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Illinois School Board Journal
November/December 2005

Running jogs thoughts on board responsibility
by Linda Dawson

Linda Dawson is IASB director of editorial services and Journal editor.

While I was out for a run recently, I started to wonder if there was any comparison between my exercise of choice and serving on a board of education. Maybe I was hallucinating from a runner's high, but the further I got, the more correlations I could find.

When I first started my exercise program, I did so as part of a plan to adopt a healthier lifestyle. My husband and I had already committed to a weight-loss plan, but we soon found that increased activity earned extra eating privileges.

So, putting our rather dusty treadmill in a more prominent place in the family room, we embarked on a walking regimen. We knew why exercise was important (weight loss), and we could envision the benefits (extra loss or extra calories available).

The same is true of serving on the school board: Knowing why you're there is a first important step.

If you ran for the board with a single purpose — to get rid of a staff member (administrator, teacher, coach or even the lunch lady) or change a specific textbook — you may want to reassess your priorities. Once that issue is engaged, you likely will have a number of years left on your term. You'll need to step up to a broader motivation. If you ran for the board to make your community's schools the best they can be for children in your district, you're on the right track. You'll have plenty to keep you busy for however long you serve.

When I walk, jog or run, I need to be prepared. I need good shoes with adequate support. I try to choose comfortable clothing that won't bind or chafe and that also will protect me from the elements. If I'm out before dawn or after dusk, I need to remember to wear light colors or something reflective. And, during the day, I don't want to forget sunscreen and a hat.

When you serve on a board, you need to prepare yourself with information about your district and your community, both before and after the election. Visit with others in your school district — those with no children in school as well as parents — to get their views on education issues. The board will be better able to reach a consensus if you have a good idea of where others stand and their most significant concerns.

Also read through board packets and ask questions of the superintendent ahead of the meeting. No one likes surprises — especially at public meetings. Give your superintendent a chance to compile information that will help you to answer your questions, as well as make informed decisions.

We live close to a bike trail that also gets much use from walkers and joggers. I usually head out on the trail with one of two destinations in mind: Rock Springs Center or Fairview Park. You might say I have a core value (healthy lifestyle), a mission (to run), a vision (a slimmer me) and a goal (to complete my run in a certain amount of time). I have about a mile before I need to decide which fork in the trail to take. Either destination will give me about a six-mile round trip. And, either choice carries a predetermined goal — making it to the end of the trail and back home again.

Boards of education need to have a destination in mind for their district. They need to have clear values, a mission, a vision and goals — like a road map for the district. Without stated values, mission, vision and goals, your district is like a rudderless boat. You're out to sea, buffeted by winds and waves with no predetermined course, so you have no idea where you're headed … or whether you'll ever get anywhere.

Another way to illustrate this is a quote by the Roman philosopher Seneca: If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him. In other words, nothing will help reach a destination if you don't know where you're going.

When I'm out jogging I carry my cell phone, not because I expect any urgent calls but because it also acts as a stopwatch. I start timing as soon as I hit the pavement. I know how long it usually takes to get to the fork in the trail, as well as to other markers along the way. If I check my time and see that I'm taking longer than usual, I try to speed up. If I'm ahead of time, I try to keep on pace so that I might finish sooner. The key is
knowing how long my jog should take and trying to better my time some days.

Having goals or a strategic plan for your district is one thing, but if they're sitting on the shelf collecting dust, they aren't serving their intended purpose. To be useful, goals need to be monitored and include a date when you hope they will be accomplished. That doesn't mean you'll always make every goal by the target date, but it gives you something to shoot for.

Along the same line, you also may want to stagger your goals along a timeline. Having too many short-term, easily attainable goals is not a challenge and will not push your district toward improvement. Having too many long-term, unachievable goals can be disheartening. Strive for a good mix so that you can see progress along the way.

If you have a goal that you think might be particularly difficult to attain, consider breaking it down into more attainable parts. Or space your timing across a longer continuum.

Sometimes I tend to let my mind wander as I'm jogging along the path. I think about events that have happened or events yet to come. I begin planning stories like this one. But I also have to stay focused on the fact that I'm running, because if I don't, I can stumble and fall … and that's not a good thing! People break bones that way.

Luckily, I've only taken one spill that resulted in a scraped elbow, a sore knee and a bruised ego. Had I been focused better on what I was doing and where I was going, I wouldn't have fallen.

Boards, too, should maintain a focus. It can be easy for a board to get sidetracked with any number of "emergencies." Each issue, however, needs to be examined in terms of the district's values, mission, vision and goals to see how it relates to improvement.

In the March/April 2005 issue of the Journal, John Cassel and Barbara Toney used the example of a car dashboard to talk about keeping an eye on certain indicators of district improvement. In my school district, they've taken their entire strategic plan and condensed it to a one-page digest of goals, objectives and measurements that are easily referenced and written in language that everyone in the district can understand.

Either method might help your district stay focused on what's really important.

When I started jogging, I knew it would be a lot more work than just walking at a leisurely pace. But I also had an idea of the rewards that were waiting in terms of weight loss. What I sometimes failed to grasp was how much fun the process could be along the way.

Even though I want to stay focused on my run, it doesn't mean that I can't notice what's going on around me … the wonders of nature and the other exercisers on the trail. I'm often rewarded by a glimpse of deer in the woods. On other occasions I've seen turtles slowly creeping across the trail or a cardinal perched in a nearby tree.

Most people I meet on the trail have a smile or a quick hello. Some faces I remember from meeting them before. Sometimes I see a neighbor or a friend and exchange more than a quick greeting. The point is, even what often seems like a chore to start with turns into an experience to appreciate.

The same is true of school board service. It takes hard work to assure all children are educated to the best of the district's ability. But along the way, you will find simple joys as well. Joys like recognizing prize spellers or top-notch musicians at your board meeting, or shaking the hands of beaming graduates as they file across the stage to accept their diplomas. Or sitting in the crowd as a sports team beats a rival or the drama club presents its latest production.

Again, enjoy the journey. Perhaps you'll get a "runner's high" to help keep you on course. Allow yourself to feel some pride in a great school district, knowing that your board service played a part in providing those key opportunities for students.