By Carol C. Brown
12/16/03 -- NSBA could not exist without the state school boards associations, which together with the NSBA staff and the board of directors, make up the NSBA Federation.
The partnership that exists among NSBA and our Federation Members reinforces all of our activities. The state associations do a wonderful job of promoting the work of school boards in their states, and NSBA supports these efforts through a variety of services and programs. (In addition to the state associations, the Federation includes the Hawaii State Board of Education and the boards of education of the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.)
NSBA works with the Federation Members, for example, in supporting higher student achievement through the Key Work of School Boards. The Key Work is a framework developed with the Federation that local school boards can use to focus on raising student achievement.
NSBA has produced several publications on the Key Work, and a new one will be out soon on continuous improvement.
NSBA provides training sessions to state associations to help them understand the Key Work and give them the tools so they can develop training sessions on the Key Work for local school board members in their states.
NSBA also offers training sessions to state association staff in many other areas, including the No Child Left Behind Act, data-driven decision making, and accountability.
Sue Shupard, executive director of the Delaware School Boards Association, says she found a training session she attended at NSBA headquarters on data-driven decision making "very effective." She incorporates what she learned into training sessions for local school boards on the Key Work, superintendent searches, board evaluations, and vision setting.
With only herself and an assistant making up the Delaware association's staff, Shupard relies heavily on assistance from NSBA for all kinds of support -- from advocacy to information services.
The Mississippi School Boards Association (MSBA) has presented more than 25 training sessions on the Key Work, reaching at least half of all school board members in the state, reports Deputy Executive Director Michael W. Waldrop.
"We've seen light bulbs go off all over when boards see what their true responsibilities are -- to focus on the mission of improving student learning," Waldrop says.
This year, MSBA is providing training sessions focusing on one of the eight components of the Key Work -- aligning resources -- and has developed a training module based on NSBA's guidebook, Aligning Resources for Student Achievement.
The Key Work also is one of the many topics covered in the online courses provided through NSBA's Online Learning Center, a collaborative project of NSBA and 32 state school boards associations.
Other courses are available on such topics as the board/superintendent team, effective school board communications, and parliamentary procedure.
Another area where NSBA works in close partnership with the states is the Federal Relations Network. Each state has an opportunity to select school board members to participate with NSBA in our advocacy efforts, which include the annual FRN Conference in Washington, D.C., and year-round advocacy on key congressional issues.
The Extended Day Learning Opportunities Online Resource Center is part of a joint NSBA/ Federation Member project to help board members develop and sustain high-quality after-school, before-school, and summer learning programs for the children in their communities.
NSBA also provides a series of meetings for Federation Member leaders, offering excellent opportunities for information sharing, skill building, and leadership training.
The executive directors of the state associations can attend three institutes a year -- in the winter just before the FRN Conference, in the spring just before the NSBA Annual Conference, and in the summer. These sessions help the state leaders operate their associations more effectively to better serve their members.
There is also an annual Presidents' retreat for the presidents of the state associations and regional conferences held in each of the five geographic regions of NSBA.
Another service NSBA provides to the state associations is the program and service review. When requested by a state association, NSBA assembles a team of executives from other state associations to review the organization's operation; interview staff, board members, and stakeholders; and make recommendations.
Recent reviews have been carried out for the state associations in Pennsylvania and New York, and future reviews are scheduled for Georgia and South Dakota.
When NSBA organized a review for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association in June 2002, "it helped improve our internal communications and gave the PSBA board a good opportunity to discuss their priorities," says PSBA Executive Director Tom Gentzel.
As a result of the review, PSBA consolidated its technology staff and improved the way it communicates to local school boards. Gentzel says, "We really value our relationship with NSBA because we recognize how critical it is to have an impact on education policy."
NSBA really appreciates our partnership with the Federation Members, and we hope to continue to serve them well in the years to come.