What School Boards Can Learn From School District Leadership That Works

1. What School Boards Can Learn FromSchool District Leadership That Works WSSDA – November 2007 Rick Maloney, University Place SD & Director Area 3

2. Board Response School Board Perspective: Nature of Boards Nature of Board-Supt Relationship Advice for Boards Findings…’translated’ Further Research?

3. The Nature of Boards How they ‘speak’ How they ‘act’ A board’s composition Elected as individuals Whole is different…it has a ‘life’ of its own

4. It’s alive! School Board

5. The Nature of Boards A board is ‘alive’ only when it meets …between meetings… • A board ‘acts’ thru others • A board ‘speaks’ in writing Policies…Budget…Strategic plan…Annual goals

6. Board Board CEOBoard CEO CEO District District District School School School School School School School School School Superintendent acts thru the Board Board acts thru the Superintendent Superintendent is independent of the Board The Nature of theBoard-Supt Relationship

7. Advice for Boards “Lead, Follow, or Get out of the way!” - Thomas Paine Effective leaders employ each of the three The trick is to know when to do which

8. McREL Findings • “District-level leadership matters” • “Effective superintendents focus their efforts on creating goal-oriented districts” • “Superintendent tenure is positively correlated with student achievement” Find and Replace: ‘superintendent’ … ‘school board’

9. McREL Findings • “District-level leadership matters” • Implies: Superintendent leadership matters • Implies: School board leadership matters • “Effective superintendents focus their efforts on creating goal-oriented districts” • “Superintendent tenure is positively correlated with student achievement”

10. McREL Findings • “District-level leadership matters” • “Effective superintendents focus their efforts on creating goal-oriented districts” • “Superintendent tenure is positively correlated with student achievement”

11. McREL Findings • “District-level leadership matters” • “Effective superintendents focus their efforts on creating goal-oriented districts” • Collaborative Goal-Setting • Non-negotiable goals for achievement/instr. • Board alignment/support of district goals • Monitor goals for achievement/instruction • Use of resources to support ach/instr goals • “Defined autonomy”

12. McREL Findings • “District-level leadership matters” • “Effective school boards focus their efforts on creating goal-oriented districts” • “Superintendent tenure is positively correlated with student achievement”

13. 1. Collaborative Goal-Setting • “Effective superintendents include all relevant stakeholders, including central office staff, building-level administrators, and board members, in establishing goals for their districts.” Creating goal-oriented districts

14. 1. Collaborative Goal-Setting • Effective school boards include all relevant stakeholders, including superintendent, staff, and community, in establishing goals for their districts. Creating goal-oriented districts

15. 2. Non-negotiable Goals for Achievement and Instruction • “Effective superintendents ensure that the collaborative goal-setting process results in non-negotiable goals… • (Ends)…specific achievement targets for schools and students • (Means)…consistent use of research-based instructional strategies for all classrooms Creating goal-oriented districts

16. 2. Non-negotiable Goals for Achievement and Instruction • “Effective school boards ensure that the collaborative goal-setting process results in non-negotiable goals… • (Ends)…specific achievement targets for the district • (Means)…consistent use of research-based instructional strategies for the district Creating goal-oriented districts

17. 3. Board Alignment and Support of District Goals Goals for Achieve-ment and Instruc-tion BoardWork SuperintendentWork

18. 3. Board Alignment and Support of District Goals • “The local board of education is aligned with and supportive of the non-negotiable goals for achievement and instruction. • “…the primary focus of the district’s efforts…” • “…no other initiatives detract attention…” • This is more likely if the board… • ‘Owns’ district goals • Doesn’t just review them Author~Publisher Author~Fan Club Creating goal-oriented districts

19. 4. Monitoring Goals for Achievement and Instruction • “Effective superintendents continually monitor district progress toward achievement and instructional goals to ensure that these goals remain the driving force behind a district’s actions.” Creating goal-oriented districts

20. 4. Monitoring Goals for Achievement and Instruction • “Effective school boards continually monitor district progress toward achievement and instructional goals to ensure that these goals remain the driving force behind a district’s actions.” • Their meetings (where boards are alive) spend considerable board time on this monitoring function Creating goal-oriented districts

21. 5. Use of Resources to Support Achievement and Instruction Goals • “Effective superintendents ensure that the necessary resources, including time, money, personnel, and materials, are allocated to accomplish the district’s goals.” Creating goal-oriented districts

22. 5. Use of Resources to Support Achievement and Instruction Goals • “Effective school boards ensure that the necessary resources, including time, money, personnel, and materials, are allocated to accomplish the district’s goals.” • They do so by speaking thru policy/budget… directing goal-directed allocation of resources • They do so by acting…spending board time monitoring allocation and use of resources Creating goal-oriented districts

23. 6. Defined Autonomy • Continuum of Autonomy • The district sets non-negotiable goals • Autonomy in how to meet goals • Sets parameters, but does not overprescribe • Defined autonomy = “bounded freedom” to act TotalBuildingAutonomy TotalDistrictControl Creating goal-oriented districts

24. 6. Defined Autonomy • “Effective superintendents may provide principals with ‘defined autonomy’… • …clear, non-negotiable goals……yet provide school leadership teams with… • …authority for determining how to meet those goals.” Creating goal-oriented districts

25. 6. Defined Autonomy • “Effective school boards may provide superintendents with ‘defined autonomy’… • …clear, non-negotiable goals……yet provide district leadership teams with… • …authority for determining how to meet those goals.” Creating goal-oriented districts

26. McREL Findings • “District-level leadership matters” • “Effective superintendents focus their efforts on creating goal-oriented districts” • “Superintendent tenure is positively correlated with student achievement”

27. McREL Findings • “District-level leadership matters” • “Effective superintendents focus their efforts on creating goal-oriented districts” • “Superintendent tenure is positively correlated with student achievement” • Stability is + correlated w/achievement • Can be directly related to board action

28. McREL Findings - Modified • “School board leadership matters” • “Effective school boards focus their efforts on creating goal-oriented districts” • “Superintendent tenure is positively correlated with student achievement”

29. Advice for Boards Lead What boards can do – leadership role[e.g. – monitor goal achievement] Follow What boards can do– support role[e.g. – allocate $$ on district goals] Get out of the way What boards canavoid doing [e.g. – inciting political instability]

30. General Conclusions • Inferences/assumptions… • Board leadership matters • Boards are separate from, yet work thru, their superintendents • Board leadership is not defined merely by what the superintendent does • Board effectiveness is defined by whether or not district leadership is effective • Questions for further research…

31. Some Research Questions • Does board leadership matter? • On what do effective boards focus their efforts? • On what do effective school boards focus their superintendents’ efforts? • How do effective school boards focus their superintendents’ efforts? • What ‘board effects’ [on supt leadership] correlate with student achievement? • Is there a relationship between defined autonomy of the superintendent and student achievement?