Getting your school board on the same page: Alignment matters
When the school board spends most of its meeting time discussing the day-to-day operations of the district instead of policy and governance, that could be a warning sign of board misalignment.
“If you’re not focused on students, it means you're focused on weeds in the playground. You're focused on facilities and whether they should buy a Ford or a Chevy. You're focused on the nutritional services program,” says Steve Schroeder, a member of the Sun Prairie School Board and governance officer, in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. “All important things, but that's not what a board is elected to do. They're elected to ensure that student results are moving in the right direction.”
Schroeder was discussing the importance of board alignment at a recent webinar. He was joined by his colleagues, Superintendent Brad Saron and Executive Assistant Chandramthi Vemuri. The webinar, “From roles to results: Getting your school board on the same page,” was hosted by Janie Alexander, Diligent customer success manager and team lead.
Their conversation covered:
- How to clarify board roles to reduce confusion and conflict
- Strategies to build trust and improve board to superintendent communication
- Leveraging technology to streamline collaboration
- Tools that can help keep the board focused on results — not just processes
Watch the full webinar discussion here and read on for some of the highlights.
What is board alignment and why is it important?
When the school board is a cohesive group whose members work toward the same district goals, it is in alignment. Since school boards are made up of diverse individuals with their own ideas about what is important, alignment takes intentional effort.
Board misalignment often starts when new board members are seated. Newly elected board members in particular may be misinformed about the board’s role in the decision-making process. They may have been elected with a single goal in mind, for example, changing the football program or starting a new academic program. Even when they hear the district’s strategic plan, they sometimes maintain focus on their personal goals.
“They want to fulfill their pledge that they made to the people who elected them,” Schroeder points out.
Other factors that can lead to board misalignment:
- Lack of understanding of their governance role.
- Lack of training.
- Lack of buy-in on the district’s strategic plan.
- Communication and trust issues among the members or with the administrative team.
When early signs of misalignment show up, they indicate that the board needs to ground itself in principles of governance best practices. Saron says. “Those principles include the fact that the board governs through policy, through consensus and through vote.”
Alignment with the district vision, Schroeder adds, “is critical for student success.”
Board alignment is key
Aligned school boards work well, manage risks and build confidence. Learn tips from your peers to boost alignment and create a stronger board.
I'd love that guideCreate trust through communication
The board’s ability to speak as one voice takes trust and communication according to Schroeder , but these elements are missing in many boardrooms across the country. “If we're going to be aligned, we first must be aligned as a team. And if we're aligned as a team, then we can stay focused on the goals for the students whom we have the pleasure to serve.”
The Sun Prairie board holds two offsite retreats each year. These retreats are invaluable for aligning the board and resetting priorities, offering board members and administrators a chance to connect in a more relaxed setting than typical board meetings. Serving food at executive meetings throughout the year also helps foster a more collegial and comfortable atmosphere, making discussions more enjoyable and productive.
“These things that are fairly easy things to implement can make a dramatic difference in relationships,” Schroeder advises. “Having those other opportunities to continue to build those relationships and let them occur naturally helps to establish that trust.”
Leverage technology
Ensuring that board members have the same information in a timely manner also builds trust. Vemuri is in constant communication with board members “so they know that they can trust that what the information is being shared with them is being shared with everyone.”
Constant communication with seven board members and the superintendent is made easier through technology. Vemuri sends weekly emails to board members through the Diligent Community cloud-based board management platform. “It's a pretty long email from all of our different departments and they update them,” she says.
The platform allows board members to watch staff presentations before they get to meetings, so they can spend their time in discussion. Members of the public can also watch the recorded presentation through the platform.
It also sends out and records the results of board surveys, which are used in part for the board self-assessment.
Saron points out that many of the platform features help build trust and allow the public to hold the board accountable.
“We can show our communities that we are transparent, that we do engage, that we do have goals, that we hold each other accountable,” he says. “The more that we can do that, the more that we are set up to be able to tilt the organization to supporting students, which is why we exist.”
Find out more about board alignment by watching the webinar. Diligent Community offers other resources such as board alignment guide and a board alignment cheat sheet. Request a Diligent Community demo to see how it can help your board.
