Board Watch Report Card

November 2008-February 2009 Progress:

The results are in! The Board Watch volunteers’ feedback resulted in an overall C+ for the School Board for November 2008-February 2009. We acknowledge the difficult work that was done by the board in the past months and understand that their collective duty is a difficult job. Earning a C+ in Governance is somewhat like earning a C+ in Advanced Calculus; an A+ in either one is tough to earn, but we believe it’s worth the work. The overall grade is made up of the following components for each of the 5 indicators of good governance:

• Focus and Mission score is a C+ and represents volunteer responses to whether or not the board managed its time well, focused on its own goals, and focused on improving student achievement.
• Transparency score is a B- and represents volunteer responses to whether they felt welcome at the meeting, could gain access to the meeting and were able to obtain and agenda and meeting related materials.
• Conduct score is a B- reflecting volunteer feedback on how the board handled differences of opinion and whether or not comments were solution oriented vs. sarcastic or accusatory.
• Role clarity score is a C+ reflecting volunteer feedback on the Board’s provision of district-wide policy leadership and oversight vs. focus on individual programs, line items, and daily activities of staff.
• Competency score is a C+ reflecting volunteer feedback on how prepared the board was for meetings and whether or not they based decisions on facts, research, and effective practices.

A+ Schools’ Recommendations:

Our first set of recommendations pertains to transparency because in order for more of the public to be able to understand the governance process and ask tough questions to get to the root of what’s going on in our district, more of the public must first access the meetings, both physically and intellectually. It was reported that many of our volunteers weren’t able to get in the building, were unable to obtain an agenda to follow the meeting and weren’t aware of what issues were in the pipeline to be voted on during the month. Therefore, based on that feedback, A+ Schools also issues the following recommendations aimed at making School Board processes more accessible to the public:

• Provide information on all items to be voted on in advance of hearings and meetings.
• Use public hearings to exchange information with the public
• Station a staff person at the building’s main entrance during School Board meetings to ensure public access.
• Post signs leading from the main entrance to the meeting room to welcome the public and make meetings easier to find.
• Hold meetings in rooms large enough to accommodate the public.
• Post entire agenda packets online at least 24 hours in advance of meetings.

What You Can Do

Volunteer for Board Watch
Contact your School Board Member
Testify at a Public Hearing
Attend or Watch a School Board Meeting

For More Information

May 2011 Report Card
February 2011 Report Card
November 2010 Report Card
August 2010 Report Card
May 2010 Report Card
February 2010 Report Card
November 2009 Report Card
June 2009 Report Card
March 2009 Report Card

[ top ]

Copyright © 2011 A+ Schools All Rights Reserved.

A+ Schools | Pittsburgh's Community Alliance for Public Education
1901 Centre Avenue, Suite 302A | Pittsburgh, PA 15219
P: (412) 697-1298 | F: (412) 697-1516