New board members? It’s time for ‘New Beginnings’
Published: September 1, 2011
When a guitar player replaces a broken string, the instrument must be retuned to restore its harmony.
Likewise, a school district or county office of education governance team—consisting of the superintendent and board members—is like a finely tuned instrument that needs regular maintenance.
“The act of playing a guitar pulls the strings out of tune. The same can be true of boards,” explained Christopher Maricle, one of the CSBA consultants who work with local governance teams facilitating a workshop known as “New Beginnings”—just one of CSBA’s consulting services that are tailored to meet a local educational agency’s unique needs.
“Doing the hard work of providing guidance and oversight can make trustees feel as though they are no longer working in harmony,” Maricle explained. “By tuning up regularly by examining their communication practices, the governance team can address concerns that if left unattended could distract the team from focusing on the district’s or county office’s needs.”
Typically, boards will call upon CSBA consultants to administer the New Beginnings workshop when there’s been a major change on the board, such as after hiring a new superintendent or when several board seats have been replaced, but it can be useful at any time.
The purpose of the session, said Maricle, is to help the team create common agreements and develop mutual understanding about their roles and how to communicate and function as a cohesive group.
During the daylong workshop, team members examine their beliefs about unity, role, culture and structure, in facilitated discussions leading to agreements about how the team will conduct the LEA’s business. The work lays a crucial foundation that will help the team survive intense situations.
“The work of the board can be pretty stressful,” Maricle said. “It’s most important for the board to remember that maintaining unity is one of the ways you get through crises.”
Luan Burman Rivera, a past CSBA president, is one of several governance consultants for the association who have helped several LEAs get off to a good start.
“Luan was able to encourage and facilitate deep and significant governance team conversations that otherwise would not have occurred,” said Steven E. Keller, superintendent of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. “She provided a ‘safe discourse space’ that ultimately realized more fruitful relationships and clearer expectations for the entire team.”
John Curry had come on board as superintendent in the Weaver Unified School District just a few months before its governance team participated in New Beginnings.
“The workshop came at a perfect time, as we had gone through the hiring process and had a few months under our belt as a leadership team,” Curry said. “It was good to bring up issues and situations that we had lived through together rather than talk about hypothetical situations.
“The workshop allowed us get together as a new team and get an overview from someone we could rely on. CSBA allowed us to talk about our initial perceptions in regards to the roles, expectations and assumptions.”
Professional development is an investment that pays off in the long run, said Maricle.
“If board members believe that professional development is good for teachers, they should also believe it’s good for the board. LEAs do best when they value the contributions and development of every adult in the agency. So it just makes sense to have a program for examining how well they’re doing as board.”
Easy links:
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CSBA’s Governance Consulting Services
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Testimonials on CSBA’s YouTube channel