Funders show SLPS best practices in new report
By American staff
“Is it possible to effectively govern an urban public school district?”
Residents of St. Louis could be forgiven for wanting an honest answer to that question. Six months ago, a coalition of the region’s major philanthropists charged researchers from Saint Louis University’s College of Public Service to answer the question, based on a survey of urban districts.
In a study to be released today, the Education Funders of St Louis Affinity Group – convened by the Gateway Center for Giving, formerly the Metropolitan Association for Philanthropy – concludes that effective governance in an urban context is indeed possible.
In particular, the report cites Chicago, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. as school districts that have achieved demonstrable progress in recent years. More helpfully, the report identifies a set of “best practices” that successful urban districts have used to administer education.
The report supplies no knife in the struggle between an elected and a State-appointed school board that is currently ongoing in the administration of St. Louis Public Schools.
Of the three model urban districts discussed, Atlanta has an elected board, Chicago an appointed board and Washington, D.C.’s board is a hybrid of elected and appointed members.
“Our research found that it does not matter whether the school board is elected, appointed or some hybrid structure,” said Dr. William Rebore, the lead investigator on the project.
Erin Budde, president of the Gateway Center for Giving, said the group was “very, very deliberate” in steering clear of local politics and “avoiding value judgments” in commissioning the study, which involved significant interaction between SLU researchers and the funders who commissioned their work.
Budde said the funders called for the survey to inform themselves regarding school boards that had functioned well, after funneling millions of their agencies’ dollars into a district that “had not shown advances in student achievement.”
Though Budde said she does not envision any ultimatums – such as, use this research or lose your funding – she said the funders were pleased to have produced “a set of best practices that can be held up against any district as a factor in making funding decisions.”
Those best practices include:
* ?Having a shared vision and purpose and allocating resources in support of that vision;
* Focusing on policy;
* ?Establishing an assessment and accountability process that enables the board to monitor progress toward district goals;
* Building effective relationships with parents and the community and with the superintendent and staff;
* Advocating for student achievement as a top community priority;
* Providing clear communication regarding the district;
* ?Committing to the training and development of board members and staff; and
* ?Planning for transition and intentionally recruiting board members.
The report states that National School Boards Association, Iowa Association of School Boards and the Center for Reform of School Systems have identified similar best practices of effective school boards.
Rebore also noted that effective school board members exhibit certain common characteristics, including:
* ?Advocating for the achievement of all students;
* ?Being committed to effective board service, as demonstrated by investing the time and energy needed for board activity;
* ?Contributing to board meetings in a professional manner;
* ?Understanding their role of policy oversight without micromanaging staff;
* ?Having experience in management and finance;
* ?Being a team player;
* ?Demonstrating a willingness to build relationships and foster better communications among all constituencies.
The report state that these finding are consistent with previous research conducted by the New England School Development Council, the Wallace Foundation, the Center for Reform of School Systems, Minnesota School Board Association and the Iowa Association of School Boards.
“We want the leadership of our schools and our region to know that the community of donors is prepared to work with them to find a better way of governance,” said David Luckes, co-chair of the group.
“We are committed to helping the school board, regardless of its structure, make St. Louis’ schools work for our children. We welcome the opportunity to partner with them, to invest grant dollars, the expertise of our staffs, and the strength of our civic networks to do all we can to help support and sustain effective governance of our schools.”
For more information or to download a copy of the 12-page report, visit www.centerforgiving.org.