The art and science of improving educational services delivery in both private and public schools typically focuses on aspects of schooling that happen primarily on the campus and among the education practitioners.  School administrators, teachers and pastoral/behavioral support specialists and other staff members, feel the brunt of the pressure to keep honing their craft and raise student performance against benchmarks that are data-driven and attainable if set appropriately.  Too often, the same level of accountability for strong performance is not necessarily applied to what is arguably the most important tone-setter for an excellent educational program, the governing body.

Most often a governing body is in the form of a “Board” comprised of members with mix of professional backgrounds, community contributors, and sometimes parents (generally in the non-profit sector) and/or owners (in the private, for-profit sector), and its collective performance ideally has far-reaching impact and can make or break the quality of the entire program.  The role of school governance stands as the architect, shaping the very foundation upon which the quality of education rests.  When operating at its best, the Board can be a little-noticed, yet constructive, force that guides institutions towards excellence largely through 1) ensuring the mission, vision and core values are alive across the school and not merely words on a wall or on the first page of a school manual and 2) nurturing a system of reciprocal support and accountability with the Principal/Head of School as it applies to finance and operations as well as academics and related student support services.

As the first in a multi-part series related to school governance/ownership, this article will define and reinforce the role of an effective governing body, establish some basic conceptual boundaries for that role, and suggest ways to hold itself and the leaders accountable for a strong performance each year.  Subsequent articles will establish ideal conditions in the school(s) that governance can influence, identify common missteps that Boards/owners would be well-served to avoid if they are to be effective, and suggest ways that governmental/ministerial/regulatory agencies can best ensure that private and public school governance meets international accreditation standards for excellence.

The Pillars of Educational Excellence: Understanding Widely-accepted Standards of Effective Governance

At the heart of every exceptional educational institution lies a robust system of governance. The governance structure, disposition and actions set the tone for educational excellence. An effective governing body establishes the framework for decision-making, ensuring that each choice aligns with the overarching goal of providing a high-quality learning experience.

This governing body (heretofore referred to as “Board”) is not to be confused with a multi-stakeholder “advisory” group that governmental authorities have required of either their public or private schools in some countries, and sometimes unwisely and ambiguously naming them with the term “governor” or “governance”.  Rather, the Board has enormous collective responsibility for the five most important pillars upon which the educational and support program sit:

  • the establishment and reinforcement of the guiding statements(mission, vision, values) and strategic direction of the school (including a formal strategic plan);
  • the provision, stability and suitability of financial and facilities resources;
  • the criteria for hiring, appraising and supporting a school-wide Principal/Head of School/Superintendent of Schools;
  • the setting and/or approving of school-wide, large impact policies that ensure a) legal structure/compliance and operational effectiveness, b) health/safety/child-protection, c) an effective level, allocation and use of precious resources, d) overarching academic direction, e) student enrollment characteristics, f) staffing patterns/performance/development and g) the level of ancillary and extra-curricular services the school will provide.
  • being a messenger or conduit to civic organizations and the greater business community at large for celebrating the school’s successes and receiving/relaying back community input for the school(s) to consider.

It is incumbent upon the Board to evaluate its own performance in these five major areas against well-developed criteria and from both qualitative and quantitative means.  There is little else the Board (or owners in the for-profit setting) ought to be doing in regard to the operation of the school (or portfolio/system of schools).  It needs to keep faithful to the above roles and strike the right balance between interdependence (as in forging an effective Board/Leader team) and independence (not overstepping into the administration of the school(s)).

It is generally not advisable for the Board Chair or an owner (or owner’s “representative”) of a private school to be spending several hours or more each week with a physical presence in the school.  A regular Board member/owner presence in the school is typically toxic to the culture of the school, needlessly infuses a climate of profit and/or politics into the learning environment which ideally would be “behind-the-scenes realities”, and this presence risks clouding the clarity of the respective roles and responsibilities between governance and leadership for the rest of the stakeholders.  An expanded rationale for this will be discussed later in this series, along with specific scenarios and cases from ‘the field” of both effective and ill-advised actions of Boards.

