BOARDSMANSHIP
ACADEMY COURSES
BOARD RETREATS
LEADERSHIP
PROGRAM
REGISTRATION
FORM
FORMS AVAILABLE
BOARDMANSHIP ACADEMY COURSES -- 2008 - 2009
All sessions will be held at the MABE Office unless otherwise noted.
No Child Left Behind—Legal Implications
December 12, 2008
9 a.m. - noon
Join this crash course in some of the critical legal issues for school districts in implementing NCLB, with a focus on the school board’s role. What are the provisions and issues board members need to know and understand? What questions should you be asking your administration? What issues have come up in other districts? What issues may be on the horizon? What do the national election results mean for the Act? How do these challenges relate to others that your school district and your board confront? How do your decisions at the local level play out in the national debate over NCLB? Take part in the discussion with NSBA’s Senior Staff Attorney, Thomas Hutton.
| Who should attend: |
School Board Members, Superintendents |
| Action Areas: |
Vision, Standards, Accountability, Climate, Continuous Improvement |
Building Effective Partnerships Through Collaboration
January 23, 2009
9 a.m. - noon
Learn how to use effective outreach to improve relations with county officials. Are you always criticized about your budget requests? Do the council members or commissioners complain that your budget is bloated? Do the media and community believe that schools are spending too much? If you have heard these criticisms, this session is meant for you. Advocating for the budget doesn’t begin after the budget is sent to the county - it is an ongoing relationship that must be cultivated and maintained. Participants will develop the skills to work with the county funding agency and other state and county leaders to make the case for needed funds.
| Who should attend: |
School Board Members, Superintendents |
| Action Areas: |
Collaboration, Continuous Improvement, Climate |
Understanding the Work of the State Board
February 24, 2009
8:00 - 1:00 p.m.
This session is designed to give board members a greater understanding of the State Board, how it operates, and the kind of decisions it makes. From 9 - noon, you'll observe the State Board of Education in one of its meetings and then have an opportunity to "debrief" with John Woolums, MABE's Director of Governmental Relations, over lunch.
| Who should attend: |
School Board Members, Superintendents |
| Action Areas: |
Standards, Alignment |
| Location: |
MSDE, Baltimore |
Click here for State Board Observation Form
The Board’s Legal Role
March 20, 2009
9 a.m. - noon
Board members wear three hats: administrative (hiring, contracts); legislative (policy); and judicial (hearings and appeals). In this session, you’ll review your role in each of these areas with a special emphasis on understanding the differences between the roles of the school board attorney and the school system attorney. Judy Bresler, Carney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett, & Scherr, LLP (formerly Reese and Carney) will take you through the kinds of legal issues that challenge board members and strategies for being effective in your judicial role.
| Who should attend: |
School Board Members, Superintendents |
| Action Areas: |
Vision, Standards, Alignment, Accountability, Continuous Improvement |
Communicating During A Crisis
April 24, 2009
9 a.m. - noon
When the next crisis hits, are you ready to communicate clearly with all your stakeholders? There are tried-and-true lessons that school districts have learned from handling natural disasters and student-created ones. Explore the three communications styles of a crisis, learn what to say when you can’t say anything, and get started on establishing those all-important relationships with the media before the crisis hits. In this lively and engaging session, you’ll learn and practice new communication skills to handle whatever comes at you. Barbara Hunter will follow-up to Bea Gordon’s and Barbara Hunter’s highly acclaimed Academy from last year.
Board/Superintendent Relations
May 15, 2009
9 a.m. - noon
Get an overview of the four critical components impacting the relationship between a school board and the superintendent: vision, norms, roles and responsibilities, and communication. You’ll assess your own board in these areas and identify some strategies to work more effectively as a board.
| Who should attend: |
School Board Members, Superintendents |
| Action Areas: |
Climate, Vision, Continuous Improvement |
Board Self-Evaluation
June 12, 2009
9 a.m. - noon
How well does your board work together? How effectively do they lead the school system? Are your communication processes clear? Do you have a collective sense of the board's strengths and weaknesses as a leadership team? One of the main components of any continuous improvement process is evaluation. You’ll have an opportunity to review many of the instruments available to board members and to talk about the ways to assess your board’s performance and set goals for the board. As we move into the summer months, board retreats are a good time for this kind of self-assessment process.
| Who should attend: |
School Board Members, Superintendents |
| Action Areas: |
Vision, Accountability, Climate, Collaboration |
Key Work of School Boards
July 10, 2009
9 a.m. - noon
Demands on students are increasing as never before. Expectations are rising, not just for students but for schools and communities too. If we want students to succeed, we need to take action. The Key Work of School Boards site provides school board members with tools and information for improving their leadership in raising student achievement. Join us for a highly interactive session, learn about the eight Key Action Areas for school leaders, and apply them to your own system.
| Who should attend: |
School Board Members, Superintendents |
| Action Areas: |
Vision, Standards, Assessment, Alignment, Accountability, Climate, Collaboration, Continuous Improvement |
BOARD RETREATS
As
part of its board development program, the Maryland Association of
Boards of Education recommends that each board conduct at least one
retreat annually. MABE can provide your school system with a
skilled facilitator for your retreats. In addition to the retreats
listed below, MABE can customize a retreat to fit your board’s
unique needs. Call us today so we can create a meaningful retreat
for your board.
Board
Operations - A comprehensive look at the roles and responsibilities
of school board members and the superintendent. Topics for
this retreat can include communication strategies, ways to work together
to keep student achievement at the forefront of decision making, goal
setting, and strategies for establishing a strong working relationship.
Key Actions of School Boards - An in-depth study
of the eight elements of the key actions of school boards as identified
by the National School Boards Association. During this retreat,
members will assess their own strengths and growth areas, discuss
the roles of the board and superintendent, and determine a focus for
their own work in these action areas.
Team
Building - A retreat developed to review the stages of team
development and growth. Topics in this retreat can include a
self assessment of the board/superintendent as a team, stages of group
development, strategies for reaching success at each stage, an understanding
of the impact personal style can have on communication and team building,
and strategies to strengthen the team.
Facilitative Leadership - An executive orientation
on the seven practices of facilitative leaders. Topics in this
session include the three dimensions of success, levels of decision
making, stakeholder analysis, and strategies for reaching consensus.
Vision
Building - A retreat designed to explore the school system’s
vision, mission, and core values. Topics would include a discussion
of the components of an effective vision and mission, elements of
core values and their importance in school systems today, and strategies
for involving stakeholders in the visioning process or in reviewing
a vision.
Strategic Planning - A retreat to develop a strategic
plan. Elements of this retreat would include reviewing the school
system’s vision and mission, an analysis of the current plan
(if there is one), strengths and gaps in the school system, and identification
of goal areas.
LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
The
MABE Leadership Program is designed to provide board members with
the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary in today's changing
world to provide the direction and vision necessary for education.
An educated board of education member brings to his/her system the
skills to facilitate informed decisions that assure student success
and achievement. Skills honed through this program are the same ones
essential for business leaders and can easily be transferred to the
workplace. The program is designed to be completed in a two-year period
and is a combination of MABE course work, coaching, and selected practicum-based
learning experiences.
The
Program
The
Leadership Program consists of the following elements and may be completed
in one to two years:
1.
Completing
8 courses selected from the Boardsmanship Academy offerings, MABE
online courses, MABE and NSBA conferences
2.
Observing board of education meetings in other school systems and
selected readings
3.
Completing
a leadership project
4. Participating in MABE activities such as committees, conference facilitating,
seminars, or academy presentations
