New Resource: Unique School Board Governance Model and Policy Toolkit from School Board Partners

For Immediate Release: November 15, 2023
Contact: Jackie Ross, jackie.ross@wardcirclestrategies.com

With School Boards in the Spotlight, School Board Partners Releases “Empowered Governance” Model to Empower School Board Members & Help Maximize Their Impact

November 15, 2023 – Today, School Board Partners released a first-of-its-kind Empowered Governance Framework and Policy Toolkit targeted to elected school board members. Thousands of new school board members were elected just last week and Empowered Governance will equip users with power, easily applied policies and tools for a more accountable, power-balanced, and equity-focused approach.

Find the Empowered Governance Framework and Policy Toolkit on School Board Partners’ website here.

“Our work coaching and advising school board members across the county has given us a deep understanding about what’s working and not working on school boards. The Empowered Governance Framework and Policy Toolkit expands on the support we already provide to diverse equity-focused school board members,” said Ethan Ashley, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of School Board Partners. “I have seen the power of school boards to impact students both in my own life and through my time as an elected school board member. Empowered Governance uniquely empowers school board members by supporting these elected leaders to act as policymakers and step into their power to serve our students.”

“Tens of thousands of new school board members were just elected and now they face the difficult task of governing in a way that actually improves student environments, experiences and outcomes. I have experienced this firsthand as an elected school board member,” said Carrie Douglass, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of School Board Partners. “The Empowered Governance Framework and Policy Toolkit is a premier framework intentionally grounded in equity. It will help these newly elected leaders and hold them accountable by giving school board members the tools, guidance, and support to make immediate steps toward addressing students’ needs.”

Empowered Governance guides school boards on how to maximize their impact by clearly curating how best to spend their time and what policies to advance, grounded in four core principles:

1. Policy Centered: We equip board members to pass policies that enhance conditions for equitable student success throughout their districts.
2. Measurable Accountability: We provide guidepost metrics and reporting routines that help board members properly monitor comprehensive indicators of district performance.
3. Balance of Power: We guide board members to empower superintendents with support and autonomy, while also holding them accountable for system and student outcomes.
4. Equity Focused: We help board members prioritize investment in student groups who are not experiencing educational growth at the same rate as their peers – primarily through data monitoring, resource allocation and superintendent evaluation.

The Empowered Governance model was informed by the feedback School Board Partners gathered while working closely with over 150 diverse school board members from more than 65 cities across the country over the past 5 years.

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School Board Partners is a nonprofit organization focused on transforming education in America by empowering elected school board leaders with the knowledge, skills and mindset to change education systems.