The Lost Role of School Board Leadership

The gap between what school boards THINK they're doing and what they're ACTUALLY achieving is wider than you think.

With the start of a new term for school board members across the state, monthly meetings are getting underway to oversee and guide local education. It's time for some candid discussion about what truly happens in those monthly meetings supposedly guiding children's education. While these gatherings should be arenas for tackling tough questions and driving improved student outcomes, the sobering reality is that instead of facing challenges head-on, many boards seem content with maintaining the status quo, avoiding controversy, and leaving the heavy lifting for someone else.

The monthly ritual unfolds like clockwork in school districts everywhere. Board members file in, take their seats, and prepare for another evening of what can only be described as passive performative leadership. The evening begins with recognitions to set the tone. Everyone celebrates a student or employee individual achievement, or maybe the marching band's recent statewide competition win. Next comes the administrative minutia (during which half the audience leaves). The facilities director then updates everyone about a new HVAC system. The superintendent presents a new initiative or new curricula the district is purchasing. Board members nod approvingly then vote to approve a few contracts. A couple hours later, everyone goes home feeling productive.

Meanwhile, a crisis lurks beneath this carefully choreographed performance: Only one-third of American fourth-graders read at grade level. Math proficiency has plummeted to decades-low levels. Achievement gaps continue to widen. But you wouldn't know it from most board meetings, where student achievement data often receives less attention than the new locker room decor.

This disconnect between this passive performative leadership and educational reality didn't happen overnight. It's the result of a gradual but profound shift in how school boards and members view their role – from ensuring student success to merely observing administrative processes.

As education governance expert AJ Crabill succinctly states, "School boards exist for one reason and one reason only: to ensure students succeed." Not to rubber-stamp administrative agendas. Not to debate peripheral issues like locker room decor or lunch vendor choice. To ensure students succeed. Period.

Corporate Boards vs. School Boards

Consider the stark contrast with a similar organizational structure: the corporate board of directors. Imagine sitting in on an Apple board meeting. Would they spend their time discussing office décor or simply endorsing whatever proposals CEO Tim Cook presents? Absolutely not.

Corporate boards maintain an unwavering focus on outcomes: market share, profit margins, product development milestones, and customer satisfaction metrics. They establish clear targets, and CEOs and management must either meet these objectives or face consequences. Miss your financial targets for multiple quarters? Prepare for challenging conversations. Fail to deliver on strategic goals? Start planning your exit.

And yes, "Schools aren't businesses!" True enough. Schools serve a higher purpose than profit margins. Yet paradoxically, corporate boards often demonstrate greater concern for their customers' outcomes than school boards show for their students' learning achievements.

Think about the responsibilities of corporate vs school boards:

• Corporate boards represent shareholder interests; school boards should represent community interests

• Corporate boards set clear performance targets; school boards should set clear learning targets

• Corporate boards hold CEOs accountable for results; school boards should hold superintendents accountable for student achievement

• Corporate boards regularly review progress toward goals; school boards should regularly review progress toward student learning objectives

While corporate boards embrace these responsibilities, school boards have largely relinquished theirs. Instead of establishing specific targets like "70% of fifth-graders will achieve math proficiency by 2026," they approve vague strategic plans filled with educational jargon about "fostering growth" and "nurturing potential."

Imagine if Apple's board ran similarly: "Our Q3 goal is to foster an environment of innovative thinking while nurturing our commitment to technology excellence..." Shareholders would revolt. Yet we accept such ambiguous non-accountability from the institutions responsible for our children's education.

Think about these parallel scenarios:

Corporate Board Meeting: CEO: "Our market share dropped 5% this quarter." Board: "What's causing this decline?" CEO: "We've identified three main factors..." Board: "What's your plan to address each one?" CEO: "Here's our strategy and timeline..."

School Board Meeting: Superintendent: "Our reading proficiency dropped 5% this year." Board: "Thank you for the update. Now, about that new playground equipment..." Superintendent: "We're implementing a new literacy initiative..." Board: "Sounds wonderful! Moving on to facility updates..."

A typical school board is most likely to include the following:

• 30 minutes celebrating and recognizing students and groups (worthy, but not governance)

• 15 minutes discussing facility maintenance issues

• 30 minutes rubber-stamping administrative recommendations (contracts curricula etc.)

• 0 minutes setting specific student achievement goals

• 0 minutes monitoring progress toward previous goals

The Intent-Outcome Gap: When Good Intentions Meet Hard Reality

Let's address the elephant in the school board room: the massive gap between intentions and outcomes in public education. This isn't about questioning anyone's heart or commitment—it's about facing an uncomfortable truth that's holding us back from real progress.

