Four strategic goals guide NSBA's work
By Mossi W. White
12/24/02 - This is the time of year when we think about our goals for the coming year. I don't really like New Year's resolutions. They tend to be short-lived. So I would like to end the year instead by telling you about the goals your organization, NSBA, has set and the progress we've made toward achieving them.
In September 1996, the NSBA Board of Directors held its annual retreat, where board members worked extremely hard to set the direction in which our national association needed to go. The decisions we made at that retreat became the foundation of the Key Work of School Boards, as well as the association's goals.
Our goals have been refined over the years. At our retreat this fall in Salt Lake City, we again thoroughly re-evaluated them. Times have changed dramatically. We are now facing enormous challenges not anticipated in 1996.
Therefore, it was very heartening to discover our goals are still the right goals. Our direction is still the right direction.
As trusted representatives of the nation's 95,000 local school board members, NSBA and its Federation Members are dedicated to leadership for student achievement.
Our shared vision is a powerful, united energetic Federation - an influential advocate for public education and a catalyst for aligning the power of the community on behalf of its schools and schoolchildren.
Working in partnership with its Federation Members, NSBA has embraced the following four fundamental strategic goals in order to fulfill our mission of equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership:
(1) Every school board will lead its community in preparing all students to succeed in a rapidly changing society.
To accomplish this goal, we will provide school boards with the research, data, skills, and motivation to govern effectively, to work with their communities to raise student achievement, and to develop effective policies and strategies.
NSBA commits significant resources to this goal and strategy. We support the state associations and the work of school boards through publications, such as School Board News, American School Board Journal, and the series of books on the Key Work of School Boards, and through more active learning opportunities such as the Annual Conference and the Leadership Conference.
We have approved a plan to reconfigure next year's Technology + Learning Conference to focus on accelerating student learning through technology integration. Through our Web site, online learning center, and other online resources, data, information, and skill building are just a click away.
NSBA's Advocacy and General Counsel offices consistently provide timely information to help our state associations respond locally with messages in alignment with the policies adopted by the Federation through its governing body, the Delegate Assembly.
NSBA participates in collaborative partnerships with other associations, the business community, and educational service providers, such as the Learning First Alliance, to advance student achievement.
The Council of School Attorneys brings together school attorneys to foster professional development and share new ideas, and the National School Boards Foundation reaches out to the business community in support of school governance and student achievement issues.
Through the Council of Urban Boards of Education, NSBA is working to build the capacity of urban school district governance to address the needs of large and diverse student populations.
(2) Congress, state legislatures, the courts, and other decision makers will support policies and provide resources to strengthen public education and local school board governance.
We promote our agenda, key policy positions, and initiatives with school board members, legislators, other policymakers, and the media through the Federal Relations Network (FRN) and through regular legislative and legal updates.
Our Voucher Strategy Center was created to provide Federation Members and local school board members with legislative, legal, and policy information. We are expanding this initiative to include background and strategic information on tuition tax credits and tax deductions.
We now plan to create a Public Education Advocacy Center to provide materials on the purposes and successes of public education and the important role of the local school board.
Our research, on such topics as special education legislation, provides policymakers with the factual basis for NSBA's advocacy and legal positions, and we will use polling to assess local community satisfaction with education legislation and performance of federal, state, and local elected officials.
Some examples of NSBA research connected to our policy positions are the publications, Into the Classroom - Teacher Preparation Licensure and Recruitment; Rewarding Excellence - Teacher Evaluation and Compensation; Charting a New Course: Fact and Fiction About Charter Schools; and School Boards at the Dawn of the 21st Century.
We send Calls to Action to local school board members and our Federation Members to let them know what is transpiring in Congress and to help them hold members of Congress accountable for their actions on educational issues.
We have implemented comprehensive associationwide strategies on high-priority issues. For example, outreach activities on the No Child Left Behind Act touched l00 percent of the state associations at least once.
Our legal initiatives include engaging in appellate advocacy in state and federal courts and providing information and materials to school boards and their attorneys to help them avoid unnecessary litigation.
(3) Americans will value public education, actively support their public schools, and understand the critical role of school boards.
NSBA will accomplish this goal by implementing a comprehensive strategic communications plan that focuses on critical audiences, including lawmakers, policymakers, and the public.
This plan includes meetings across the country with editorial boards, so we get our message - and your message - out to the newspapers that are highly important in shaping the public's perceptions of public education.
Our key message is that public education and local school board governance are essential for the preservation of a democratic society. We want to illustrate the success of public education by identifying and spotlighting successful people from all walks of life who are products of America's public schools.
(4) NSBA will be a creative organization that maintains a sound infrastructure, serves its customers in a fast and flexible manner, supports continuous improvement in its services and operations, and generates resources to implement its programs and activities.
We are accomplishing this goal by providing services and information in anticipation of and in response to state school boards association needs, continuously evaluating constituent needs, and using technology to deliver customized services to meet diverse needs.
NSBA - working together with our state associations, National Affiliates, and local school board members - will steadily accomplish our strategic goals and, thereby, we will have a positive impact on our nation's schoolchildren.
I wish you the most wonderful holiday season. May this new year be filled with success as we continue our commitment to providing a most excellent public education for each and every child. As we buy and wrap the presents this year, let us remember that the very best gift we can give is making a difference in the lives of our children.
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| Reproduced with permission from the Dec. 24, 2002, issue of School Board News. Copyright © 2002, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789. |