The Four Core Areas of Urban School Board Governance
The Four Core Areas of Urban School Board Governance
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Criteria 1 and 2 must be demonstrated by all applicants – supporting the belief that excellence in school board governance and community engagement are essential for success: |
1. EXCELLENCE IN SCHOOL BOARD GOVERNANCE
School boards are:
■ Elected or appointed as the governing body to set policy and establish district wide goals for student achievement
■ Asked to hire and direct the superintendent
■ Held accountable to the community who elected them.
■ Setting and following a vision for its governance role.
Your district application must address your success related to board performance, and describe how your school board demonstrates a strong leadership focus.
2. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Ask your board:
■ Has community support increased?
■ Is the community an ally in advocating for your district?
■ Do you provide excellence and equity in educating the public school children of your community?
■ What specific actions has your board implemented to achieve success?
The actions you take as a board to engage discussion, involve members of the community in the decision making processes, and make use of the assets available to you in your community demonstrate your ability to bring people together. Your district application must address your board’s success related to engaging the community.
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Criteria 3 and 4 are important in evaluating the success of district achievement. Applicants must be able to show the correlation between board work and student success. Please include narrative information that describes school board efforts as well as supporting materials that best express student performance, including, but not limited to:
■ A five year district profile
■ Board meeting agendas
■ District publications
■ And self-evaluation materials. |
3. CLOSING THE GAP- EQUITY IN EDUCATION
Ask your board:
■ What strategies have we implemented in our district to narrow the achievement gap for isolated groups of students who have historically had limited access to the full range of educational opportunities or depth of challenging curriculum?
■ When we analyze data according to race, ethnicity, poverty, language acquisition and special needs, do achievement disparities negatively impact educational outcomes for children in these groups on a consistent basis?
Your district must address your board’s success related to closing or narrowing the achievement gap for special needs as well as racially, economically, and linguistically challenged students.
4. DEMONSTRATED SUCCESS OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
It is the fundamental role of local school boards to provide the leadership necessary to create a learning environment that is conducive to student achievement at the highest levels.
Ask your board:
■ Have we improved academically as evidenced by key achievement indicators?
■ What was the direct role of the board in this improvement?
■ In addition to performance on standardized tests, are there other indicators of student achievement?
Your district application must address your board’s success related to the district’s overall academic success.
In addition to a narrative explanation of how board work and policy have affected student achievement, please provide a five year district profile as support. Data should include measures such as test scores, AYP status, drop-out rates, minority college attendance rates, and demographics in Advanced Placement classes in order to best demonstrate success in criteria three and four.
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As the judging panel considers each application, it will seek clear evidence of excellence in each of the four core areas. It is imperative that the district’s description of success in each of the four core areas specifically demonstrate the role of the school board. |