The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools supports and lobbies for charter schools at the state and federal levels. The organization’s latest annual report indicates that more than three million students now attend public charter schools. That’s nearly three times the student population of a decade ago. There are now more than 6,900 charter schools in the United States. Clearly there has been demonstrated growth in that sector.
Foster Board Objectivity—Avoid Subjectivity
Trustees are human beings, and from a strategic viewpoint, human nature can impede or disrupt a Board’s key functions. One term that captures much of this problematic dimension of human nature is subjectivity.
For Board members, subjectivity may lead to an overlying personalized way of seeing organizational purpose, envisioning the school’s future, and determining planning priorities. Subjectivity can easily undermine the strategic thinking needed to preserve school mission, ensure organizational stability, and lead a school into the future. Increases in tension or anxiety on the Board may contribute to increased subjectivity.
The Strategic Board Assessment II
ISM has completed a two-year analysis of the relationship between ISM’s long-established Strategic Board Assessment instrument and the six ISM Stability Markers® that are largely determined and driven by Board decisions and policies. We now offer this update and revision of the original instrument. With one exception, the items are the same as in the first iteration, but the scoring of the instrument has been altered dramatically so that Board leaders can prioritize and focus structure and function with more precision.
ISM’s Success Predictors: Update and Revision, Part Two
In the previous issue of I&P, we offered Part One of our first update and revision of the ISM Success Predictors—not to be confused with the ISM Stability Markers®—which represent ISM’s deliberately considered speculation about what will be needed in private-independent schools as they adjust to the always-changing technological, educational, and cultural milieu in which they move. The ISM Success Predictors, unlike the ISM Stability Markers, are not evidence-driven in the same way, i.e., are not conclusions from data analysis. Since evidence of efficacy is impossible to gather before widespread use, readers should understand that the ISM Success Predictors are forecasts—not conclusions from data—of what ISM expects to be needed to achieve long-term success in the private-independent school marketplace.
Preserve Your Board’s Strategic ‘Memory’
One way to ensure strategic continuity at your school is to preserve Board memory—to learn and grow from your history. Your school’s strategic “history” provides both constraints and opportunities for its strategic future. As Board President, you should consider a formal review of the quality of your existing historical portrait, take steps to reorganize that portrait if needed, and elevate the quality of your school’s organizational “Board memory.” Consider the following four key steps.
The Influx of New Teachers
Public schools around the nation are experiencing a higher percentage of new teachers. According to data from the Department of Education, 12% of all public school teachers are in their first or second year of teaching—in some states, more than 15%. This “greening trend” in teaching has been noticeable and well-researched over the past two decades.
Essential Expectations of the Board President
ISM has, in the past, provided counsel about those basic observable behaviors that underlay the Head’s strategic goals in and through the support and evaluation process. In this companion article, we consider the position of the Board President.
It is, of course, true that the Board President is a volunteer and not a paid employee of the school. At the same time, the Board President’s position is a key strategic function. And the partnership of the Board President and the School Head is the key strategic partnership in the school.
Parent and Trustee? Tread Carefully!
You’re at the grocery store, in the park, or at church. Another parent from your child’s school walks up and says, “What do you think of the way the Board is handling the dress code issue?”
Of course, as a tuition-paying parent, you have an opinion. Your first thought is to respond, “It’s really disappointing. I can’t imagine what’s gotten into them!” However, you’ve just become a Board member. Now what?
Should You Waive Bylaws to Keep Wealthy Trustees on the Board?
The Chair of the Committee on Trustees has proposed expanding the Board by asking several wealthy members to continue their terms indefinitely. The goal is to “keep them actively involved with the school.” However, the Board’s bylaws specify that, at the end two consecutive terms, a Board member must sit out for one year.
The Chair believes that having these Trustees directly involved as Board members is critical. The school plans to kick off the silent phase of a multimillion-dollar capital campaign this school year, and the strategic plan calls for another campaign four years later. Keeping them on the Board is bound to yield larger gifts, she feels.
Your Board’s Key Documents: Do You Know Where They Are?
As Chair of your Board’s Committee on Trustees (COT), consider the ease—or difficulty—with which you would be able, if asked, to put your hands on the array of documents that are critical to the history, ongoing life, and future of your school’s governing body. A standard array of such documents could be placed into the categories of:
standing documents,
pre-planning documents,
primary strategic documents,
secondary strategic documents,
facilitative documents, and
archives.