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How school boards are uniquely positioned to strengthen our public education system and our democracy. In Virginia, a contentious school board meeting led to an arrest and trespassing summons. In Utah, eleven people were charged with disorderly conduct after a board meeting turned chaotic. Not long ago, school boards conducted mundane district business. Understudied and underreported, they were an afterthought of centrally driven education reform efforts. Now, across blue, purple, and red states, school boards have become the epicenter of heated debates, reflecting society’s deep divisions. In While battles in the boardroom may be uncomfortable, they exemplify how passionate Americans are about education. As policymakers debate the federal government’s role in K-12 and states pursue sharply divergent policies, Levy offers a roadmap that empowers school boards to tackle intractable public education challenges, including initiative fatigue, district climate, and accountability. School boards are where theory meets practice, where federal and state requirements converge with local policies, and where constituents can advocate for important issues affecting our children today. Every K-12 stakeholder--administrators, teachers, parents, and students alike--has a vested interest in understanding how school boards shape education.
List of contents
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Part I: Battles in the Boardroom
1 Echoes of the Past
2 Erosion of Trust
3 The Fishbowl
4 Blurry Lines
5 Searching for a Ceasefire
Part II: The Case for School Boards
6 From Wall Street to a School Board Seat
7 Initiative Fatigue
8 District Climate
9 Engagement with the Community
10 Accountability
11 Short-Termism
Part III: Our Shared Responsibility
12 Strengthening School Boards
13 Beyond Education
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
About the author
Scott Levy is Adjunct Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has been elected four times to a local public school board in Westchester County, NY, and has served as president of a regional school boards association. He has also served as chairman of a children's hospital and Executive Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. He spent two decades as an investment banker advising corporate boards and senior executives.
