On Outreach & Training: Focus and Balance
By Laura Martinez
With so many other things to focus on — coaches, threats, sports, social media posts, AI — how can you possibly concentrate on what you are supposed to be focusing on: Governance?
Rise up out of the mire of the meeting and think about what your focus as a school board member is: ENDS. How often do you talk about your core values and beliefs? How does what students are doing connect to those core values and beliefs? What is the vision of the district? What are your big hopes and dreams for the students and schools that you serve?
These are district identity questions that are unique to every district, and it is the board’s job to answer them.
An individual board member may want special changes to a specific program to benefit their students. But that’s not board work. Board work is about moving forward. Yes, maybe hearing about a program will help move the goal forward. But your focus is the goal, not a program. Think big.
The board’s focus is the big picture, the future, and what’s in the best interest of all students. With only one or two meetings a month, and a board meeting being the only legal place to discuss your work, it’s important to keep that focus during your meetings. Focus on making decisions, on respectful deliberation with fellow board members, on being the stewards of all the great things that are happening in the district. Focus on being informed about progress on district goals, and being able to answer the question, “How do we know?”
One of my favorite metaphors for governance is trying to balance a yardstick in the palm of your hand. If you look at the bottom of the yardstick, where it touches your palm, it’s wobbly, but if you look at the top of the yardstick, it’s much more stable.
Besides the idea of keeping your focus at the top, I like our yardstick for the idea of balance. School board governance is full of things that board members need to thoughtfully consider how to balance: individual passion and what’s best for the district, the board providing input but not directing staff, long-range goals and changing needs of the district, the board being visible without being intrusive, how much information is need-to-know and where it crosses into nice-to-know. One of the most important things to balance is all the programs the district has and wants to have, with the money that the district has to pay for it. In other words, who gets what, for how much?
But how does all this rah-rah-good-governance rhetoric balance with the reality of board work? Fair question. Here’s some practical advice to focus on:
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Determine what you can do individually to prepare for each meeting.
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Figure out how much information you need to know and stay within that amount.
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Schedule events, such as superintendent evaluations and goal-setting conversations on the board’s annual calendar.
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Accept that extra meeting time might be needed to improve the functioning of the board. Schedule a workshop or a board self-evaluation.
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Prioritize the goals the board and district will prioritize this year, or this quarter.
The most important things are to work together as a board, keeping in mind the balances of board work and staff work, and to maintain your focus on the big picture.
Laura Martinez is Director of Outreach & Training with the Illinois Association of School Boards, for the Kishwaukee, Northwest, and Lake divisions.