Leading with Vision: Insights from Successful School Board Presidents
By Kara Coglianese, Ed.D.
The role of a school board president is multifaceted, particularly in a complex and interactive environment. They are responsible for guiding the district, engaging the community, and ensuring transparent communication. However, this role comes with challenges, such as managing board dynamics and meeting community expectations.
For board members looking to excel in this significant role, valuable lessons can be learned from the experiences of successful school board presidents. By hearing their insights into establishing board collaboration, recommendations for professional development, and how to engage the community for succession planning, school board presidents can confidently lead their teams.
Characteristics of an Effective Board President
When school board members evaluate their effectiveness, the discussion invariably centers on one crucial element: quality of leadership, particularly that of the school board president. This leader must embody a compelling vision that fosters a culture of collaboration among board members, invest in board training and development, and, most importantly, prioritize community engagement and succession planning. This engagement is not just a strategy but a fundamental part of the board’s mission, making each community member an integral part of its success and future.
Three effective board presidents were interviewed to understand how they use specific strategies with their boards. Interviewees were Phil Pritzker, who has served on the board of Wheeling CCSD 21 for 35 years, Terrie Golwitzer, a 24-year veteran of Bradley SD 61, and Maurice Brown, who has been on the board of Crete-Monee CUSD 201U for 13 years.
Each president shared successful experiences, highlighting unique perspectives they bring to the table due to the diversity in their communities. This diversity ensures that board members from different districts can gain valuable insights from their experiences.
Building a Collaborative Culture Through Engagement
It is essential to establish an environment at the board table where all members feel their voices are heard while preserving the role of a board member to act as one voice when all is said and done. Each board president recognizes that, as issues are discussed, it is essential to ensure all board members have an opportunity to share their perspectives.
Golwitzer shared that when she notices one person not participating, she takes note and asks them questions, such as, “Mary, can you live with that decision?” She explained, “It is a way to allow them to weigh in so they don’t feel marginalized.”
Brown’s approach is to let his board members speak first and share their thoughts on a matter before he asks questions or voices his opinion. “I believe it’s crucial to wait and allow everyone to talk first so that my opinion influences no one. This way, I can ensure everyone has had time to think about what they want to say.” He seeks consensus from each person to ensure they are comfortable with the decision before moving for a vote.
Pritzker shared additional insights on why he spends time getting to know each board member individually. “I work to get to know each board member’s ‘hot buttons’ on particular matters in a meeting so I can ensure everyone gets a chance to speak publicly on it.” He allows the whole board to speak and then decides when he needs to intervene to “clean up the discussion” and move it forward. All three board presidents work diligently to allow each board member an opportunity to be visible and engage in meaningful discussions.
Investing in Board Professional Development
Prioritizing ongoing professional development as a group in governance, advocacy, and executive coaching allows school boards to engage with each other and develop shared understandings of their work. Golwitzer believes the success of the Bradley SD 61 board is because the members conduct all training together as a group. “We stay as a group and learn everything together at the same time. For this reason, we have never argued at the table because we have a common understanding on most issues.”
Though Wheeling CCSD 21 and Crete-Monee CUSD 201U boards also participate in most of their training together, they participate individually in workshops, online training, and local and national conferences. Pritzker has pursued continuing education by becoming involved at local and state levels. He served as IASB’s North Cook Division chair for 12 years and held a two-year term as IASB President after 10 years on the IASB Board of Directors, learning from colleagues across the state. His dedication and commitment to board work earned him the Thomas Lay Burroughs Award for outstanding school board member in Illinois. His value of professional growth, not only for himself but also for his board team, is inspiring.
Understanding Board Governance
Understanding and practicing effective board governance is key to determining a board’s effectiveness. After working as a board president for 11 years, Pritzker emphasizes the importance of board training on governance. He notes that boards need to be clear on their role, “staying on the balcony and not on the dance floor.”
“It is so true,” he added. “If you are on the floor, you get keyed in too tight on specific issues and lose insight from the entire district. The board needs to understand the distinction between ‘staff work,’ which is the responsibility of the administration, and ‘board work,’ which is the responsibility of the board to set policies and oversee the school’s operations.”
Golwitzer echoed this priority, recommending that boards be reminded of this often and that “knowing your place and understanding the hierarchy with the chain of command” helps keep boards on track.
Brown models for his board the importance of following the chain of command. “Community and staff member emails received by the board about staffing issues are always forwarded to the superintendent to alleviate ‘jumping off the balcony and onto the dance floor.’”
Advocacy Training
Board training on how to engage state representatives in advocacy for local districts is vital. Pritzker recommends additional training to foster a board’s active participation in advocacy. Through his work at the state level with IASB, he has gained insight into the importance of knowing state legislators and how the General Assembly works. He added that districts “need a local response at the district level and need to advocate more and believe that they have a voice.”
