The Essential School Board Book
The Essential School Board Book

Author: Nancy Walser

Publisher: Harvard Education Press

Published: 2009-10-01

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 161250048X

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2009 Notable Education Book, American School Board Journal The Essential School Board Book highlights effective practices that are common to high-functioning boards around the country—boards that are working successfully with their superintendents and communities to improve teaching and learning. Amid today’s heightened attention on student achievement, school boards find their responsibilities intensified and transformed. In this age of accountability, all school boards need to consider how best to maintain a focus on student achievement and promote it through district and school policies. In a highly readable and accessible fashion, the book summarizes research linking school board practices to student achievement. It features stories of sixteen diverse boards around the country—elected and appointed; rural, urban, and suburban—and the policies and procedures they have employed to enhance student achievement. Also included is a resource section for those investigating successful school board policies and practices in more depth.

Successful Public Meetings, 2nd ed.
Successful Public Meetings, 2nd ed.

Author: Elaine Cogan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-01-12

Total Pages: 131

ISBN-13: 1134259093

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The author explains why it's essential to begin the preparations by deciding what the meeting is intended to accomplish. That, in turn, determines what kind of meeting you should conduct: informational, advisory, or problem-solving. The author breaks down the essential tasks involved and even suggests the right type of person to handle each one. She describes various types of troublesome meeting attendees-from accusers and apathetics to fence-sitters and know-it-alls-and offers advice on how to deal tactfully but firmly with them all. The author also tackles working effectively with the media, a subject that terrifies most planners. True stories of public meetings, both good and bad, add humor to her no-nonsense narrative. Follow her step-by-step checklist and leave nothing to chance."

Becoming a Better Board Member
Becoming a Better Board Member

Author: National School Boards Association

Publisher:

Published: 1982

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13:

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This guide to effective school board service is a "how-to" manual for school board members. The objective of the book is to condense the time board members need to become more effective school leaders, but it also contains information and advice intended to be helpful to experienced board members. Consisting of 17 chapters, the book is based on personal interviews with and surveys of school board members and school administrators. Included are many checklists, helpful hints, and illustrations designed for easy reading and understanding. The 17 chapters discuss getting on board, learning boardsmanship, board meetings, exercising board leadership, the board as decision maker, and boards and superintendents. Also covered are the board and the district staff, school boards and collective bargaining, the fundamentals of school finance, curriculum, and other matters (including transportation, food services, insurance, declining enrollment, use of facilities, and student discipline). The last three chapters discuss communication techniques, politics and the political process, and a board member's personal life (including time management, stress, and the benefits of board membership). (Author/JM)

Five Habits of High-impact School Boards
Five Habits of High-impact School Boards

Author: Douglas C. Eadie

Publisher: R&L Education

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 9781578861767

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Written from the unique perspective of school board members who lead and serve districts of all sizes, this book provides succinct, straightforward information that school board members and superintendents can put to immediate use. Eadie explores five key behavioral traits of high-impact school boards: - Concentration on governing above all other board work - Development of the board's capacity to govern - Active participation in leading district strategic change - Meticulous attention to keeping the board-superintendent partnership healthy - Active participation in reaching out a wider community Five Habits of High-Impact School Boards provides school board members, superintendents, senior administrators, foundation executives, and graduate students in schools of education, with practical, thoroughly tested guidance for successful governing work and a board-superintendent partnership that is close, productive, and enduring.

Making the Most of Meetings
Making the Most of Meetings

Author: Paula Jorde Bloom

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780962189456

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Meetings are the glue that holds early childhood organizations together. Whether it's a weekly staff meeting, a monthly parent meeting, or an annual board meeting, administrators rely on meetings as the primary vehicle for communicating information, identifying and solving problems, and making new decisions and modifying old one. There is no avoiding it, skill in facilitating meetings is essential for effective program management. This book is filled with practical tips and techniques to help early childhood directors lead more engaging and productive meetings. Making the Most of Meetings will help you craft a well-designed agenda; engage participants in lively, substantive discussions; increase interpersonal understanding; solve problems in a collegial way; build a more productive work team; and increase shared commitment to your center's goals.

Effective School Boards
Effective School Boards

Author: Eugene R. Smoley

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Published: 1999-04-15

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13:

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"An empathetic but hard-hitting book about effective school boardleadership. It should be required reading for superintendents,school board members, and all elected leaders." --Anne L. Bryant, executive director, National School BoardsAssociation "The chances for providing an even better education for studentsincreases geometrically when school boards and superintendents worktogether in common purpose. This book can help build the capacityof boards to support district-level improvement with wisegovernance and leadership." --Paul Houston, executive director, American Association of SchoolAdministrators School boards are under fire and overworked, but they are here tostay. Here is a practical guide to improving their operation.Filled with real-life examples of sound board action, EffectiveSchool Boards presents a useful model for boards who want to make adifference in improving education and leading wisely. In this book,Eugene Smoley analyzes information received from extensiveinterviews with school board members about the key elements ofhighly functional boards and offers advice and insights to helpboards make better decisions, act collaboratively, relate to theircommunities, and plan strategically. He outlines three stages ofboard improvement--self-assessment, monitoring, anddevelopment--highlighting how boards can partner with districtsuperintendents to lead change. Practical tools for improvementinclude a self-evaluation questionnaire, a sample format forretreats and conferences, and concrete suggestions to assist schoolboard members, superintendents, concerned citizens, businessleaders, foundations, and anyone who cares about how today'sschools are governed.

The Nonprofit Board Answer Book
The Nonprofit Board Answer Book

Author: BoardSource

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-12-21

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1118047486

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“Think for a moment of the best conversations you’ve had with friends and colleagues. You were honest with one another—not shy about speaking up but relaxed, even if the topic being discussed was serious in nature. That’s the type of conversation The Nonprofit Board Answer Book aims to have with you in the pages that follow. It follows a question-and-answer format, enabling you to quickly find an answer to a burning question you have right now. At the same time, it’s easy to pick up and read straight through, either cover to cover or one section at a time. At the end of each question-and-answer pairing you’ll find suggested action steps. These offer ways to put the information to a practical use on your own board and within your own nonprofit organization. Implementing some of these steps may lead to more questions as you become even more committed to fulfilling your responsibilities as a board member. Remember: behind every good answer lies a good question. So keep asking those questions.”--from the Introduction