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School Board Governance Principle Number One - by Deb Etzel, President District 220 Board of Education Nationally, school boards have a professional
association they can belong to. It
is the National Association of School Boards and in Illinois, it is the Illinois
Association of School Boards or IASB. This organization assists boards in
understanding their role and duties, supplying policy language to meet federal
and state law, and guiding all the boards in the state in the same general
direction. It is from this organization that the six foundational principles of
effective governance I mentioned in my last column are derived. The six principles are:
The first principle, The Board Clarifies the District Purpose, means that the board is
charged with defining and communicating the district outcomes to answer the
recurring question – who gets what benefits at what cost? The board is
responsible for expressing the outcome statements but the board does not create
them in a vacuum. This definition of outcomes must reflect the community the
board serves. The board needs to listen to its community (including the district
staff) and observe how that community acts and then craft the appropriate
message. If this is done well, the entire organization is provided with a clear
direction and every part of it is aligned with those outcomes. A well built
message allows the board to monitor performance and hold the organization
accountable. In 2001, our community began work on the process to
define these outcomes. It started with a Vision Statement that community members
on the Strategic Planning Committee created and has progressed to a solid,
working strategic plan. With that plan in place it is easier for our board to
ensure that the district purpose is clarified. Having a plan also helps to
guarantee that the decisions we make are based on the underlying principles of
the community and are intended to move us in the direction set out in our Vision
Statement. If you are unfamiliar
with our current plan, I hope you will take the time to review it on the
internet at http://www.cusd220.lake.k12.il.us
and to communicate any further thoughts you might have to either the
administration or a board member. |
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This page was updated on 05/22/2007 |