So just how
important are culture and governance in achieving student success? On the surface, this may seem to be an easy
question to answer but let's take a moment to look into this further. School districts do not operate in a vacuum;
there are many variables that drive behavior and actions across the
district. Let’s look at how all of these
interrelate and tie back to good governance within the district.
Quoting Dr. Jamie
Wilson, Superintendent of Denton ISD, “it (governance) begins with culture and
ends with partnerships, relationships, and cooperation”. What culture are we talking about? First, what about the culture that exists
within our communities? Are our parents
engaged (see my prior blog on parent engagement)? Are students actively engaged in the
classroom? What about the impact of the
business community within our districts?
Certainly each of these is a critical element and, while we as trustees
cannot directly impact these variables, our actions will certainly influence
how engaged the community and our students are.
A second aspect of
culture is that involving the superintendent and the Board of Trustees. Is there a high level of trust? Is there open communications between the
superintendent and the board and do all board members feel free to speak openly
about their views on public education and student achievement? One of the most important responsibilities of
trustees is to work with the superintendent to formulate a shared vision, a
vision that sets the direction for all actions and outcomes.
Third,
and I would argue likely the most important, is the culture that exists within
the board itself. Is the culture one of
trust and respect or is there dissension among trustees that adversely impacts
the functions of the board? Dissension
and disagreement are critical elements of any board operation but these must be
managed with trust and respect for the opinions of others.
The bottom line is
that we often ignore the impact of culture, how that impacts or drives
governance, and how both impact student achievement. It's up to us as trustees to ensure that
everything we do remains focused on student achievement. If we fail to do so, we feed the argument by
some that school boards are becoming increasingly irrelevant. For my part, that is unacceptable and does
not fairly represent the impact that all of us are making. This is our time to step up and demonstrate
that, through good governance, we can
and do positively impact
student achievement in our districts.
Our culture demands that we do precisely that.
