Anchor Curriculum

Knowledge and Understandings

The Chair/Head need to understand the following:

• The Chair and the Head are responsible for creating a common understanding of and commitment to the school's foundation documents (e.g., mission, vision, core values, beliefs).
• Mutual trust requires communicating in a way that is candid, consistent, continuous and respectful.
• A trusting and productive Board culture (among the Chair, Head and individual Trustees) requires clearly articulated performance expectations, a commitment to agreed-upon norms, and deliberate, ongoing guidance from the Chair/Head team.
• A strong, productive relationship between the Chair and the Head is THE critical factor in effective board governance.

Knowledge and Understandings

The Chair/Head need to understand the following:

• The Board must consistently maintain a strategic focus, balancing taking care of routine matters (including fiduciary oversight) with long-term thinking and strategic decision making.
• The Board adds the most value when it focuses on the medium-to-long-term.
• The Board focuses on strategic policy issues, leaving the day-to-day management of the school, in line with board policy, to the Head.
• “Staying in one's lane” is not always clearly defined; it requires flexing with the context and situation.

Knowledge and Understandings

The Chair/Head need to understand the following:

• Policy states the “what, why, and to what extent,” while procedures describe the “how, when, and who” of policy implementation.
• There must be alignment among the school’s “foundation documents”, e.g., mission, vision, board policies, and administrative procedures.
• Policy development is generally done jointly between the board and the administration; policy adoption is done by the board; policy implementation is the role of the Head.

Knowledge and Understandings

The Chair/Head need to understand the following:

• Fiduciary oversight requires knowledge about a broad array of elements, e.g., crisis preparedness, risk management, fiscal sustainability.
• Fiduciary oversight involves deliberate planning, appropriate policy development, and regular monitoring.
• Fiduciary oversight is a shared responsibility, with clear agreement regarding who does what.

Knowledge and Understandings

The Chair/Head need to understand the following:

• The school's foundation documents, e.g., mission, vision, values, should be explicitly affirmed by the Board annually, revised as appropriate, and used as a basis for strategic decisions.
• “Being strategic” means the Board focuses primarily on strategic issues in its work.
• It is the responsibility of the Board to approve and regularly update mid- to long-term plans in three areas: finances, strategy and facilities.

Knowledge and Understandings

The Chair/Head need to understand the following:

• Assessments (of personnel, board effectiveness, program success, student progress, etc.) should be "formative" in nature, focusing on growth and improvement, as well as "summative", acknowledging goal achievement.
• In measuring school success, performance indicators should be aligned with the school’s foundation documents, e.g., mission, vision, etc.

Knowledge and Understandings

The Chair/Head need to understand the following:

• There should be established protocols for the full range of effective Board operations, stated clearly in the Policy Manual (broad expectations) and the Board Handbook (procedures and processes) which the Chair and Head monitor.
• It is absolutely critical that all Trustees understand, sign, and abide by the Board’s Conflict of Interest Policy and Code of Ethics/Conduct.
• Explicit common agreements regarding norms of operation complement established policies and principles in promoting effective board operations.
• The role of committees and task forces is to develop recommendations for the Board as designated in their Terms of Reference. Committees and Task Forces do not “decide”; that authority rests with the full Board.

Knowledge and Understandings

The Chair/Head need to understand the following:

• The Board must have sufficient information to support decision-making; however, the nature and amount of reports, presentations, and references must be thoughtfully determined.
• While the primary “face” of the school is the Head of School and her/his staff, the Board does have a role in ensuring appropriate engagement with stakeholders, a role that must be carefully and deliberately planned and performed, balancing “transparency” with the need for confidentiality.
• Channels of communication must be clearly articulated and adhered to by all parties.

Knowledge and Understandings

The Chair/Head need to understand the following:

• Board composition plays a major role in Board effectiveness.
• Trustee succession planning must be deliberate, based on established protocols, and result in getting “the right people on the bus” and preparing them to assume full responsibilities of a trustee.
• Board goal-setting and professional learning should be based on the results of the Board's self-appraisal.
• While the Board hires and evaluates the Head, both parties are responsible for supporting and nurturing each other.