January is "School Board Recognition Month" and this is an excellent time to express appreciation to your school board members, while at the same time showing your community how your board and your school district are focusing on improving student achievement.

According to the National School Boards Association, school boards can support student achievement by focusing on: vision, standards, assessment, accountability, alignment, climate, collaborative relationships and continuous improvement. Through their actions in these eight areas, school boards can continually put student achievement at the center of what they do and can engage educators as well as community members as they do it.

Following the list of key activities in each of the eight areas are suggestions for ways to feature the actions of your school board during "School Board Recognition Month."

Focusing on the Key Work of School Boards

Vision

Create district and community consensus on achievement objectives.

Clearly define expectations for what students should know and be able to do.

Quantify those expectations and set agreed-upon measures for achievement.

• Alert the Chamber of Commerce and local service clubs about School Board Recognition Month and encourage them to recognize school board members during their regular January meetings and/or in their organization newsletters. Send each group a copy of the district's strategic plan and annual goals, along with a brief explanation of the school board's role in developing this vision of student achievement for your community. In addition to being recognized for their efforts, board members can take these opportunities to invite the members of these groups to become involved in their comprehensive planning process.
• Ask the county or city governing body to declare January "School Board Recognition Month" in your community. A sample proclamation is enclosed. Use the signing of the proclamation as a chance to publicize the board's leadership role in focusing community attention on clear expectations for high student achievement.
• Kick off a series of community forums about your school district. Use the eight areas that make up the key work of school boards as the topics for the forums.
• Recognize the school board for their efforts to engage the entire community in a comprehensive planning process for the school district that has student achievement as the top priority.

Standards

Establish clear standards for student performance and communicate them continually.

Base standards on an external source that has credibility in the community.

Disseminate standards clearly and widely to students, staff and community.

• Write a series of articles for district and school newsletters which clearly explain the board's standards for student performance. Express appreciation to board members for the hours of work that went in to understanding state and national mandates, to researching what people in your community expect from the schools, and to determining what students should know and be able to do at key points in their school careers.
• During a school board meeting, arrange for several students from a variety of grades to demonstrate to the board how they are meeting district standards.
• Ask the parent organization at each school to schedule an appreciation event for the school board and to somehow feature the district's standards for student performance. Entertainment at the events might be provided by students demonstrating how they are doing in terms of meeting those standards. This is a good opportunity for parents to thank board members for setting high expectations for their children and to ask clarifying questions about the standards their children are being expected to meet.
• Prepare displays for each school building, the central district office and other public places throughout your community showing the district's standards for student performance, how students are doing in relation to those standards, and the steps taken by the school board to assure that the standards relate to state and national norms.

Assessment

Ensure that assessments are tied to established standards.

Use multiple, ongoing assessment measures.

Ensure that assessments are explained to the community.

• Encourage your local news media (newspapers, radio stations and television stations) to interview school board members for special stories during School Board Recognition Month. Provide media representatives information about the key role of school boards and suggest that they discuss with board members how student achievement is measured in your district and the progress of students toward achieving the district's standards.
• Use school and/or district reader boards to proclaim how well students are doing in your schools and to thank school board members for establishing a system that makes this possible.
• Create a school board brochure complete with board member's pictures, profiles and an invitation for comments or questions. Include an explanation of the district's assessment program and how the results are being used by the board to make further decisions for the district. Tell people how they can become involved.

Accountability

Measure the performance of all school staff members, administrators and the school board itself against student achievement objectives.

Continually track progress and report results honestly.

• Make a special effort to introduce board members at school functions during January and to thank them for their service. Explain, at each function, the board's desire to be accountable to the community, what efforts they have instituted to track student progress, and where people can peruse the results of those efforts.
• Arrange for a school board commendation at a staff in-service meeting.
• Distribute to each board member written comments from students about their school and/or the school district.
• Schedule school board members to speak to social studies classes studying local government. Ask them to explain how a school board governs a school district.

Alignment

Align resources to ensure students meet standards.

Include the community in the review of the district's budget and management process.

Ensure that resources support parents in helping their children with schoolwork.

• Prepare special remembrances to present to board members at their regular meeting. Select gifts that show how students and staff are using district resources. Such gifts might include framed copies of student art, cassette recordings of student musical performances, special plants grown in a school greenhouse, certificates produced in a computer lab, cookies baked by students in a cooking class, video tape of the district produced by students ... the list is endless.
• Encourage school staff members, both certificated and classified, to write notes to board members thanking them for aligning the district's resources to assure adequate individual attention to students.
• Ask business partners to make a special effort to thank school board members during January.

Climate

Create a climate that supports the philosophy that all children can learn at high levels.

Empower staff to meet the needs of all students.

Model mutual respect and professional behavior in school board meetings and with the school district superintendent and staff

• Arrange for staff and students to make a large "Thank You to Our School Board" banners and ask students, staff and parents to sign their names below the message. Display the banners at a prominent location in your community such as a grocery store, library, bank, etc., throughout January.
• Ask students to write letters to board members expressing their gratitude for the work they do. This is a good way to demonstrate proper punctuation, spelling, grammar and good penmanship, and to teach students about the responsibilities of the school board. It is also a good chance for students to describe school in their own words.
• Arrange for board members to visit schools and to tour district facilities. Let students at each school give board members a tour of the school, and encourage the staff and students at each school to create unique and special ways of saying thank you to the board members. Some of them might make good photos for local newspapers and television stations.

Collaborative Relationships

Build collaborative relationships with political and business leaders to develop a consensus for student success.

Communicate regularly with federal and state officials about student achievement.

Model behavior that emphasizes trust, teamwork and shared accountability.

• Encourage businesses to sponsor radio public service announcements acknowledging the work of the school board and the ways the board collaborates with groups in the community.
• Invite local elected officials and other community leaders to an "after-work" reception for the school board. Use this as an opportunity to thank the board members for their dedication and hard work, and encourage board members to mingle with the crowd and to invite people to join with them in working on student achievement issues.
• Write letters to your school board members' employers pointing out the valuable public service board members provide to the community and thanking the employers for supporting employee participation in this important public service.

Continuous Improvement

Commit to continuous education and training on issues related to achievement.

Use data on student achievement to set priorities for allocating resources.

Adjust strategic plan on the basis of data and community input.

• Encourage your parent organizations to schedule an appreciation breakfast (or other activity) for the school board. Describe the board's efforts to improve student achievement, ask for parent reaction, and explain the process for future involvement and continuous improvement.
• Present members of the board with a pin or personalized coffee mug as a token of your community's appreciation and as a permanent reminder that their key work is to focus on student achievement.
• Arrange for board members to participate in radio and/or television talk shows to discuss district successes and planned improvements. Ask the host to remind listeners that January is "School Board Recognition Month."
• School board members know that focusing on student achievement pays off in higher levels of performance for every part of the school system and that they have an important role to play. "School Board Recognition Month" is the ideal time to thank board members for serving as the critical link between schools, parents and the community.

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