Superintendent's Honey-Do List

There is evidence that efforts to develop best practices are being entertained in PDC however from other conversations with their superintendent it is apparent that it is the other board members that have difficulty getting on board.  The fact the president is attending the WASB conferences and attempting to bring back information and practices is encouraging.   In the assigned reading it is not so much a book of definition, but instead a book of painting a picture.  Painting a picture (Board Governance) with each brush stroke (best practices).  This analogy can be further understood when you think of an artist painting a scenic picture (applying board governance) as compared to someone throwing random paint splatters on a canvas (traditional lack of governance).  It is difficult to determine what you're going to come up with in the end. Thank you to Board President, Christiner Panka for her time and effort to give us such great insight. Interview via Goog...

supeshoneydolist.blogspot.com When I interviewed my superintendent I got more of a list of tasks throughout the year as opposed to a monthly list.  He honed in on finances.  From previous conversations I was able to fill in a number of unknowns.  As my superintendent has moved on to greener pastures I am left to analyze the information received and extrapolate my own set of to-dos from his information. I also posed the question to Jarred Burke, Richland Center Superintendent and he also echoed the yearly to-do list as apposed to a monthly list.  He also has a calendar in which their list is transcribed so they do not miss any important due dates. From the two superintendents I would extract the following monthly list which would consist of the following but not limited to: Communicate with school board president Finance Manager-Update on finances, bills paid, deposits update, expenditures, balance update, approve expenditures as needed. Administrative meet...

If you read my blog on Boards That Matter, you will realize I mistakenly read that book and so was planning on just the first chapter of Community ...my bad.  After realizing my mistake and admitting my oversight I started reading and tried to skim read and get the basic concepts so I can form a credible response to "What are your takeaways?" I have spent a good portion of my career searching for community, not A community, but instead the thought of community.  The concept that you belong in a group of individual people, families, businesses, and various groups with the understanding that you belong, and they belong.  In the chapter on Community Restoration the author talks about "Community as a Conversation."  During that piece there is the story of Portland Oregon, and how "Portlanders Love Portland" as a conversation.  When people talk about something, or some place, they can create reality.  My mother always said, "You're a good boy,"...

Well, where do I start...I actually screwed up and read the whole book on Boards That Matter instead of the Community book the first week.  I thought Brad was playing a bad joke on us.  Guess the joke's on me! I have attended many board meetings in several school districts with the most recent being in Ithaca.  I can honestly say I have no idea what "Governance" model Ithaca uses.  I can say they fit the bill to many characteristics that are mentioned in the book in numerous chapters of what NOT to do. What I found was that the meetings I have attended here in Ithaca are stereotypical of the boards that DO NOT follow either Coherent or Policy Governance.  That being said, if I was asked which way the Ithaca Board tips in relation to a governance model I would have to say it would be Coherent Governance because of the types of policies it engulfs: Results, Operational Expectations, Board-CEO Relations, and Governance Culture.  While the board does not f...

A school district's vision can be a beacon of focus or a statement left on the shelf to rot and not be used.  Fran Finco, Onalaska School District Superintendent stated all of their decisions are focused on their vision and mission.  "Where do they want to go and how are they going to get there"  The vision is the "Where do we want to go?" Updating a vision statement can be as simple as rewriting the vision without collaborating with others...(not recommended).  Or involving all of the stakeholders in a school community, as recommended, will leave you with a vision of the community, as opposed to that of the individual. When asked what didn't work, outgoing superintendent, Ithaca School District Superintendent, Bob Smudde stated, "The district's vision and my vision were not the same."  This is an interesting statement as both visions can have great value and be good for education and kids but won't gain traction if they are not the sam...