Every educator I've ever met wants students to succeed. Every school board member runs for office wanting to make a positive difference. Every parent volunteer and community supporter shows up because they care deeply about children's futures. I promise you that your superintendent has students in mind in everything they do. The intentions are all pure gold.

And yet, the remember the results from above that tell a different story. Only one-third of our fourth graders read at grade level. Math proficiency rates are plummeting. Achievement gaps persist or widen. College readiness indicators are dropping. These aren't accusations—they're facts. Cold, hard, uncomfortable facts.

This disconnect manifests regularly in school board meetings. A dedicated administrator presents an innovative new literacy program they\re eager to adopt. The intentions are commendable: helping struggling readers achieve grade-level proficiency. Board members praise the teachers and administrators' dedication. Everyone leaves feeling optimistic.

But what happens three months later? Six months? A year? Does anyone return to ask the crucial question: Did more students actually learn to read as a result?

Rarely. 

Somehow, in our current educational culture, inquiring about outcomes has become tantamount to questioning intentions. It's as if measuring results implies doubt about effort or commitment. This is fundamentally flawed reasoning.

When a doctor inquires whether a treatment improved a patient's condition, they're not questioning their colleague's intentions or expertise. They're focused on the essential question: Did the patient's health improve?

The Innovation Paradox

Here's a dirty little secret about our current educational system: In trying to protect educators from failure, we've actually prevented them from succeeding.

In most districts today, every year brings a new program, a new framework, a new buzzword-laden approach that's supposed to revolutionize learning. Teachers and administrators aren't evaluated on whether their students actually learn more, but on how faithfully they implement these top-down initiatives.

The result? A culture of compliance rather than innovation. Educators become masters of going through the motions, checking boxes, and playing it safe. Who can blame them? When success is measured by adherence to process rather than student outcomes, experimentation becomes dangerous.

"But wait," you might say, "wouldn't setting strict achievement goals make educators even more risk-averse?"

Actually, the opposite is true. When we establish clear outcome goals but give educators freedom, we give them autonomy in reaching them, we create the conditions for genuine innovation. Think back to the corporate parallel: When Apple's board tells CEO Tim Cook they expect 15% revenue growth, they don't dictate how he should achieve it. They set the target and get out of the way, letting their talented employees and teams figure out how to get there.

This is exactly what our educators need—clear goals with the freedom to innovate in achieving them. Imagine a school where the board has set a clear target: "70% of students will reach grade-level reading proficiency by 2026." Now the conversation changes to "Are your students making progress toward reading proficiency and how can we help?"

Let's be honest about why this shift is so hard. Our current system offers a perverse kind of safety: If you follow all the prescribed rules and procedures and students still don't learn, well... at least you followed the process and procedures. No one gets fired for faithfully implementing the district's chosen program.

But when we shift to clear outcome goals, suddenly there's nowhere to hide. Either students are learning or they're not. This transparency can be terrifying—at first. Yet it's precisely this clarity that empowers educators to innovate and excel.

A Call to Action

As new board members assume their positions, they face a critical choice: continue the comfortable tradition of passive governance or reclaim their essential role as guardians of student success. This transformation requires:

1. Board Courage: Setting clear, measurable goals and maintaining high expectations even when progress is uncomfortable

2. Administrative Support: Superintendents who protect and encourage innovation rather than mandating uniformity

3. Teacher Trust: Believing in educators' professional judgment and giving them room to experiment

4. Community Patience: Understanding that sustainable improvement involves some trial and error

5. Relentless Focus: Keeping student achievement at the center of every discussion and decision

Want to assess your local school board's effectiveness? Ask them these simple questions:

• What percentage of third-graders in our district read at grade level?

• What's our specific goal for improvement?

• What's our timeline for reaching it?

• What consequences exist if we don't meet these targets?

• How frequently do we monitor progress?

If your board members can't answer these basic questions (spoiler alert: most can't), they're not fulfilling their fundamental responsibility to ensure student success.

The next time you attend a school board meeting, listen. Are they discussing specific student achievement goals, or are they lost in administrative minutiae? Are they asking probing questions about academic progress, or are they simply going through prescribed motions? Better yet, make your voice heard. Remind them of their fundamental purpose.

The lost role of school boards isn't merely a problem—it's an educational crisis. However, with courage, honesty, and commitment to genuine accountability, we can restore these vital institutions to their proper role: ensuring every child receives the education they deserve. Our students merit more than leadership theater. They need leaders who aren't afraid to set high standards, demand results, and hold themselves and the school district accountable for achieving them.

The time for transformation is now. . The choice between meaningful governance and mere performative leadership isn't a small decision—it's a moral imperative that will shape the futures of countless children. 

Choose wisely.