Waitsburg School District, board of directors retreat features leadership training

Waitsburg School District’s board of directors spent last Tuesday at a three-hour-long retreat and training at the school’s library. The training was facilitated by Dr. William Jordan from Northwest Leadership Associates.

Dr. Jordan has more than 50 years of educational experience, including serving as Walla Walla Public Schools superintendent, Prescott School District superintendent, and various educator positions. He is now a consultant at Northwest Leadership Associates.

The board members received a homework assignment from Dr. Jordan prior to the training. The questions in the assignment gave each board member a chance to think about their role and to reflect on areas they have struggled with in the past. Newer board members also had the opportunity to identify where they needed help. Communication with the district, parents, and staff was the biggest area of concern across the board.

“Communication is key,’ board member Sarah Boudrieau said. “It doesn’t matter where or for what, you have to be able to communicate clearly.”

The board echoed this statement throughout the night.

The board also had a chance to define the roles of the school board of directors, superintendent, and staff using an approach Dr. Jordan explained as a ‘how and why’ model. The school board acts as the “why.” The school board provides recommendations, reviews disciplinary actions, and acts as both judge and jury with conflicts that cannot be resolved at the supervisory level.

“If a parent is upset with how a bus ride went, they need to be directed to the transportation supervisor. If It can’t be resolved there, it needs to go to the superintendent,” Dr. Jordan explained. “If the parent still isn’t happy, the issue can be brought before the school board in an executive hearing.”

The ‘how’ usually falls to the superintendent and trickles down from there. The board provides the feedback and identifies the issue and the superintendent facilitates the solution.

Dr. Jordan spent time discussing the board’s role towards the public. The school board is able to listen to complaints, concerns, and inquiries, however, they are unable to act or speak on behalf of the board unless the topic has already been covered by the school board. Dr. Jordan recommended directing questions and concerns to teachers, principals, and/or the superintendent.

The school board spent the past school year reviewing and updating school policies. At the training, the board expressed that they really wanted to get policies up to date. Current policies help the school board determine how to handle a variety of incidents, both with students and staff. Dr. Jordan reminded the board that part of their role is to lead the policy reviews.

At the end of the training, Dr. Jordan presented the board with a School Board and Superintendent Working Agreement. The agreement suggested be used as a template, outlined the working relationship between the board and school administrators, meeting expectations, and more. The board considered moving the scheduled meetings so they could have financial documents prior to meetings without placing more stress on the business manager.

“A school board’s work is all about the kids,” Dr. Jordan said. “It sounds cliché, but if it’s not for the kids, your time is inadvisably spent. Your work has to be for the kids.”

The board of directors is looking forward to working towards a better district by utilizing the skills and instruction provided by Dr. Jordan.