Lyndon School Governing Board Orientation

May 31, 2023

Goals

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• To understand the historical place of Pilot schools within BPS and nation

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• To better understand what it means to be a Pilot school, and the autonomies they have

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• To understand governing board’s role and responsibilities

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What questions do you have about Pilot schools, autonomies, and governing boards?

• What is a Pilot school?
• What are the limits of a governing board?
• What’s the difference between a school site council and a GB?
• How does the SSC deal with issues having to do with the school leaders?
• Are we making the most out of being a Pilot school, and what more can we do?
• How do we change policies or programs?
• What authority do we have re: district resources - how to access them? And if we can’t have them, can we go outside the district to get them?

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Pilot Schools History

• Origin: Created in 1994 by Mayor, School Committee, and BTU in response to charter school legislation; first in the nation!

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• Goal: Provide models of educational excellence to foster widespread educational reform throughout BPS

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• Founding Principle: Schools have the best chance to educate all students if granted autonomy in exchange for accountability

The Agreement

• The Deal: The district frees schools from district policies (but not state/federal laws) in exchange for the BTU freeing schools from contract work rules

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• The Intent: Create empowered school communities of educators, parents, and in high schools, students to create more innovative, creative schools that serve the assets and needs of all students

Pilot School Autonomies

• Budget
• Staffing
• Curriculum & Assessment
• Professional Development
• Calendar and Schedule
• Governance

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(Full description on Pages 9-10 in BPS Autonomous Schools Manual)

Pilot School Autonomies

• Budget
• Staffing
• Curriculum & Assessment
• Professional Development
• Calendar and Schedule
• Governance

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(Full description on Pages 9-10 in BPS Autonomous Schools Manual)

Pilot Schools’ Contributions to the District

District Policies

• Student Weighted Funding
• Open Posting

Programs & Staffing

• Teachers as School Leaders
• Student Support Coordinators
• Humanities (in secondary schools)
• Performance Assessments & Student Portfolios
• Theme-based Schools

Governing Board Responsibilities

• Set and uphold the school’s vision and mission
• Hire and annually evaluate the principal
• Approve the annual school budget
• Approve the annual Election-to-Work Agreement with BTU staff
• Approve any major programmatic or facility decisions
• Annually assess the school’s progress

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(Full Description on pp. 54-55 of the BPS Autonomous Schools Manual)

Governing Board Membership and Selection

In order to meet state requirements for school council membership and BTU contract requirements:

• Principal/School Leader
• A set number of parents elected by parents which at minimum equals the total number of teachers and principal/school leader
• A set number of teachers elected by teachers (a minimum of four)
• A set number of community members selected by the governing board
• In high schools, a student elected by fellow students

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Governing Board By-Laws

• Number and length of meetings per school year
• Number of board members within each constitutency
• Length of term of office and elections procedures for each constituency
• What constitutes a quorum
• Member responsibilities
• Officers and responsibilities
• How decisions are made
• Communications with the larger school community

(Full description on pp. 56-57 of BPS Autonomous Schools Manual)

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Decision-Making

• Majority Vote

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• Two-thirds Vote

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• Consensus (e.g., Fist to Five)

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• Consensus with fall-back (majority vote or majority vote within each constituency)

Back to Unanswered Questions!