10 Proven Practices for Building An Effective Charter School Governing Board

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10 Proven Practices for Building An Effective
Charter School Governing Board

• Wisconsin Charter School Association
• Annual Conference
• April 22, 2008

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Board Development CORE ACTIVITIES

• CONTINUOUS
• Team Involvement
• Education and Learning

Board Assessment (or Reassessment) Benchmarking
Board Development Plan Implementation
Board Action Planning
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Board Governance Fundamental Assumptions

• Distinction between governance and management.
• Ends and means distinction.
• Clarity and agreement about who does what.

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Leadership for Board Development

• Critical role of the full board.
• Critical role of the board development committee.
• Board President and Charter School Administrator.

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Board Development As A Leadership Development
Process
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A Leadership Development Process

• Nominations and recruitment -- the process of
  identifying the right individuals to meet the
  needs of the board helping them understand their
  roles and responsibilities, and convincing them
  to become part of the board.
• Orientation -- the steps taken to give new board
  directors the information they need to carry out
  their roles and responsibilities effectively.
• Training -- the regular, ongoing efforts to build
  new skills and knowledge among the existing board
  directors to enhance performance.

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A Leadership Development Process

• Evaluation -- the annual task of evaluating
  individual board director performance as well as
  the effectiveness of the board as a whole.
• Recognition -- the ongoing process of recognizing
  the work and accomplishments of board directors
  to the work of the board and to the charter
  school.

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Board Responsibilities

• Set the mission and strategic vision.
• Select the charter school administrator.
• Support the administrator and review performance.
• Ensure effective charter school planning.
• Ensure adequate resources.

Source BoardSource
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Board Responsibilities

• Ensure stewardship of resources.
• Monitor impact of charter schools educational
  programs and services. (achievement of charter
  goals and targets)
• Enhance the charter schools image.
• Assess its own performance.
• Lead and support lobbying and advocacy efforts.

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Key Environmental Factors Impacting the Focus of
the Board

• Life stage of the charter school.
• Skills of board directors, charter school
  administrator and staff.
• Stability and adequacy of income.
• Changes in competitive or philanthropic
  landscape.

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Charter School Governing Board Development 10
Proven Practices
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Proven Practices

• Clearly define roles and responsibilities.
• Align key board processes with strategic plan.
• Just-in-time board orientation.
• Effective meetings Consent agenda and other
  tools.
• Committee effectiveness.

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Proven Practices

• Organizational dashboard.
• Board leadership succession plans.
• Board assessment.
• Board governance committee.
• Incorporate strategic deliberation into every
  board meeting

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1 Clearly Define Roles and Responsibilities

• Clarity re management and governance.
• Written individual board and committee
  descriptions that are current.
• Maintain clarity re board policy and oversight
  functions.
• Ensure that current job description is in place
  for the charter school administrator.

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Board Job Description

• Attend all regular board meetings.
• Serve as an active committee member.
• Support fundraising activities.
• Prepare in advance for board policy and
  decision-making.
• Attend the annual board planning retreat.

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2 Align Key Board Processes With Charter School
Strategic Plan and Contract
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Link Board Recruitment with Strategic Plan

• Review the strategic plan.
• Identify the skills, knowledge and relationships
  needed by the board to advance the strategic
  plan.
• Set clear recruiting priorities.

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Align Committee Structure with Strategic Plan

• Review committee structure as part of strategic
  planning.
• Align committees with plan.
• Leaner is better.
• Use task forces and workgroups in place of
  standing committees.

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3 Just-in-time Board Orientation

• An advance program of orientation and training to
  prepare new board members to hit the ground
  running.
• Focus on the strategic plan.
• Speed up the learning curve.
• Increase confidence and productivity of new board
  members.

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4 Consent Agenda

• Expedites routine business at a board meeting.
• Eliminates the need to vote separately on many of
  the routine items.
• Frees up time to address critical matters.

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5 Committee Effectiveness

• Fewer is better.
• Written committee descriptions.
• Aligned with strategic plan.
• An effective chair.
• Staff support as needed.

• Members thoughtfully appointed.
• Mix of board and non-board members.
• Accountable to the board.
• Well-run meetings.

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Written Committee Descriptions

• Provides direction to committee.
• Linked to strategic plan reflecting critical
  priorities.
• Periodically reviewed for continued relevance.

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An Effective Chair

• Reputation for being consistent and dependable.
• Background knowledge of the charter schools aims
  and the committees functions.
• Hard working.
• Good sense of humor.

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An Effective Chair

• Persuasive.
• Has the confidence of other members.
• Wants to release the potential of the committee.

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Members Thoughtfully Appointed

• What tasks is the committee responsible for?
• Who has the needed skills and knowledge?
• Member-Committee Marketing Match.
• Mix of board and non-board members.

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Board Member Committee Marketing MatchMember
Needs lt-----------gt Committee Offers

• Interests/Needs
• Values/Beliefs
• Goals
• Family
• Dreams
• Skills
• Experience
• Personal Growth

• Mission
• Values/Beliefs
• Responsibilities
• Training
• Organizational Climate
• Challenges
• Limitations

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Accountable to the Board

• Clear direction and expectations for committees.
• Agreement on how and when committees report back
  to the Board.
• Leaders in sync with each other.

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Well-run Meetings

• Meeting agenda in advance.
• Focus on action and results.
• Access to needed information and resources.
• Effective follow up.
• Member recognition.

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Committee Self-Evaluation

• After meetings and annual process.
• Vehicle for two-way communication.
• Plans for corrective action.
• Follow-through.
• Relates to committee recruitment process.

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Annual Committee Board Meeting Calendar

• Fosters attendance and participation.
• Improves decision-making.
• Promotes coordination and increases productivity.

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6 Organizational Dashboard

• Increases effectiveness of board decision-making.
  
• Displays up-to-date information about key
  performance indicators.
• Corrective action can be taken before - not
  during or after - a crisis erupts.

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7 Board Leadership Succession Plans

• Identify critical leadership positions.
• Scout board leadership talent for the future.
• Written plan for fostering and developing future
  board leadership.

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8 Board Assessment

• Periodic assessment of board member and committee
  performance.
• Board meeting feedback form.
• Board follow-through.
• Relate findings to board nominations process.

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9 Board Governance Committee

• Continuous focus on identifying, preparing and
  recruiting future board leaders.
• Plan board education including new member
  orientation, ongoing training and board retreats.
• Assess board, chair, individual directors, and
  board meetings.
• Annually review governance practices and
  recommend changes.

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10 Incorporate Strategic Deliberation Into
Board Meetings

• Use values and vision as the basis for dialogue
  on emerging issues.
• Use vision as frame-work for decision-making.
• Read, listen and look for future trends.
• Provide opportunities to share information at
  board meetings.
• Board development committee in place.
• Conduct board assessment.
• Retreat event to analyze assessment results and
  develop action plan.

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Development of Board, Committee and Member
Action Plans
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Board and Committee Action Plans
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Personal Action Plans

• Actions I will commit to in order to
  increase/sustain my individual level of board
  performance.
• What I would need from the charter school.

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Why Boards Fail
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Why Boards Fail

• Ineffective recruiting process.
• Members lack understanding of the charter school
  and their roles.
• Micro-managing.
• No well-planned rotation of members.
• No way to eliminate non-productive members.

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Why Boards Fail

• Too small.
• No well-planned orientation for new and old
  members.
• No strategic plan.
• No process for assessment.
• No functioning committee structure.

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Where Do You Lead From Here?

• Assess your boards current capacity.
• Commit to plans for board development.
• Involve your board in ongoing strategic planning.

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Evaluation
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