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Illinois School Board Journal
September-October 1998

by Angela Peifer

    Angela Peifer is an IASB Field Services Director.

    "Life-long learners" is a common theme found in school district mission statements developed over the last decade. Recognizing the need for an up-to-date, effective faculty and staff, boards of education have begun committing more budget dollars to staff development and continuing education. More and more thought is being given to the notion of the schoolhouse as a true learning organization for all stakeholders – students, staff, parents, and community.
    But, where does the board fit into this picture? Are board members acting as role models for this community of learners?
    In the article "Learning Organization" appearing in the July, 1998, issue of Executive Excellence Magazine, James A. Belasco suggests that the potential for a true learning organization lies in its people. He points out that organizations don’t learn – people do; and suggests that the key to a learning organization is to "invest those dollars and yourself" in learning activities.
    Board members often come to the board table with little or no formal training. Few experiences in the real world adequately prepare them for the complexities of school law, finance or labor relations, and even fewer for the essential work of effective governance and policy making. Boards are ultimately responsible for ensuring the district has a clear vision, a structure to support it and a system of accountability to monitor progress toward it. They are charged with being advocates for the education demanded by the district’s owners and for the needs required by the staff to provide that education.
    For many board members, time served coupled with occasional advice from board colleagues and the superintendent are the main sources of training. For some, it’s the only training. But with fewer and fewer board members serving more than one term, the learning curve and experience base is very limited. An article in the Pennsylvania School Board Association’s Bulletin put it this way:

    "With such limited experience among today’s board members, the need for inservice training is more critical than ever before. The district and its students benefit when board members use opportunities for continuing education, when they learn more about their roles and responsibilities as school directors.
    "We all need the opportunity to grow and develop in our professional and service functions. Members of boards of education need specific activities that will provide necessary information and orientation to the important positions they occupy in public education."   (PSBA Bulletin, April, 1998)

    Even the law recognizes the need for school board members to educate themselves, by making school board education a legitimate school district expense.
    In order for a school district to be a learning organization, board members need to practice and model life long learning. In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey points out that new habits or abilities happen when three things intersect – knowledge, skill and desire.
    Inservice training and workshops benefit board members by providing two of these elements:

    Knowledge — updated and current information on educational issues that assist board members in making informed decisions and by explaining and clarifying the board’s roles and responsibilities;
    Skill — targeted activities that will improve personal and board effectiveness.

    An "extra" that is perhaps as important as the primary content of training is the opportunity for board members from different districts and geographical locations to compare experiences, ideas and concerns and to gain knowledge and skills from one another.
    The third element, desire, is up to the individual board member and the board as a whole. The board who sees itself as part of a learning organization will want to invest in learning activities for its members, believing that there will be a positive return to the board and the district.    
    The board member who is committed to life long learning will want to invest time for professional development. With these investments of time and resources, a board models its commitment to continuous learning and improvement and paves the way for the entire district.

    The mission of the Illinois Association of School Boards is excellence in local school governance and support of public education. A key part of fulfilling this mission is to provide workshop and inservice training to its membership. These services are available in several formats:

   Whole board workshops/training: IASB has designed a number of workshops for your board. We will come to your district and work with your whole board to provide inservice assistance and professional growth in board development. Your board president, superintendent or a committee will help design an event that meets specific needs that you identify.
   IASB division functions: Each of IASB’s 21 governing divisions holds at least three meetings a year with programs tailored to the interests and needs of the division. They often include programs on regional and statewide issues; updates on legislative activities; and training on board responsibilities, board member competencies and effective governance.
    IASB statewide and regional conferences and workshops: Each November, IASB co-hosts a three-day Joint Annual Conference with the Illinois Association of School Administrators and the Illinois Association of School Business Officials. This conference offers a huge range of informational and training opportunities through topic specific workshops, general session speakers, over one hundred panel sessions and informal networking among the 10,000 plus participants. Additional regional workshops are conducted throughout the year at sites around the state. These workshops range from one- to three-day sessions and cover a variety of skill and knowledge based topics.

    To learn more about IASB’s board and board member workshops and training opportunities, call 217/528-9688 or 708/629-3776.