The Role of Leadership in Schools where Governance is Effective

Governance inputs such as the best-intentions of Boards and their members, Board agendas and meetings, school-wide polices, generous budgets, high-tech and safe school facilities, the leader performance appraisal process, and community cheer-leading are only as effective as their collective positive impact on students.  A dynamic leadership team maximizes these inputs in the form of specific actions that transform challenges into opportunities and foster an environment where both educators and students thrive.  Effective school leaders play a pivotal role in the overall performance of the governing body, particularly in the areas where the administration and Board are interdependent.

Leadership within the context of school governance is not merely about making decisions; it’s about establishing multiple pathways towards reaching the Board’s vision of educational excellence. Effective school or system leaders, supported by a robust governance structure and culture of governing:

  • are allowed the professional freedom to be true to their personalities;
  • leverage their experience and training in making administrative decisions without Board interference;
  • are given full authority over all academic, pastoral/behavioral and operations staff (including talent management, accounts, and government relations), with appropriate safeguards and accountability built in;
  • are given an annual operating budget to professionally manage/monitor without micromanagement from the board/owners up to established expenditure thresholds, above which may require board approval;
  • implement Board-approved policies with fidelity and develop procedures through which to implement them;
  • establish communications patterns for all stakeholders to follow (parents, students, external partners, etc.);
  • are highly data-driven;
  • are masterful at training academic and operations staff to improve their performance;
  • consume the latest research on organizational effectiveness, student learning and behavior;
  • are strong motivators of staff and students, and
  • understand the changing landscape of technology, innovation, and current trends in teaching/learning, as well as the evolution of school-aged children’s cognitive processes and other characteristics that are not static over time.

The senior leader of a school or group of schools and the chairperson of the Board are best served to have a strong professional relationship that is characterized by frequent communication and informal discussions about the status of the school’s performance and, in particular, areas where the Board’s support can help nurture needed improvements.  Ideally both set the agenda for the formal Board meetings and any Board subcommittee work that is assigned as needed (or required in school or system bylaws or policies).

Effective senior leaders of a school (or system of schools) are active partners with the Board in the strategic planning process, particularly in developing the needs assessment used to establish strategic priorities from myriad data sources, and in the establishment of strategies and actions toward implementing the plan.  They also contribute to establishing tenable timelines and benchmarks for success of implementing the plan.

Effective Boards enable senior leaders to be an integral part of the budget development process, often empowering them to employ an inclusive approach to program- and/or department-level budgeting that telescopes into divisional, school-wide and system-wide budgets which then are presented to the Board for their perusal and analysis.  Routinely this approach is not employed in some segments of for-profit, private/international schooling, to the detriment of the quality of the program.

Balancing Act: Governance and Financial Stewardship

For this edition on governance, the ensuing discussion in this subsection will temporarily set aside (until a future edition) both the revenue-generation part of the economic equation for public and private schooling and the empirical aspects of school finance that experts ground their advice to boards, practitioners and regulatory agencies. Rather it will focus on budgeting and appropriating funds in a strategic fashion.

Governance, in this context, is the steward that ensures financial stability and allocates resources judiciously. From budgeting to resource allocation, the financial role of governance is vital in sustaining and enhancing the quality of education.  Financial stewardship involves prudent decision-making, resource optimization, and a keen understanding of the economic landscape. The choices made in financial governance reverberate throughout the institution, influencing the availability of resources, the quality of facilities, and ultimately, the overall educational experience for students.

Funding the multi-year strategic plan and annual school improvement plan (that most often are based on annual student performance/well-being data or results of external reviews (such as accreditation or inspection reports)) is ultimately the responsibility of the Board and subject to a prioritization process as to what is most imperative for that year and what might be able to wait or be phased in.  For example, if recent years of assessment data show that student writing results (school-wide) is substantially and consistently lagging behind math and science results, it is incumbent on the Board to prioritize the allocation of resources to bolster writing in the form of instructional materials, teacher training, time structures or technologies.  It’s the moral imperative and practical approach to support teachers and students through budgets and policies and will lead to more balanced and improved overall school performance.

