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Illinois School Board Journal
March-April 2000

Change and continuity

by John J. Cassel

John J. Cassel is an IASB Field Services Director.

At the turn of the century, constantly accelerating change invades every aspect of our existence.

At the same time, most schools exist as stratified bureaucracies structured to minimize change and to assure what worked last year will work again. Critics have said the only institution a contemporary Rip VanWinkle would immediately recognize is the school. The basic structure of the classroom hasn't changed in a hundred years.

Given these two realities, school boards need to be clear about the dynamics of change and continuity. By doing so, boards can ensure that change occurs by design, and not by happenstance. One way to begin is to consider where in the school system change is most likely to occur and where change may need to be encouraged.

In one sense, the board changes more than any other part of the system. Faculty, janitors, secretaries, principals - these people are often in place for a lifetime. Typically each fall's new hires are hardly enough to alter the basic "weight" of the staff. While some superintendents come and go, many settle in and leave an indelible mark. On balance, the staff functions as a ballast assuring continuity.

The board, on the other hand, is often volatile. With fewer board members willing to serve multiple terms, each election creates a new board. Between elections board members resign and are replaced by appointment. Every time a new member joins a group as small as seven, the group feels like a new entity - and, in fact, each "new" board must reconstitute itself with all the predictable group dynamics of storming and norming.

From the school board point of view, the faculty remains relatively stable over the years. Teachers themselves, however, may feel that they are at the mercy of constant change over which they have little control. Education is dominated by fads and strategies du jour. A new superintendent means new emphases and perhaps a new curriculum. A new state board means a new set of standards and a new approach to quality and school improvement. A new principal means a new set of goals and expectations. Too many teachers have learned that "this, too, shall pass." They learn strategies to weather the winds of change: Close the door of your classroom, do what you know works and wait for the wind to blow another way. It is no wonder that school systems, like other stratified organizations, are resistant to change.

Organizational continuity

Schools, like all organizations, develop an identity and culture which provide continuity across the years. This identity and culture may develop by chance or by design.

It is the school board's job to make sure change and continuity occur with purpose and direction, based on an ongoing connection with the desires, beliefs and identity of the community which the board serves.

In this sense, the board - composed of citizens who sit in trust for the whole community - embodies continuity. One of the tasks of the board is to capture and write down the community's expectations of its schools, in the form of board policy. The policy book serves as a reference when staff or community members wonder "Who are we?" or "How do we do business?" or "What do we care about?" Policy is designed to remain stable as the players change.

True, policy is always evolving and changing to meet new realities. But, the act of changing policy must always be an intentional act which highlights continuity.

There are two kinds of change which impact schools. One is the changing world and the demands placed on learners, workers and citizens. The other is community expectations. As the community's expectations and intentions for the schools change, the education in the district must change. Sometimes the board must navigate the tricky waters of the dynamic sea between a changing world and static community perceptions and expectations.

Upside down

When the school board is not clear about its role, the stage is set for an upside-down world. All of a sudden, the staff is about continuity and the board is about change. In this upside-down world, the policy book belongs to the superintendent instead of being the school board's document. Rather than the staff bringing to the board proposals for changes in educational methods and objectives to accommodate a changing world, the staff resists change. If the board becomes the sole advocate for change, it feels the need to push change down the organizational throat, like bitter medicine.

Many school board members are committed to change. They have learned the hard lessons of the contemporary business world: Change or die. When these same board members bring their values into the board room, they are confronted with an educational system that doesn't seem to get it.

The system's reaction is understandable. Top-down change is often counter productive. Faculty and administrators, often well-intentioned, have learned not to get too invested in change initiatives that are imposed upon them. Too often, these directives have proved a waste of valuable energy.

Right side up

What's the solution? How can boards get their timing right? The key is clarity about the school board's role. Boards need to do what they do well and allow the staff to do what they do well.

