District Administration - December 2008 - (Page 57)

POLICY GOvernanCe MOdeL Board SelfAssessment Governance Process Ends Monitoring the board’s means, or operational factors Superintendent Evaluation Monitoring the superintendent’s executive limitations means and ends The board monitors its governance process and its relationship with the superintendent. BoardSuperintendent Relationship Executive Limitations The board monitors the superintendent’s performance with respect to the boundaries it created and desired results. principals supervising, and so on. 8:00—Operations and process reports: Reports on the 6:00 operations that tell the professional staff whether the policies and/or regulations are being carried out as planned. 10:00—Evaluations and product reports: Reports that tell the board whether 12:00 goals have been achieved. Periodically the board reviews its policies and modifies them as needed. The gray, shaded area in the clock chart represents the difference in various school district governance cultures. Some school district boards go below the line, while some school administrators go above the line. The Policy Governance Model John Carver, a scholar in organizational governance, is the author of the Policy Governance model. Carver created the model in 1997 for his book Boards That Make a Difference. The Policy Governance model has grown in popularity among nonprofit organizations, some corporate www.DistrictAdministration.com bodies, and a growing number of school districts nationwide. Carver has called his model a “revolution in boardroom behavior and in the governance-management relationship.” Carver says his model is a radical departure from traditional governance. For example, unlike the traditional governance model, Carver’s model has specific policies that define the roles and responsibilities of the CEO (superintendent) and the board. Moreover, the Policy Governance model—through specific policy categories—defines the board and superintendent values by specific policies. These values include such things as: • The board must create a relationship with the superintendent that is empowering and safe, and • The board speaks with one voice or not at all. The model has very few policies— between 30 and 40—and is the focus of the school board. The Policy Governance model is ordinarily presented with four categories of board policies: 1. Governance process policies. These policies delineate ways in which the board will govern. 2. Board-superintendent relations policies. These policies delineate the relationship between the school board members and the superintendent. 3. Executive limitation policies. These policies consist of means or district operational issues, which set up boundaries for the superintendent and the means within which the superintendent will work toward achieving the school district’s ends policies. 4. Ends policies. These are broad global policies of what students should know and be able to do and what districts are to achieve through performance goals. The board’s policy governance processes and procedures include reviewing, developing and modifying policies annually, monitoring ends and executive limitations policies through reports from the superintendent to the board, and holding meetings with stakeholders in order to December 2008 57 25 35 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - December 2008

District Administration - December 2008
Contents
Editor’s Letter
News Update
College Preparatory
Security
Technology
District Profile
Administrator Profile
DA Web Seminars
Desperately Seeking Special Ed Teachers
Special Education’s Challenges
Building the Best Auditorium
Leading the Way
Righting the Writing Process
Sharpening a District’s Leadership Model
TCEA
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Problem Solution
Professional Opinion
Research Center
Calendar of Events
Online Edge

District Administration - December 2008