Board Governance: What is it and how it effects you
Green background with words Board Governance and group of people.
At Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco- we believe that access public education is a fundamental right for all children. We are founded on the value that community voice is key to school board governance and community development. As the Board engages in its work around building a healthier governance structure, here are some standards to hold the board accountable for its work with the diverse communities in SF!
According to the California Association of School Boards, Beyond Governance, a research brief, states “Effective boards engage in three kinds of governing activities that are separate but inter-related (Effective boards establish governance commitments, Effective boards adopt practices to increase their effectiveness and Effective boards focus on core governing decisions), and all take place at board meetings. In addition, both in and outside of school board meetings, effective boards engage the community.”
Thus, in 2017, our #BoardWatch program was implemented to assist in serving parents and community as an information broker over social media while also serving to advocate and push on accountability. As a community, the board is accountable to us to implement governance structures that will be effective. While the Superintendent and staff implement programs to promote student achievement, learning and wellbeing the board itself needs to be held to clear accountability standards to ensure that they are providing the judiciary oversight needed on a policy level for the local educational agency-SFUSD.
As a community member, here are some areas to consider as you assess the board's effectiveness.
Beyond Governance states:
“Effective boards establish governance commitments, adopt practices to increase their effectiveness, focus on core governing decisions and engage the community by
Build and sustain productive partnerships among board members and between the board and the superintendent.
Understand successful reform structures by practicing systems-thinking, continuous learning, and extending leadership for learning.
Align all district resources and policies to ensure improvement efforts are supported
Create a sense of urgency for reform. Involve stakeholders in vision and long-term planning.
Build civic capacity in the community to support district reform.”
#BoardWatch seeks community members to volunteer to share and provide recommendations at Board Meetings on issues related to student achievement, learning and wellbeing. While we are reporting on #BoardWatch over different social medial channels, we are also steadfast at every board meeting to amplify voice, advocate and recommend solutions that galvanize access, equity and belonging. It is our goal to continue to support our communities further away from the decision-making table, who are most affected by them helping spread information in accessible and equitable ways while also uplifting the voices in the community.
Please share any insights with Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco at communication@ppssf.org on any of the above accountably standards and let us know board governance areas that you see are working and areas you see can be further developed.
#Boardwatch a program to lift voices and demystify policy will run live and post across social media in effort to keep parents and community informed on what is happening. Interested in learning what the Board of Education is supposed to be doing for communities? Want to share your questions and cares about any educational matter with us? BOOK A SESSION