School boards, on behalf of the community, need to clarify the "ends" of the system. Ends include core values, direction and purpose.

Once the board is clear about the ends it wants, and has codified these in policy, the board can ask its superintendent and staff to deliver those ends in a changing and volatile world.

In other words, the board decides "what" is to be done. It is up to the superintendent and district staff, who are closest to the learning and the learners, to figure out how to do it. The staff is given the authority to determine the means and is charged with the accountability to deliver the ends. At this point, staff can get busy re-inventing schools to deliver the community's expectations.

It is unlikely that staff can deliver the goods without significantly changing how they do business. However, this kind of change will be embedded in the system because it comes from the bottom up.

The board will enjoy watching a nimble and lively system in pursuit of board-articulated ends. In fact, such a lucky board may even have to ask its staff to slow the pace a bit so the community can catch up.

Focus on the future

While the board is about continuity, its focus is on the future. What does it mean to move the district's traditional purposes and values into a future that is bound to be full of surprises? The board must discipline itself regarding its future focus. "Now," while important, is an administrative concern. The board must not let itself get trapped by the interesting details of the present. Emergency meetings should always be suspect.

The past is even a worse place than the present for the board to spend time. Reports, which focus on the past, are hardly the way the board should spend its valuable time. This is not to imply the board does not need to know what's going on. You can't move into the future without knowing where you are and where you have been. But dwelling on either the glories or the horrors of the past is a sure way to become mired in the mud.

The future is coming whether we are ready or not. How we experience the future has a lot to do with how we have prepared for it. Who is looking to the future in most school districts? Sadly, the future gets limited attention in too many districts. Administrators and faculty members typically have all they can do to keep up with the demands of today.

The board can, and should, shoulder this task with enthusiasm and energy - no other group is as able or positioned to be effective. The proper concerns of school boards are the stuff of which the future is made: ends, goals, direction, purpose.

Exploiting transitions

Too many boards accept the popular notion that new board members mean new direction. While the board may thrive on new ideas and new blood, new members coming onto the board should not mean everything is up for grabs. One or more new members does provide an opportunity for the board to revisit its most significant agenda.

Orientation for new members is a key opportunity to review the most profound work the board has done - vision and mission statement, district beliefs, goals, superintendent contract, board processes. In addition to learning about the district, it is important for new board members to learn from continuing board members: How this particular board does business; how the board is organized and why; what is expected of individual board members; how the board relates to the community, the superintendent and the staff.

Take time

Timing is everything. The wise board knows what a precious resource time is, and honors that resource by focusing its attention on board work: that which the district needs from the board and which only the board can deliver. The wise board does not waste its precious time doing work that is better done by staff.

Developing agendas full of board work is the first step. The whole board should participate in decisions about what work the board will undertake.

An effective board has the right number of meetings. This number is one of the many "process" decisions each board must make. An excessive number of meetings often is evidence that the board is doing staff work. Too few meetings may mean the board is not adequately addressing the significant issues.

A quality school board knows how to take the time necessary to get the job done. A board with good timing will have the right number of meetings which last the right amount of time.

Give time

We live in a world of now. We want it solved today. We want to see results tomorrow. But the school board's future perspective is about direction, and thus is more appropriately about months and years. While the board may not see immediate results, a smart board knows it is dealing with the right questions: Are we clear about where we are going? Can we point to specific evidence that we are moving in the right direction? Do we have plans in place that give us confidence about where we are headed?

If the board expects the whole organization to move forward with purpose and commitment, they've got to give it time. If the whole organization is going to make meaningful change, it needs the time to do it right. If the organization is constantly stonewalling change, it may need greater clarity about its direction and perhaps a greater sense of ownership by staff.

A school board is about creating a future which has continuity with the best of the past. The district needs to rise to meet the challenges of a new day. It can only happen if the board and the rest of the system are all clear about what time it is.

Here's the challenge: get on board, because the change train has already left the station and the only tickets available are one way.