How to tell whether a Board of Ed is any good . . .

I would say I know a little about a lot of things, a lot about only a few things. I do know a little about education, for example; but have made it my business to know more about boards of education and what makes them effective, or not. The Wharton Board is the fourth one I've served on, but in my time working for NJ School Boards Association I provided services to about eighty boards of ed in northern NJ, intended to make them more successful in their efforts to improve student achievement.

Going to board meetings and expecting to know what the board is doing can be overwhelming; I would say most boards prefer it that way, or go so far as to make it that way. If you find yourself asking "When do they discuss the issues and make decisions?" . . . . well, it's not supposed to be that way.

Here is what board transparency looks like. As of today, the top of the list of news items on the Randolph Schools website indicates "BOE to Host Special Budget Presentation March 20." If you click on that, you can follow the links to details: 

For up-to-date information about the tentative budget, scheduled for BOE approval on March 27, please visit this link.

This link takes you to a page that lists committee meetings and invites the public to attend!  This is where most board decisions are made, to be formally approved by the full board.

By the way, the Wharton Board's public budget presentation is this coming Thursday night, March 21 at 6 PM.

If you've been attending board meetings and can't get a read on what your board knows or doesn't know, here are some questions to ask that should give you an idea:

1. What are the board's current goals for the district?  Ideally, there will only be three or four; they should be measurable, but good goals might also appear to be broad or even vague.  This is because the board, working with the administration, have come to agreement on exactly what they want.  Action Plans created by the superintendent are what he or she is being held accountable to.

Grades for the board:  

They have no goals, or don't know what they are:  F 

They have to ask the superintendent:  C

They can recite the goals, or have them on hand, or have published them:  A+ 

2. How many of our kids are succeeding at their grade level?  Not an easy question; maybe not even a fair question.  Which grade?  By which measure?  But there should be enough familiarity with the measures that the board has chosen to track that they should be able to answer.  
3. What is the area of student learning most in need of improvement?  Related to the goals.  There should be one or two answers that the board has agreed on that need the most immediate attention.
4. What is being done to address these needs?  How do we know if we are getting better?  The board determines what needs to be done (goals), the superintendent is responsible for how they are achieved.  The board should be getting regular updates on progress toward goals.

Note: If you see board members looking over at the superintendent, the board gets an F !

If you really want to have fun, ask these same questions of each board member individually when you see them.  Are they a deer in the headlights?  How many different answers do you get?

Now in all fairness, every board has members who are at different levels of engagement with district reality.  You have

• At least one board member who rarely attends meetings; when they do they make a few intelligent comments, then you don't see them for another few weeks.
• Board members who can tell you everything there is to know about their own kids' classes.  They will serve long enough to hand their youngest child a diploma, then you won't see them again.
• Hangers-on: they like the attention being on the board brings them.  They have little to offer, other than a few jokes with their friends.

Hopefully there are a few members there to ask questions, set goals, and hold people accountable.

So if you're about to give up on going to board meetings because nothing interesting ever happens, bring your questions and watch the reactions!