Historically, evaluation of the Board of Trustees has been either (a) nonexistent or (b) poorly performed with a generic instrument designed for use by any nonprofit entity. If the results were used at all, they formed the basis for a discussion at an annual retreat session, often with little or no action afterward. ISM recommends that the responsibility for Board evaluation at a private-independent school be lodged with the Committee on Trustees. This Board committee is responsible for determining the composition of the Board; its structure and function become the Board’s chief means for establishing the long-term success of the school.
Ideally, the Committee on Trustees blends two ingredients within its annual Board evaluation cycle: (1) Board self-evaluation and (2) assessment of the Board’s productivity and professionalism.
To accomplish the first, the committee presides over a twice-yearly administration of ISM’s Strategic Board Evaluation™ (SBE) instrument. To accomplish the second, the committee “grades” the Board’s progress concerning the objectives in the annual Board agenda (crafted by the Board President and/or the Executive Committee in preparation for the formation of the Board committees).
The Board self-evaluation is grounded in the Strategic Board Evaluation questionnaire, which is designed to be completed in a regular Board meeting. ISM recommends May or December administration of this instrument. Following this exercise, the Committee on Trustees meets to tabulate the results, determine the overall score, and attend to those items on which the Board’s self-score was lowest. These low-scored items form the basis for the committee’s Board development plan—a subset of the strategic plan. The Board development plan will be designed to increase the Board’s self-score.
The Committee on Trustee assessment of the Board’s productivity and professionalism builds on the premise that the President/Executive Committee annually selects from the strategic plan those items which, in the coming year, are the Board’s responsibility to implement. In preparation for full-Board meetings in spring and winter, the Committee on Trustees systematically examines the Board’s progress against the objectives articulated the previous summer in the annual Board agenda. Twice a year, the Committee on Trustees should also review the performance—the “professionalism”—of individual Board members. (This derives from the “due diligence” item in the Strategic Board Evaluation instrument.) At times, this review results in a memo of commendation to individuals whose performance and dedication have been exemplary. At other times, this review may result in a conversation with the President and a subsequent meeting with a problem Trustee.
A proper evaluation system is essential for Board growth and success, and the Committee on Trustees is clearly the Board unit responsible for carrying this out. If your evaluation process is nonexistent or poorly administered, now is the time to adopt an evaluation process that will enhance your Board—and ultimately improve your school.
Additional ISM resources of interest
ISM Monthy Update for Trustees Vol. 9 No. 8 Objectivity and the Board
ISM Monthly Update for Trustees Vol. 10 No. 7 Strategic Planning Detours
Additional ISM resources of interest for Consortium Gold members
I&P Vol. 31 No.1 Board Evaluation and the Nature of the Committee on Trustees
I&P Vol. 31 No. 12 Contents of a Board Handbook: A Checklist
