The Georgia School Boards Association has developed a set of standards with which all local school boards may voluntarily choose to comply. It is GSBA’s belief that these suggested principles of good practice constitute levels of performance for local boards of education which communicate an inpidual local board’s intent that its operation be ethical and effective.
GSBA believes that adoption and adherence to the GSBA Standards for Local Boards of Education will improve the effectiveness and overall governance of the local school system by the local board of education. By providing a sound governance structure, which includes generally accepted best practices, the local board can improve the environment in which student achievement may be enhanced.
The Standards are comprised of eight major components that encompass the primary elements of governing a local school system.
Those components are:
- Vision/Philosophy/Goals
- Systematic Improvement
- Organizational Structure
- Board Operations: Policy Development
- Board Operations: Board Meetings
- Board Operations: Personnel
- Board Operations: Financial Management
- Board/Staff/Community Relations
The Georgia School Boards Association and the Georgia School Superintendents Association challenge their constituents to reach for a higher level of performance by implementing these Standards.
The Georgia Constitution calls for its public school systems to be governed by locally elected boards of education that appoint a superintendent, thus creating a leadership team for each school district.
Educational best practices stress the importance of the local board of education and superintendent acting as a leadership team. In order for the leadership team to function properly, the team must plan cooperatively, work together, and trust each other while maintaining separate but united roles to accomplish stated goals. Most importantly, the team must continually evaluate its progress. The team’s focus must be to provide leadership, establish goals and develop an organizational structure to enhance continual improvement in the school district. The GSBA Standards for Local Boards of Education assists the leadership team in establishing and functioning as a “local” organized team to manage and improve the school district.
The Standards assist the leadership team in establishing district vision, district goals, and developing local action plans for continual improvement in all areas. The Standards encourages a continuous improvement cycle, asking:
- Who are we?
- Where are we now?
- Where do we want to go?
- How will we know when we’ve arrived?
- How do we plan to get there?
This cycle, combined with the implementation of the defined “Standard Areas of Responsibilities,” will ensure a functional “local” organizational structure, which empowers the leadership team to manage the school district.
How To Participate
The “Standards for a Local Board of Education” is an ongoing program of the Georgia School Boards Association. Participation by a local board of education is voluntary. The program is a tool for boards to use for documenting accountability, short-term and long-term planning, and a means by which boards can better focus on student achievement.
A board must take official action to participate in the program. GSBA will send to the board a document entitled, “Acceptance of Standards” for its approval. A local board must approve by majority vote to participate in the GSBA Standards program. The board will appoint a committee to review its operations and processes to determine if they are meeting the Standards. The committee should include (at a minimum) two board members, one school system administrator and two community leaders. The document will specify a date by which the review will be completed and reported to the entire board of education.
Once the committee has finished its review and issued a report to the entire board, a statement of “Verification of Compliance with the Standards” will be completed and attested to if the board is found to be in total compliance, or has adopted plans for improvements for any “needs improvement” areas. The document will be submitted to GSBA for acceptance.
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Recognition
Boards of education that complete the process described above and are found to be in compliance with the GSBA “Standards for a Local Board of Education” will be appropriately recognized at the local and state levels. Special distinction will be given to these local boards by GSBA.
Recertification
Recertification must be completed every two years. (See details on the "Form to Recertify Compliance With the Standards.")
Governance Accountability Assessments - The 360 Evaluation and Continuous Improvement Model
GSBA formed a task force of school board members and superintendents to develop a self-assessment and evaluation process that incorporates long-range planning, continuous improvement concepts and GSBA’s Standards for Local Boards of Education.
While not required by law, it is good practice for the leadership team (board and superintendent) to have a process for self-assessment. GSBA’s Board/Leadership Team Self-Assessment instrument aligns the work of the board with that of the superintendent, reinforcing roles and responsibilities. Not only does the board complete the self-assessment, but also assesses the superintendent and key staff members in their work at supporting the board. At the same time, the superintendent and key staff members also complete the assessment. This 360’ assessment identifies gaps in understanding as well as areas for improvement between the board and staff.
Superintendent Evaluation Instruments
The leadership team is accountable for the results achieved by the school district. One of the single most important responsibilities is the hiring and evaluating of the superintendent. By law, boards employ all staff upon the recommendation of the superintendent, but evaluate only one person – the superintendent.
GSBA’s superintendent evaluation instruments are dependent upon the leadership team (board and superintendent) identifying and mutually agreeing upon the goals to be contained in the superinten dent evaluation instrument. The superintendent evaluation instrument used in this process states the adopted goals with the required action steps (indicators) and related evidence needed to accomplish the adopted goals.
When each school district’s leadership team develops the formal superintendent evaluation instrument, the instrument will be specific to their district’s identified goals and system needs. No two school districts are exactly alike, so the expectations of the leadership team will be unique for each district. Proper development and implementation of the superintendent evaluation pro cess should address the expectations of performance goals and also impact all administrative staff of the school district as they assist the superintendent in meeting expectations.
GSBA offers two options for their evaluation program or process.
Option 1 (Sample Instrument-Aligns with the GSBA Standards):
Option 1 is a “sample” superintendent evaluation instrument which can be further customized by any local school district to address the superintendent’s roles and responsibilities in board governance issues and board operations of the school district. The local board can modify the stated indicators, but must complete the evidence component of the instrument. The board can add additional goals, indicators, and evidence components to this instrument’s stated goals. This option will assist local boards in meeting the requirements of Ga. Code 20-2-210 and will also assist the board in complying with the GSBA Standard Board of Education.
Download Option 1 Form
Option 2 (Template Instrument - may lead to compliance with the GSBA Standards):
Option 2 is a superintendent evaluation instrument “template” created for local boards of education that already participate in the GSBA Standards process, or boards that simply want a template in which to fill in their own goals, indicators, and evidence. Properly developed and adopted by the leadership team (board and superintendent), this superintendent evaluation instrument becomes a tool to continually improve on identified district goals.
Download Option 2 Form
Board Training
GSBA provides training to guide boards on how to effectively use these critical evaluation instruments and can facilitate working sessions and board retreats. To learn more about these services, contact GSBA at (770) 962-2985 or toll free at (800) 226-1856.