Great School Boards: Building a High Trust Team

Great education requires transformational leaders. What it also requires are great school boards. The Center for Public Education outlines eight characteristics encompassing an effective school board, from accountability and unification to team development and defining a vision for high expectations for student achievement and quality instruction.

So, how does a school board become a great school board? The answer: by building a high-trust team.

On this episode of Change Starts Here, host Dustin Odham switches gears from his standard show format to allow folks to gain insights and tips from experts on building those high-trust school board teams through a webinar presented by Khieem Jackson, Founder of the Mission Strategy Group, and Dr. Marty Schafer, a FranklinCovey Consultant, and Coach.

Throughout this webinar, Jackson and Schafer explore board superintendent roles, shared vision around student success, accountability aligned to board and superintendent evaluations, and community engagement aligned to leadership development.

During the webinar, Jackson and Schafer also cover the following topics:

• Increasing superintendent tenure and reducing school board turnover
• Addressing district and school board concerns and plans to build student-centric initiatives and outcomes
• The elements that go into building a great school board/superintendent team

“We believe if you’re going to be an effective or high-performing board, you got to get four things right,” Schafer said. Clarity around board and superintendent roles, shared vision around student success, accountability aligned to evaluations, and community engagement aligned to leadership development are those qualities Schafer and Khieem detail in the webinar that will lead to high-performing boards.

About Marty

Dr. Marty Schafer brings innovative leadership to build strategic teams through collaboration, curriculum, and shared vision resulting in the growth of educational, business, and community partnerships. He is a dedicated advocate for public education with 18 years of service as a board director of a diverse urban school district. Dr. Schafer holds a BA in Urban Planning from Western Washington University and a Doctorate in Ministry Leadership from Golden State Seminary. 

About Khieem

Mission Strategy Group’s CEO and Founder, Khieem Jackson, is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) Veteran and senior-level government and community relations professional with diverse experience with federal, state, and local government advocacy, external relations, legislative affairs, issue management, and bi-partisan coalition building. He is a resourceful decision maker and efficient problem solver emphasizing common sense solutions. Jackson’s proven ability to excel in a fast-paced environment, particularly in “trial by fire” situations, served him well during his service on California’s Power of Democracy Steering Committee.