I went for a walk on the beach this morning and was thinking about the Wisdom Sharing conference and some of our conversations.
An analogy popped into my head that was slightly less flattering than the funeral director one: the school caretaker. No matter what happens, how many times things get cleaned up, there is always a mess somewhere in the school that’s being made. It’s a Sisyphean task.
It has to be like that for you as well. You could spend years at a district supporting their transition to a better governance model, only to have all of that work undone in a single day by an election or having the Superintendent leave for a better job or just to retire and somehow through some poor decisions the board ends up back at square one.
With that said, I do want to say that when my son’s report card comes home, I see your fingerprints all over it. The work you’ve done has affected our district from the Board of Trustees right into every classroom, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. I saw this weekend that it’s the same for a lot of boards and that’s really great.
Millions of students are going to be better off because of the work you do and keep doing. So, thank you for that.
Again, Randy and Linda get it right. I have long believed that governance is the key to school improvement. Period. Not lack of funding, teacher unions, government regulations, lack of technology, poor administrative leadership—governance!
Good, coherent, governance can overcome these and other obstacles preventing America’s children from getting the education they deserve and the nation so desperately needs. Yet, too few want to address the governance issue.
School board associations are afraid that if they take it on, boards will simply drop their memberships. Too many board members focus on adult versus student issues in an attempt to curry the favor needed to run for a higher political office. And, too many superintendents are just trying to get from one side of the road to the other without getting run over.
An old Southern minister once told me that ‘some folks rather rule in hell that serve in heaven.’ Randy and Linda have developed a clear, coherent, roadmap for those who really want to change their ‘sinful’ ways!
Coherent Governance provides clarity of outcomes, roles, systems, and processes to support boards and administrators working together effectively.
I want share how much I appreciate your guidance, your extreme patience and your incredible insight. I know you’re hired to advise us as consultants but your genuine and again patient commitment to us is truly evident and I thank you! We will preserve and I feel we have a more united front than we have had in some time. Looking forward to the greatness that is to come.
I said this … but without CG, it is too easy to focus on the wrong things. CG keeps the attention on the learners.
It’s always such a pleasure to see you and Randy. You were change agents for us. Your work is so valuable. Thank you for you what you do and for understanding the human condition especially as relates to Board work!
You help us make the magic happen!
You guys are gems. And did a great job with a tough group. I am glad you were able to work with us and look forward to staying in touch.
I have never lost my love of Coherent (Policy) Governance® and saw first-hand what a positive difference it makes for a district and its Board of Education. The two of you had a major impact on my professional career as a 22-year school superintendent. You both remain role models for me.
You and Randy did a fine job helping us along our path to being an effective Board. You two are ever patient and wise. Because you are educators at base and your clients are boards, you understand our challenges. You are also consummate teachers knowing when to push, when to rephrase and when to pull back. You are guides with a goal and a road map. My “cats” have made progress. But this type of work is rarely a straight-line forward. A group of people chosen by a public election to do serious and critical work for the common good will always be challenged by both the work and the group dynamic. – At least I think we function better than the Congress.
Efficiency. Fairness. Accountability.
Personally, I’m so appreciative of our governing approach and the value it brings to what we’re charged to do and how we’re able to communicate and measure along the way. In fact, we’ve had it said at our meeting that our governing or results has provided an “enthusiasm” and a bigger “buy in” from educators when admin has solicited their insight and input to help with determining what are appropriate and measurable criteria.
On behalf of the entire Durango 9-R School Board, I want to thank you both for walking us through this superintendent search process. We appreciate your guidance and dedication to our local public school system. Thank you for traveling to Durango to help us complete the final steps of the process.
P.S. These are the books in my book basket by my bedside table. It speaks volumes of you both that your book sits in the same basket as the Bible and the writings of great theologians:) Thank you for providing me a framework to do my job. I appreciate you both.
Thank you for your facilitation of learning and reflection last night. It was well received by all the board members, and especially our newest member. I heard a number of comments about how they felt it was a valuable experience. Appreciated your efforts and thought I would pass that along.
I have REALLY gotten a lot out of them and have found value in every topic so far.Thanks for putting this series on – they are all fantastic!
Fantastic! I so appreciate you both for providing a great presentation which helped ground the Board on Coherent Governance®. The materials were great; I felt the discussion was open and allowed people to speak their truth about where they are at, and it allowed for the “old-timers” on the Board to reiterate points to the entire Board with you in the room. Having you clear up some of those points was fantastic!
I thought it went well, was the right material and the right amount of time. Discussion and questions were good and folks were engaged. I concur with your assessment, we have to continue this work as we onboard new folks. We will follow up with some plans for next steps soon.