Brown also recommends boards learn more about accessing state representatives and inviting them to school district events. “As board members, it is up to us to invite our representatives into our schools so they can learn more about what is going on. This allows for more interaction and opportunities for advocacy.”
Executive Leadership Coach Training
Finding executive coaching and mentoring opportunities is another area for professional development for school boards. Coaching and mentoring for new school board presidents and board members offers the benefit of an experienced leader to bounce ideas off and explore effective strategies for leading teams. Newer board presidents could learn from more seasoned presidents about their insights, challenges, and strategies for success. Establishing informal mentoring engagements is essential.
Board presidents may benefit from a more formal coaching opportunity: access to an executive leadership coach. This coach could guide and facilitate reflective dialogue with the board president on strategies for cultivating a cohesive and collaborative team, managing conflicts, and establishing effective working relationships with the district leadership team. “Though for some board presidents, the leadership role may be intuitive, for others, it may be a good idea to offer it,” said Pritzker.
As a newer board president, Brown thought spending time with a coach who worked outside his district would be productive. Golwitzer agreed that this type of customized professional development would be helpful and that she would consider extending a leadership coach to work with her executive board team.
For the board president, there needs to be more training on being an effective leader at the board table, as most training is focused on the team itself and governance. An executive coach could provide reflective coaching based on the individual goals set by the board president on their leadership style. Professional and certified coaches are utilized in the executive C-suite of many business organizations and would benefit board presidents leading districts for more impact.
Community Engagement for Succession Planning: A Call for Active Involvement
Community engagement has been lacking in recent years. As noted by all three board presidents, most school board election seats are non-contested when there is little controversy in the community. For example, most board members in the Wheeling CCSD 21 community have served on the board between 12 and 35 years, and the Bradley SD 61 board has had seats filled with the same members for 10 to 34 years. However, the Crete-Monee CCSD 201U board has had slightly more turnover, with most members serving between two and five years and the most experienced serving upwards of 13 years.
Stability of school board seats leads to stability in the district’s vision, and such districts tend to retain their district superintendents for extended periods. The challenge for several school boards is to determine what type of succession planning is necessary when some of the more veteran board members retire. Who will take the next lead?
In the upcoming election, Pritzker raised this question with his board colleagues: When do you begin thinking about getting some fresh perspectives on the board? How do you recruit the next team when no one is interested in running? Golwitzer concurs that there seems to be a “lack of interest.”
On a positive note, both Pritzker and Golwitzer believe that the community is satisfied with the current boards’ work and does not see a need for change. “If people realize you are listening to everyone and try to come up with a rational response, they say, ‘Okay, I don’t know if I’d do anything different,’” Pritzker said. However, at what point does change need to occur to allow the next person the chance to move the district forward? He believes school boards must start having these conversations and creating plans to effectuate change.
Golwitzer has proactively created a new board member training manual in her district to provide incoming board members with crucial information to onboard them to their new roles. There is so much to learn, so this type of documentation is helpful. It allows board members who may have been reluctant to serve on the board to have more access to information and less trepidation.
Brown believes the key to actively engaging the community in seeking board candidates is to stay active in community projects. For instance, last summer, he worked to connect several key community members to organize the first multi-village and district Juneteenth celebration. He, his superintendent, and several community members from each of the four villages they serve worked to organize this event.
The event collaborated with the district’s Education Foundation, the Crete Runner’s Club, local park districts, local vendors, food trucks, and villages to host a live band and showcase students’ talents within the band, show choir, and JROTC. Community members then stopped by with their families to interact with district personnel and attending board members and listen to testimonials of the positive things happening in the district.
This personal interaction allows time to learn about community members who are interested in learning more about becoming a board member in the future or different ways to become involved through volunteering or mentoring. “I love talking and sharing what is going on in the district with various community members,” said Brown. “It is one of the best parts of being a board president.” Overall, school boards need to find ways to discuss succession planning in their districts and engage their communities for the sustainability of their school boards.
A Call to Action
Having (or being) an effective board president is a critical responsibility of any school board. Building collaborative relationships with each board member allows the board president to understand what is important to them and then facilitate board meetings that enable them to be seen and heard as valued members at the table.
Board presidents need to collaborate with their teams to identify additional training opportunities to instill board governance procedures and examine their own practices for continued success. Each board president may want to consider investing in an executive coach and mentoring resources for themselves and members of their executive team to reflect on their leadership practices as they lead their teams.
Lastly, school boards should begin to discuss and plan how they will recruit future board members to replace long-standing members who may be looking to retire from their positions.
Conclusion
The insights shared by Pritzker, Golwitzer, and Brown offer valuable lessons for all school board presidents. By prioritizing collaboration, continuous learning, and community engagement, board leaders can ensure their districts have the strong leadership required to thrive in today’s ever-changing educational landscape. Investing in board development and fostering a shared responsibility will benefit students, educators, and the school community.