NSBA President: Professional development is a wise investment
By Barbara Bolas
01/09—
When school boards confront tough budget battles, how can they make the best decisions to maximize limited resources? How can board members choose the most cost-effective technology systems? What about the instructional methods most likely to produce student achievement gains, or the facility improvements most likely to reduce energy costs?
The belt tightening occurring in districts nationwide means it’s more important than ever for board members to educate ourselves on the best strategies to cut costs while continuing to deliver high-quality education programs.
The NSBA Annual Conference, to be held April 4-7 in San Diego, offers a professional development program with hundreds of experts who can help us become more effective advocates for education funding, avoid costly litigation, serve healthy meals without breaking our budgets, and get more support from the business community.
The conference program covers everything board members need to know -- from 21st century skills to superintendent evaluations, from getting the most out of education foundations to becoming a strong, effective leader in challenging times. (Visit www.nsba.org/conference for more information.)
Steven Cheversia, a school board president in Blue Island, Ill., says what he’s learned at past NSBA conferences has helped his board make decisions that are more sound.
“What I come back with more than makes up for what we spent for attending the conference,” says Cheversia, who represents Cook County School District 130.
For example, he learned at a previous conference how to create an education foundation, and District 130, which serves four low-income, diverse towns in suburban Chicago, now has an additional source of revenue for its instructional and sports programs.
Cherversia also finds the Exhibit Hall helpful, noting that he found some good resources for street crossing signs that help children walk to school safely and products to make schools more environmentally friendly. He says many exhibitors also help school officials find grant money from state or private sources.
As a direct result of attending the NSBA conference, Cheversia says District 130 has streamlined its hiring practices, learned how to run more effective meetings, and adopted technology improvements for board members. “When board members come back and talk about what they learned, it energizes the whole board,” he says.
You might have a good grasp of the issues in your school district, but attending a national conference “gives you a global perspective,” says Jean Smith, of the Frederick County, Md., school board.
Frederick County is carrying out a systemic renovation program, and Smith has found school construction workshops at previous conferences particularly useful, as well as sessions on school law and the board-superintendent relationship.
The annual conference “re-energizes you” and “gives you a chance to learn what other districts are doing,” she says. “There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Networking with people from all over the county is amazingly helpful.”
Other districts might be facing problems that you haven’t seen yet, Smith says, and it’s “good to see what’s coming down the road.” As a representative of a large district, she finds it especially helpful to interact with other board members from similar size districts.
Larry Cockrell, a member of the Simpson County, Miss., school board, has been to all but one NSBA annual conference since 2000. “One of the things I really enjoy is networking with school board members from around the country and learning about the issues they are facing,” he says. “You tend to underestimate how a board can affect student achievement. The board can be a proactive leader and an outspoken advocate for student achievement in the community.”
Barbara Bolas is president of the National School Boards Association.
Reproduced with permission from
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