliefs

It is important to agree on core values and/or commitments that guides the work of the governance team.

Let’s take a look at some examples.

VALUE/COMMITMENT STATEMENT EXAMPLES

Each school will educate every student to his/her fullest potential.Each school and department will engage parents as key partners in the educational process.Each school will compare favorably with top-performing public and private schools in the nation.GCPS will give its core business, teaching and learning, priority over all other functions of the organization.All students will learn at or above grade level.All students will reach their learning potential.All students will be taught in a safe and secure learning environment.

Activity 1: At your table, share at least one similar value/belief/commitment statement that guides the work of your board/superintendent team. From the statements discussed in your small group, be prepared to share one example with the large group in 5 minutes.

Discussion: Are the statements shared (1) sustainable and (2) do they capture what is important to each member of the governance team and to key stakeholders: students, parents, teachers and staff?

Take Away Activity:Establishing Values Process Guide

•The superintendent (or governance facilitator) should note sample value statements and ask board members to suggest one draft statement as a brainstorm start. The superintendent (or facilitator) should review the district’s vision/mission/goals and note that one place to start might be for the board members to individually think about the values that implicitly or explicitly undergird the district’s vision, mission and goals. •Board members should then individually brainstorm statements on chart paper.•The superintendent should work with the board to combine/wordsmith overlapping statements, and then have each board member place a check mark by their 3 favorite statements.•The governance team should then discuss whether the statements drafted are (1) sustainable and (2) capture what is important to each member of the governance team and to key stakeholders: students, parents, teachers and staff.

GOVERNANCE TEAM COMMUNICATION/OPERATING GUIDELINES

BEST PRACTICES FOR BOARD/SUPERINTENDENT COMMUNICATION (HANOVER RESEARCH, 2014)

Establish a consistent, clear system for events and procedures that will occur during board meetings.

Create a workshop system to bring all board members up-to-speed on issues relevant to their decision making responsibilities.

Establish a strategic planning system for developing short and long term goals.

Set up a communications system for special issues such as school closings and redistricting.

Create a crisis information system that quickly provides emergency communication to board members.

Develop an informal cabinet of contacts for board members.

BEST PRACTICES FOR BOARD/SUPERINTENDENT COMMUNICATION (HANOVER RESEARCH, 2014)

Monitor relationships through frequent, informal check-ups between board members and superintendents.

Recognize that conflict can often be handled best if we know which of the five common types of conflict are in play:Philosophical (value differences)Resource-based (competition for scare resources) Interpersonal (personality clashes)Territorial (power and jurisdictional disputes)Perceptual (assumptions not validated)

Recognize the need for a formal evaluation of the superintendent on an annual or semi-annual basis.

Activity 2: At your table, review the sample communication protocols.

Discussion: What do you see as the strengths? How might you use these to highlight best practices for board/ superintendent communication with your board?

Be prepared to share one highlight of your discussion with the large group in 10 minutes.

The superintendent (or governance facilitator) should provide and review best practice examples of communication protocols.

The superintendent (or governance facilitator) should ask the board to discuss where best practice examples align with existing board/superintendent communication protocols and where they differ.

Based on the review and discussion, ask board members and the superintendent to suggest key elements of a district communication protocol.

Have the governance facilitator or a staff member take notes to provide to the board at a follow-up meeting as a “draft communication protocol”.

“Wordsmith” and finalize the protocol in a retreat setting.

Take Away Activity:Establishing Communication Protocols Process Guide

CHANGE LEADERSHIP:

IMPROVEMENT REQUIRES CHANGE.

Value Statements

How will we change in order to achieve success?

How do we define success?

How will weachieve it?

Vision/Mission

Beliefs

WHY CHANGE????Improvement requires change.Change requires leadership.Leadership requires sustainability.Sustainability requires accountability.Accountability helps drive further improvement.

HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE????Determine what we valueArticulate our vision/mission/beliefs

LEADING CHANGE – JOHN P. KOTTER, 1996

Establish a sense of urgency Create a guiding coalition Develop a vision and strategy Communicate the change vision Empower employees for broad-based

action Generate short-term wins Consolidate gains and produce more

change Anchor new approaches in the culture

LEADING CHANGE – PARTNER DISCUSSION

Think about a recent change that has occurred in your district:How did you and/or how did the governance

team lead and manage the change? Consider/review the characteristics, support, and/or challenges of change leaders and detractors, including: Board and superintendent Committed internal and external stakeholders Supporters Neutral observers Opposition (and need for courage to live our values for the

benefit of students)

REFORM POLICIES AND GOALS

District-Controlled Factors That Most Influence Improvements in Student Achievement

Value Statements

How will we change in order to achieve success?

What policies are needed to effect the needed change(s)?

How do we define success?

How will weachieve it?

How do weimprove?

Vision/Mission

Beliefs

According to Don McAdams (What School Boards Can Do , 2006), “policy content should be the primary output of a board’s work.” Reform policies are most important and drive change by guiding goals and plans in order to make “significant changes in district performance….. Examples of reform policies include the various policies required to put into place a tightly coupled instructional-management system” with aligned assessments, etc. or the policies needed to become a charter district.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH-PERFORMING DISTRICTS, MAC IVER AND FARLEY-RIPPLE, 2008, EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE

Rationality without bureacracy Clear sense of purpose Curriculum and instructional approaches

emphasize student learning Accountability and outcome inspection from the

district level Structured district control with school

autonomy District-level direction with school input District-imposed consistency between schools

Systems perspective with people orientation Strong leadership with active administrative

team

DEVELOPING GOALS: DETERMINING STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES/OPPORTUNITIES/THREATS

STRENGTHS (internal) WEAKNESSES (internal)

OPPORTUNITIES (external) THREATS (external)

DEVELOPING GOALS: HOW ARE WE DOING?What is working well? What are our challenges?

How would you improve the challenge areas?

What other suggestions for improvement do you have?

Activity 3: At your table, assume that you represent a governance team. Complete the goals template (copy provided) for your “district” using actual examples from your current district or other districts you have observed.

Discussion: Based on the goals template, what might be one student-focused goal that could be the focus of improvement for your district in the next year or two?Would this goal require a reform policy? How would the governance team communicate this goal and the focus for this reform in the upcoming months?

DEVELOPING GOALS: HOW ARE WE DOING?What is working well? What are our challenges?

How would you improve the challenge areas?

What other suggestions for improvement do you have?

(Copy for Group Activity 3)

The superintendent (or governance facilitator) should review the district’s value statements with the board and then lead the governance team in completing the Strengths/Weaknesses/ Opportunities/Threats (SWOT) analysis and goals template.

The superintendent (or governance facilitator) should then lead the governance team in discussing the following question:Based on our values, and in the context of our current

SWOT analysis and discussion of goal areas for improvement, what one student-focused goal should be our key focus for improvement in the next year or two?

What policy or policies might need to be developed to support this goal?

What will the board communicate about this goal?

Take Away Activity:Establishing the Focus of Reform for Improved Student Achievement

Value Statements

How will we change in order to achieve success?

What policies are needed to effect the needed change(s)?

How will we communicate and measure expectations?

Balanced Scorecard/Strategic Plan/School & Dept.

Plans

Superintendent and Board Evaluation,

District/School Measures

How do we define success?

How will weachieve it?

How do weimprove?

How will we know when we get there?

Vision/Mission

Beliefs