BOARD SERVICES
Enhance Your Board Experience Through Training and Continuous Education Opportunities
Board members encounter many challenges as they tackle the duties and responsibilities presented by their roles. Whether the goal is to ease the transition from private citizen to public board member or assure that the board is continually improving its service to the community, it can be accomplished by taking advantage of various training and continuous education opportunities offered by ISBA.
Most of ISBA’s workshops and services are available to board members at no additional cost. These activities and services include:
Board Self-Assessments
Annual self-assessment evaluations are critical to maintaining the board’s internal health. Assessing the board’s perspective of its effectiveness and importance of its service assists the board to identify areas where improvement will enhance the value of services rendered.
Effective Governance
Whether you are a young board, or a seasoned board, a review of effective governance is always in order to learn what to avoid and how to focus on what is important. This presentation and workshop is primarily beneficial for newer members and boards that need a refresher in the purpose of school governance.
Conflict Resolution
Are there seemingly insurmountable conflicts between members of the board that threaten to undermine the board’s ability to perform its duties and responsibilities? Is the Board/Superintendent relationship undefined or not as effective as it could be? Do you have board members that are not working within appropriate channels and processes? If any of these are true, it is time to address the issues that will enable the board and superintendent to refocus their attention on their respective roles and responsibilities. The key to conflict resolution is a safe environment from which to discuss differences with a focus on effective governance.
Planning Effective Board Meetings
Are board meetings productive? Is the board focusing on the right things? Effective board meetings are the result of intentional planning and effective execution. Learn how to build and focus the agenda on the important aspect areas of board involvement, keeping out of management minutiae and addressing the more global issues of the school corporation and public education.
Board/Superintendent Relations
The most important relationship in school governance is between the school board and the superintendent. The Board/Superintendent Relations workshop focuses on that relationship, how to establish it and then maintain it. This session also includes discussions of the importance of the formal superintendent’s annual evaluation.
Goal Setting
Boards need goals, but more importantly, boards need to realize their importance in the goal-setting activity. Working with boards, boards and administrative teams, or boards, administrative teams, and community members, this retreat focuses on the crucial, foundational steps in goal setting.
Superintendent Evaluation Process
An annual superintendent’s evaluation must be more than a perfunctory exercise, if it is to be a meaningful, productive analysis that is geared towards continuous improvement. This workshop stresses the involvement of both the school board and superintendent to build the evaluation instrument.
Developing Values/Beliefs, Mission and Vision Statements (Fee-based service)
The values and beliefs, mission, and vision of a school corporation is vital to the focus of the school board, administration, and staff. Beginning with the identification of corporate values and beliefs regarding education, the board, working in concert with the administrative team, develops or refines a corporate mission, or purpose for being, followed by the development of the vision, or desirable, future state of the corporation. These series of sessions guide boards as they wrestle with the important, critical concepts necessary to define and adopt corporate goals. This fee-based service is available for $175 per session (a typical foundational statement process requires four sessions that includes goal-setting).
Superintendent Search Process (Fee-based service)
Selecting a superintendent is the most important responsibility of every school board. However, assuring that the school board attracts and selects the best candidate can be an overwhelming task. ISBA can help make that process easier by providing boards a systematic search and selection process and acting in an advisory capacity to provide guidance and answer questions as boards move through the process. Additionally, ISBA’s competitive fee-based services are available to assist boards to manage and facilitate the search process, without compromising the board’s role in the interview and selection process. Beyond ISBA’s flat-fee package of standard services, there are a number of other services available to further assist and facilitate the process if needed.
Most of ISBA’s workshops and services are available to board members at no additional cost. These activities and services include:
Board Self-Assessments
Annual self-assessment evaluations are critical to maintaining the board’s internal health. Assessing the board’s perspective of its effectiveness and importance of its service assists the board to identify areas where improvement will enhance the value of services rendered.
Effective Governance
Whether you are a young board, or a seasoned board, a review of effective governance is always in order to learn what to avoid and how to focus on what is important. This presentation and workshop is primarily beneficial for newer members and boards that need a refresher in the purpose of school governance.
Conflict Resolution
Are there seemingly insurmountable conflicts between members of the board that threaten to undermine the board’s ability to perform its duties and responsibilities? Is the Board/Superintendent relationship undefined or not as effective as it could be? Do you have board members that are not working within appropriate channels and processes? If any of these are true, it is time to address the issues that will enable the board and superintendent to refocus their attention on their respective roles and responsibilities. The key to conflict resolution is a safe environment from which to discuss differences with a focus on effective governance.
Planning Effective Board Meetings
Are board meetings productive? Is the board focusing on the right things? Effective board meetings are the result of intentional planning and effective execution. Learn how to build and focus the agenda on the important aspect areas of board involvement, keeping out of management minutiae and addressing the more global issues of the school corporation and public education.
Board/Superintendent Relations
The most important relationship in school governance is between the school board and the superintendent. The Board/Superintendent Relations workshop focuses on that relationship, how to establish it and then maintain it. This session also includes discussions of the importance of the formal superintendent’s annual evaluation.
Goal Setting
Boards need goals, but more importantly, boards need to realize their importance in the goal-setting activity. Working with boards, boards and administrative teams, or boards, administrative teams, and community members, this retreat focuses on the crucial, foundational steps in goal setting.
Superintendent Evaluation Process
An annual superintendent’s evaluation must be more than a perfunctory exercise, if it is to be a meaningful, productive analysis that is geared towards continuous improvement. This workshop stresses the involvement of both the school board and superintendent to build the evaluation instrument.
Developing Values/Beliefs, Mission and Vision Statements (Fee-based service)
The values and beliefs, mission, and vision of a school corporation is vital to the focus of the school board, administration, and staff. Beginning with the identification of corporate values and beliefs regarding education, the board, working in concert with the administrative team, develops or refines a corporate mission, or purpose for being, followed by the development of the vision, or desirable, future state of the corporation. These series of sessions guide boards as they wrestle with the important, critical concepts necessary to define and adopt corporate goals. This fee-based service is available for $175 per session (a typical foundational statement process requires four sessions that includes goal-setting).
Superintendent Search Process (Fee-based service)
Selecting a superintendent is the most important responsibility of every school board. However, assuring that the school board attracts and selects the best candidate can be an overwhelming task. ISBA can help make that process easier by providing boards a systematic search and selection process and acting in an advisory capacity to provide guidance and answer questions as boards move through the process. Additionally, ISBA’s competitive fee-based services are available to assist boards to manage and facilitate the search process, without compromising the board’s role in the interview and selection process. Beyond ISBA’s flat-fee package of standard services, there are a number of other services available to further assist and facilitate the process if needed.
For further information contact:
Michael T. Adamson, Director of Board Services
Phone: (317) 229-3270
Email: madamson@isba-ind.org
Michael T. Adamson, Director of Board Services
Phone: (317) 229-3270
Email: madamson@isba-ind.org
