School Committee Professional Development
A program that aligns the policy
development role of school committee
members with the district’s goals of
improved student achievement.
Links to
Content:
Demonstration Site:
South
Kingstown School District
Target Population:
The School Committee, including current and future members
Need and Intent:
In the face of expanding responsibility for the success of all
students, the South Kingstown School Committee recognized the
need for it to examine and redesign its leadership role in the
school system. This included the role of policy development
relative to student achievement and the organization of the
School Committee and its work in promoting student achievement.
The program purpose was for the School Committee to examine
how it is organized and conducts its work; to create an organizational
structure and implementation that focus on goals and policies
for student success; and to provide the development and support
necessary to the School Committee to achieve this purpose.
Background:
In November 2004, three newly elected members took their seat
at the school committee table. This new school committee struggled
through an arduous first six months advocating community support
for the 2005–2006 school department budget while at the
same time making the tough decision to close an elementary school.
In the following months, all committee members engaged in facilitated
work sessions to identify specific goals for the next year.
In September 2005, the committee shared its four goals with
the public: 1) Establish Full Day Kindergarten; 2) Establish
the Success of All High School Students; 3) Examine Alternative
Elementary Structures and Systems; 4) Establish Accountability
Structures and Systems.
The school committee followed through on its goals. The 2006-2007
adopted budget includes All Day K and program components to
support the success of all high school students. There is an
accountability subcommittee charged with the responsibility
to develop a system for school district performance oversight
and evaluation. In addition, there is a professional development
subcommittee in place that will interact with the accountability
subcommittee to create sustainable structures that insure high-level
leadership and governance.
The school committee’s actions to date substantiate its
commitment to improve student achievement outcomes and efficiency
of the South Kingstown District.
Recognizing that one does NOT become omniscient upon election
to school committee and recognizing that omniscience remains
elusive even with experience, the South Kingstown School Committee
agreed that it is a responsible action to develop a professional
development system.
Implementation Process:
In September 2005, the school committee
approved a bylaw revision that authorized a subcommittee to
design, initiate, and evaluate a professional development system.
The overall purpose is to insure that school committee members
develop and improve their knowledge, skills, and abilities to
better lead the district and serve the community.
The proposed plan included an induction program for school
committee candidates, an orientation program for newly elected
members, and an investment in ongoing training for veteran members
that included local, regional, state, and national seminars/conferences
and an executive coaching component. The Professional Development
Subcommittee designed the induction program and prepared for
new member orientation.
In order to get started on continuous improvement strategies,
the school committee participated in a self-assessment to identify
professional development priorities. Results of the self-assessment
identified specific improvement objectives, informed training
strategies, and guided the selection of an executive coach.
(Click
here to read the draft coach job description.) The school
committee used the self-assessment tools in Leading
Change: The Case for Continuous Improvement.
Click
here to view the data analysis.
Concurrently, the school committee created an Accountability
Subcommittee charged with the task of district oversight. The
expectation is that both subcommittees will interact in a manner
where the actions of one subcommittee will influence the other.
Ultimately, the work of the subcommittees will provide a sustainable
structure for high-level leadership and governance for the betterment
of the school district.
TIMELINE:
- School Committee goal setting (March, 2005 to May, 2005)
The convened group was the school committee with all sessions
open to the public and several community members participating
at some sessions.
- Bylaw revision (May, 2005 to September 2005) The school
committee developed
revised
bylaws to align its authority and actions with the state’s
accountability framework. The revised bylaws implemented
a new policy process, established a school committee development
process with a standing professional development subcommittee.
This work was led by the Communications Subcommittee and acted
upon by the entire committee.
- Accountability Subcommittee established (November, 2005)
To complement the work of the Professional Development Subcommittee,
the school committee established an Accountability Subcommittee
to create a structure by which the committee was able to measure
the effectiveness of the school district and the committee’s
work.
Click
here to read the Accountability Subcommittee role description
and additional information.
- Policy Revision (September, 2005 – ongoing) The committee
completed phase one of its policy work that included eliminating
out-of-date policies that went back to the 1950’s and
creating a policy framework that is organized along state
accountability areas. Current work includes identifying
policies for updating and development and linking policy work
to student achievement and goals.
- Subcommittee charges and work plans developed (November,
2005 – ongoing) The subcommittees began work on their
charges and work plans. The
Professional
Development Subcommittee issued its first report in February
2006 and the
Accountability
Subcommittee issued its first report in March 2006.
Tips for Implementation:
- The initial goal setting work was very time consuming and
difficult. It is hard for a group of seven elected individuals
to develop a process to speak with a single voice. When the
school committee was able to narrow its focus on a specific
list of student-centered goals, it started to come together.
- Group trust and working relationships established in the
goals setting process enabled the school committee to be able
to move forward with bylaw development. The bylaws were seen
as the opportunity to frame how the school committee should
function and to reflect a consensus of same. The establishment
of the two subcommittees was intended to make “form
follow function.”
- Several obstacles emerged during the project including
public skepticism of the school committee working differently,
evident in a newspaper account of the creation of a job description
for a “coach” to support the ongoing work. This
highlighted the need to include public communication to create
awareness of the school committee’s goals and work plan.
- The importance of continuity cannot be overstated. The School
Committee recognizes that any gains are up for grabs at the
next election and building a commitment to policy-based improvement
takes time and consistency. To that end, the School Committee
sought to create structures that support continuity, such
as bylaws, standing subcommittees, and a professional development
process.
- Developing an understanding of the role of the School Committee
in district improvement would also be supportive of success.
The South Kingstown School Committee used the Key
Work framework published by the National
School Boards Association and the state
accountability framework as guideposts while recognizing
the need to improve its own performance. They also worked
through the balance between representing interests and representing
the district’s students as a whole.
- This project still needs a system to support incoming School
Committee chairs and members in both meeting management and
group systems. A likely model can be found in non-profit boards
and a next step for South Kingstown is to look for help in
this area.
Program Components and Materials:
Contact for More Information:
Name: Robert Hicks
Job Title: Superintendent
Role in Project: Coordinator
Phone: (401) 360-1300
E-mail: rhicks@skschools.net
Address: 307 Curtis Corner Rd., Wakefield, RI 02879