Board Development

Board of School Trustees Self-Assessment Introduction 

There is more to being a responsible member of the Board of School Trustees than winning elections, attending meetings and showing interest in educational matters.

 A school board’s function is to make decisions – decisions which represent public policy in that school corporation and have the force of law.  No one knows everything about all aspects of school operations.  The best school corporations show teamwork in decision-making which also is sensitive to many elements – the community, the professional staff and various branches of government – which share responsibility for public education. 

This means that the first challenge facing a school board member is to learn more about his or her role in the decision-making process.  It also means that a vital function of the ISBA is to help and encourage a school board member to analyze and evaluate his or her role in the decision-making process.  In carrying out this function, the ISBA provides a mechanism for an appraisal of how well a board does its job. 

This self-assessment can be used for the purpose of: 

            1.            Identifying the needs of boards and board members.
            2.            Analyzing board decision-making procedures.
            3.            Gathering perceptions of board members.
            4.            Initiating dialogue among board members.
            5.            Assisting in the planning for board development/in-service/retreat 

                            sessions.

The instrument provided on this web page may be used by a board to assess how well it is measuring up to a set of criteria.  After the instrument is completed and summarized, if the board wishes to have it processed and interpreted by an ISBA staff member, please contact the ISBA office.

The survey is in Adobe Acrobat format which will enable you to print it in its exact format.

Click Here to open the assessment.

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