What%20School%20Boards%20Can%20Learn%20From%20School%20District%20Leadership%20That%20Works

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What School Boards Can Learn FromSchool
District Leadership That Works

• WSSDA November 2007

Rick Maloney, University Place SD Director Area
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Board Response

• School Board Perspective
• Nature of Boards
• Nature of Board-Supt Relationship
• Advice for Boards
• Findingstranslated
• Further Research?

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The Nature of Boards

• How they speak
• How they act
• A boards composition
• Elected as individuals
• Whole is differentit has a life of its own

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Its alive!
School Board
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The Nature of Boards

• A board is alive only when it meets
• between meetings
• A board acts thru others
• A board speaks in writing
• PoliciesBudgetStrategic planAnnual goals

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The Nature of theBoard-Supt Relationship
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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

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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

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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

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McREL Findings

1. District-level leadership matters
2. Effective superintendents focus their efforts on
   creating goal-oriented districts
3. Superintendent tenure is positively correlated
   with student achievement

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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

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McREL Findings

1. District-level leadership matters
2. Effective school boards focus their efforts on
   creating goal-oriented districts
3. Superintendent tenure is positively correlated
   with student achievement

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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
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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
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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
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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
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3. Board Alignment and Support of District Goals
Goals for Achieve-ment and Instruc-tion
BoardWork
SuperintendentWork
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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 districts efforts
• no other initiatives detract attention
• This is more likely if the board
• Owns district goals
• Doesnt just review them

AuthorPublisher
AuthorFan Club
Creating goal-oriented districts
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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 districts
  actions.

Creating goal-oriented districts
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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 districts
  actions.
• Their meetings (where boards are alive) spend
  considerable board time on this monitoring
  function

Creating goal-oriented districts
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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 districts goals.

Creating goal-oriented districts
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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 districts goals.
• They do so by speaking thru policy/budget
  directing goal-directed allocation of resources
• They do so by actingspending board time
  monitoring allocation and use of resources

Creating goal-oriented districts
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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
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6. Defined Autonomy

• Effective superintendents may provide principals
  with defined autonomy
• clear, non-negotiable goalsyet provide school
  leadership teams with
• authority for determining how to meet those
  goals.

Creating goal-oriented districts
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6. Defined Autonomy

• Effective school boards may provide
  superintendents with defined autonomy
• clear, non-negotiable goalsyet provide
  district leadership teams with
• authority for determining how to meet those
  goals.

Creating goal-oriented districts
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McREL Findings

1. District-level leadership matters
2. Effective superintendents focus their efforts on
   creating goal-oriented districts
3. Superintendent tenure is positively correlated
   with student achievement

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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

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McREL Findings - Modified

1. School board leadership matters
2. Effective school boards focus their efforts on
   creating goal-oriented districts
3. Superintendent tenure is positively correlated
   with student achievement

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Advice for Boards

• Lead
• What boards can do leadership rolee.g.
  monitor goal achievement
• Follow
• What boards can do support rolee.g.
  allocate on district goals
• Get out of the way
• What boards can avoid doing e.g. inciting
  political instability

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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

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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?