Effective boards approve the compensation structure to be administered by the leadership team, particularly the head of talent management function, and then stay out of the way and let the structure and related policies determine who is to be compensated what amounts and with what benefits the policies call for as applied to different categories of staff.  Private and public school boards, and owners of for-profit schools, are best served by not becoming directly involved in matters of individual compensation for rank-in-file staff, but rather hold the leadership accountable through monitoring budgets and reports on an iterative basis and staying within the budget for the school as a whole and within departments, programs, or budget line items.  The obvious exception to this is the package for the Principal/Head of School/Superintendent whereby the compensation may not tightly structured and subject to executive level negotiation based on the needs of the institution and the unique experience and talents of the sought executive leader.

The Inclusive Canvas: Community Engagement and School Governance

An educational institution is not an isolated entity; it thrives within the larger canvas of the community. Governance acts as the bridge connecting the school and its community. In this section, we explore how community engagement, facilitated by governance, fosters a collaborative environment that enhances the overall educational experience.

Schools are not just entities within communities; they are integral parts of the social fabric. Governance, through community engagement, ensures that the school becomes a hub for collaboration, understanding, and shared goals. A well-engaged community contributes to a positive learning environment, where students feel supported, parents are involved, and educators find inspiration.

Board members are encouraged to liaise with, or even become members of, important external community institutions, whether they be oriented for business, social, religious, civic, recreational, academic, governmental, cultural or philanthropic purposes.  Ultimately, it is an advantage to nurturing student and staff opportunities to bring the school program to the community or to enable the community to enhance the academic or co-curricular experience at school, in collaboration and partnership with the top school administrators.  Technology can facilitate distance partnerships as well.

The school community stakeholders within the school are even more important.  Committees that examine certain conditions at school for improvement or enhancement are best comprised of a blend of students, parents, staff members, administrators and Board members.  Annual surveys of stakeholder satisfaction, iterative meetings for input and bidirectional communications, school portal communications for specific issues, and school publications and newsletters are among several common pathways of communicating with the immediate school community and are best implemented by the administration under a policy framework approved by the Board.  Effective Boards will have approved school policies with respect to both internal and external community engagement.

Conclusion

In likening a school to a symphony production, school governance emerges as the composer, while the Principal/Head/Superintendent serves as the conductor of harmony and excellence via the team of performers and stagehands.  In a construction analogy, school governance would be more like the architect, while the school leader more like the construction manager who will implement the blueprints through capable staff, sufficient resources and effective processes, but yet may advise architects in their work.

School governance is not merely a bureaucratic necessity; it is the heartbeat that infuses and sustains the lifeblood of an educational institution. When it is faithful to its most effective roles and responsibilities without overstepping them, it is the force that transforms a facility into a home for and of learning, where every student is nurtured, every educator is inspired, and its community is engaged.  Let this understanding be the compass guiding your school’s journey towards reaching all of its goals and to enable constantly extending its vision for excellence.

References

Ontario Ministry of Education, 2018.  School Board Governance [Internet]. Toronto: Queen’s Printer for Ontario [cited 2023 Dec 28].  Available from: https://www.ontario.ca/page/school-board-governance

National School Boards Association, 2022. The Key Work of School Boards [Internet]. Alexandria (VA): National School Boards Association [cited 2023 Dec 28]. Available from: https://www.nsba.org/key-work

Colley, Doyle, Logan & Stettinius, 2003.  Corporate Governance: Business, Legal and Ethical Challenges Faced by Boards of Directors. The McGraw-Hill Executive MBA Series.

Eisner, E., 2002.  The Educational Imagination: On the Design and Evaluation of School Programs. Merrill Prentice Hall.

New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)/Council of International Schools (CIS), 2014.  The Main Guide to School Evaluation and Accreditation, 8th Edition.  NEASC/CIS Joint Publication.

 

About the Author

Ken Imperato: Educational Advisory Committee Member

Meet Ken Imperato, a distinguished member of the Educational Advisory Committee at Education Disruptor. With a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Ken brings a comprehensive understanding of educational systems. His versatile expertise includes roles such as Head of School, Assistant Head, and University Professor. As a Lead Accreditor for International Schools, Ken ensures educational excellence. His commitment spans globally, influencing locations from East Asia to South Africa. Ken’s wealth of experience contributes significantly to reshaping education at Education Disruptor.