From the Field
Monitoring: How Will You Know When You Get There?
By Reatha OwenIASB’s Foundational Principles of Effective Governance state that the school board sits in trust for the community, and that trustee role includes fundamental responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is monitoring performance, which in practice involves three of the six principles. Further, all six principles are connected and essential in building an effective governance team.
Foundational Principle 1 states that the board’s primary task is to continually define, articulate, and re-define district ends (values/beliefs, mission, vision, and goals). Effective ends development requires attention to at least two key concerns, the first being Organizational Effectiveness which includes budget, facilities, finance, etc., and the second is Student Learning, because we are talking about schools, students, and education.
When boards identify district ends, they provide the entire system with clarity of purpose and direction. A clear direction is vital, because if you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? This is the essence of monitoring. As governance experts John and Mariam Carver state, “If you haven’t said how it ought to be, don’t ask how it is.”
What should the board monitor?
Foundational Principle 5 states that “The board monitors performance.” IASB defines this principle as “The board constantly monitors progress toward district ends and compliance with written board policies using data as the basis for assessment.” The role of the board in monitoring performance has four main areas of consideration:
- Organization Effectiveness
- Student Learning
- Board Policy
- Board Effectiveness
- Organizational Effectiveness
Setting district goals and direction allows the board to state what it wants and be able to ask monitoring questions, the answers to which determine how well the district is moving in that direction and towards those goals. Monitoring district goals should be a continuous process, with a connection to board agendas, and be used to guide board discussion by asking “is this connected to the goals and direction we have set for the district?” If not, the board is advised to refocus on established goals. Monitoring all goals should be completed annually, allowing time to review current goals, make any revisions, or add new ones.
Student Learning
The board uses data as a basis for monitoring student learning. Monitoring student learning is an ongoing process focusing on performance, accountability, and continuous improvement. The constructive use of data is key and should be put into a format that is easily understandable by the board. Using disaggregated data breaks down the data into the district’s subgroups or demographics to compare how the different groups are doing. This allows the board to look at data through an equity lens to make sure that every student has access to the educational resources and rigor they need at the right moment in their education.
Student learning can be measured at different levels.
- Standards – These can be local, state, or national. Did we make it? How close were we? How far do we have to go?
- Self – Are we closer than we were the last time (last month or last year — depending on the assessment)? Are we moving forward, holding steady, or moving backward?
- Others – How do we compare to others in our state or across the nation?
- When student data is understandable, it becomes information. When the information is used to guide the board’s decision, it becomes knowledge.
There are legal parameters set by federal and state law and regulations. The Illinois state legislature has empowered school boards to adopt policies that have the force and effect of law that address the parameters necessary for the district’s legal compliance.
It is through policy that the board establishes and communicates its priorities, expectations, and direction. The board policy manual can serve as the tool by which the board and district establish commitments to community and stakeholders — that is, what the board promises in terms of what the district will accomplish (student learning) and the operational parameters within which the district will work (operational effectiveness).
Monitoring board policy is an integral part of seeking continuous improvement intended to ensure that board policy direction is aligned with district procedures and practices, and to provide the opportunity for course correction where needed. Sometimes board and superintendent conversations may be all that are needed to clarify the board’s intent and provide for future alignment. At other times, the board may want to revise and update its written policy to reflect a new direction, or to more clearly state its current policy.
Written board policy gives voice to the board’s values and expectations at all times. That is why it is critical for the board’s policy to include its values and expectations about district performance, operational parameters and priorities, and even the board’s expectations about its own performance. Which leads to the last monitoring area.
Board Effectiveness
Foundational Principle 6 states that “The board takes responsibility for itself.” IASB defines this principle as the board, collectively and individually, taking full responsibility for board activity and behavior — the work it chooses to do and how it chooses to do the work.
Every board wants to provide quality leadership for the district. A fundamental part of quality is regularly monitoring how the board is doing — in both its work and its processes through an annual board self-evaluation. A board self-evaluation allows the governance team an opportunity to step back and look at itself to critically examine its strengths and weaknesses and identify needed improvement steps. IASB has a variety of tools and options available to assist boards in this important work.
When boards and board members develop a strong commitment to continuously evaluating and improving their practices and procedures, they are able to operate effectively for the district it governs and the community it serves.
Reatha Owen is Senior Field Services Director for the Illinois Association of School Boards for the Blackhawk, Central Illinois Valley, Corn Belt, and Western divisions. Resources associated with this column can be accessed via bit.ly/ND20JRes.