What school boards can do : reform governance for urban schools / Donald R. McAdams ; foreword by Rod Paige.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McAdams, Donald R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Urban schools--United States--Administration.

Urban schools.

School boards--United States.

School boards.

Administration.

United States.

School improvement programs--United States.

School improvement programs.

Physical Description:

xviii, 174 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Teachers College Press, [2006]

Summary:

To provide essential guidance to urban school board members committed to high achievement for all children, Don McAdams presents a comprehensive approach to board leadership he calls reform governance. This accessible framework brings together all the work of an urban school board, including everything from big ideas about core beliefs and theories of action for change to the fundamental relationships and processes through which boards and superintendents work together and the leadership role boards have in building community support for sustained change. Taking into account the hot political arena of urban education, reform governance: Helps school board members understand why it is necessary to redesign urban districts and what their role in the process should be, Sets forth principles that boards can use as guides to action, and gives real-life examples of how they work, Shows how a strong board and superintendent team can work together to be agents for change.

Contents:

1 Why Boards Must Lead 5

School Districts 5

Superintendent Leadership 7

Direct and Indirect Democratic Control 8

School Boards and Superintendents 9

2 Reform Governance: An Overview 13

Core Beliefs and Commitments 14

Theories of Action for Change 15

Roles, Responsibilities, and Relationships 16

Building Blocks of Reform Governance 17

Policy Development and Oversight 18

Policies to Transform Urban Districts 19

Building Civic Capacity 19

Transition Planning 19

The Reform Governance Framework 21

3 Core Beliefs and Commitments 22

The Big Question 22

Core Beliefs and Commitments 23

Standards and Assessments 30

The Hope for America 31

4 Theories of Action for Change 33

Theory of Action for Change 33

Comprehensive Theories of Action for Incremental Improvements 36

Comprehensive Theories of Action to Transform Urban Districts 39

Accountability, Empowerment, and Capacity 57

Choosing a Theory of Action 58

5 Roles, Responsibilities, and Relationships 64

The Governance Challenge 64

Relationship Spheres 66

Constituent Service Versus Micromanagement 74

Management Oversight 78

Follow or Lead? 81

6 Building Blocks of Reform Governance 84

Board Meetings 84

Judicial Hearings 90

Board Workshops 90

Board Committees 92

Administrative Support 95

7 Policy Development and Oversight 99

Policy Context 99

Routine Operating Policies 101

Reform Policies 103

Policy Development Methods 103

Policy Development Principles 107

Policy Oversight 110

8 Policies to Transform Urban Districts 112

Policy Framework for Performance/Empowerment 114

Policy Framework for Managed Instruction 122

Policy Framework for Managed Performance/Empowerment 127

Policy Framework for Charter Districts 129

Reform Governance Policy Leadership 130

9 Building Civic Capacity and Transition Planning 133

Building Civic Capacity 134

Transition Planning 140

10 Board Leadership 145.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-163) and index.

ISBN:

0807746487

OCLC:

61123164