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Tell school board members in most districts that you want to spend economic-stimulus dollars on reading interventions, and their answer is likely to be: 鈥淪ounds great! Approved. Next item.鈥�

But Penny MacCormack, the chief academic officer of the 22,000-student Hartford school district, knew she鈥檇 better be ready to answer another question: How does this help us meet our policy goals?

Such questions are common from the nine-person board, whose members have spent the past two years working on a policy framework that lays out expectations for improving academic performance in Connecticut鈥檚 largest district. That focus started with the district鈥檚 participation in Reform Governance in Action.

Launched in 2004, the program is a two-year institute that brings hand-picked urban school boards and superintendents together to work on creating tools that help them not only govern effectively, but also bring about meaningful results for students.

Three Levers

The program was the brainchild of Donald R. McAdams, a former Houston school board member who formed the Houston-based Center for Reform of School Systems. It is funded by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, which teamed up with McAdams to run an earlier effort, the now-defunct weeklong Broad Institute for School Boards.

The training is based on the philosophy that school boards have three major levers: using reform-oriented policy to drive change, building community support for the agenda, and hiring superintendents who can carry out the vision.

鈥淲e are school reformers first,鈥� McAdams says, 鈥渁nd we are looking for governance as one of the ways to respond to the challenge of achievement in urban schools.鈥�

Dan Katzir, the managing director of the Los Angeles-based Broad Foundation, says the philanthropy鈥檚 founder, Eli Broad, has invested in the program because there were few options available to train urban superintendents and school board members on closing achievement gaps.

鈥淚f we are going to change the game in terms of overall results for disadvantaged kids,鈥� Katzir says, 鈥渨e have to enable a higher level of knowledge and action and ability, frankly, of the governing body.鈥�

In the training, a school board learns to use research to select a 鈥渢heory of action,鈥� create a policy framework that supports it, and evaluate the superintendent based on how he or she meets the goals aligned with the theory of action.

The Broad Foundation pays most costs associated with the program鈥攎ore than $200,000 for each district鈥攂ut school districts are required to pay the approximately $60,000 in expenses for the in-district consulting visits.

Reform Route

Governance expert Donald R. McAdams lays out this path for school boards to follow in order to effectively govern districts and ensure a focus on academic achievement.

SOURCE: Reform Governance in Action

The school board and administrative team for each participating district meet every other month with a consultant for a weekend of planning and working toward putting their ideas into practice. Then, the board, superintendent, and two top administrators meet in four large-group sessions that bring together all of the four or five urban districts in each training cohort. Those meetings take place in a variety of locations across the nation.

鈥淚t really teaches you your role as an oversight board,鈥� says Hartford board member Pamela Richmond. 鈥淲e found there were things we were sticking our hands in that we shouldn鈥檛 have.鈥�

By Invitation Only

The school districts take part on an invitation-only basis, and must keep up with the training and policy-crafting to remain in the RGA program. McAdams says the program targets districts that have shown a commitment to reform.

Board-administrative teams use the information learned in sessions to help guide them in crafting policies in a variety of areas, from constituent services to professional development. They get feedback from RGA staffers and board members in other districts.

鈥淥ur work is really designed for boards that really want to do something and governance teams that get along reasonably well,鈥� McAdams says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not therapy.鈥�

Boards are taught about theories of action that other districts have used to great effect. The Long Beach, Calif., school district, for example, uses 鈥渕anaged instruction,鈥� under which all schools use the same curriculum. New York City鈥檚 system, in contrast, uses 鈥減erformance management,鈥� giving principals significant autonomy over how their schools are run.

The theory of action in Hartford is 鈥渕anaged performance empowerment,鈥� a blend of the two approaches. The district鈥檚 relationship with each school depends on its performance. As schools meet targets, their principals gain more autonomy over budget, personnel, and curriculum decisions.

鈥淥ur theory of action says the people best able to make the decisions are at the school,鈥� MacCormack, the chief academic officer, says. The central office views itself as 鈥渋n service鈥� to the schools, she says, creating the tools and working with school-level staff members to find the professional development that meets their needs.

That philosophy, Superintendent Steven J. Adamowski confirms, is etched into the hearts of each board member.

鈥淪ome boards rent the superintendent鈥檚 theory of action,鈥� he says. 鈥淥urs owns it.鈥�

Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez, himself a member of the school board, appoints five of its nine members; the rest are elected. The policies stemming from the Reform Governance in Action training, he says, have created 鈥渁 measuring stick that is clearer than it has ever been.鈥�

鈥淓verybody is on the same page,鈥� the mayor says. 鈥淚t is clear when your school improves or not, and what are the ramifications.鈥�

Elizabeth Brad Noel, a board member who鈥檚 been involved with Hartford鈥檚 schools since she began her counseling career in the system in 1967, says the training sessions helped create a bond among board members.

鈥淥ne of the values was all of us getting to be together with the superintendent and leadership for three or four days,鈥� Noel says of the out-of-town institute sessions. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get that kind of opportunity when you are home.鈥�

Hartford has been the most improved district in Connecticut the past two years, Adamowski notes, a feat that he believes would not have been as easily achieved without the outside help.

Ada M. Miranda, the chairwoman of the board, says the intensive program was like going through a graduate-level class on school governance. The training, and Adamowski鈥檚 leadership, have transformed the way the district does business, she and other board members say.

鈥淏oards come and go, and so do superintendents. We don鈥檛 want what has happened to be dropped. So we are focused on sustainability,鈥� Miranda says. 鈥淲hat you have in policy, someone will have to get consensus to change. Policy is a key sustainability element.鈥�

鈥楶roductive and Helpful鈥�

Kriner Cash, the superintendent of the 108,000-student Memphis, Tenn., district, says going through the RGA training has been a boon to his district. Cash and the members of the school board started the program shortly after he took the reins last year; the district is midway through its training.

鈥淚 think it has been extraordnarily productive and helpful, in that the board recognizes its primary role, and a key one, in creating policies that focus on reform,鈥� he says.

鈥淲e have many compliance policies, but we need policy that deals with reform and transformation of the district. That鈥檚 what [board members] have been focusing on鈥攖ransforming our culture into a high-performing one of academic achievement.鈥�

McAdams, the founder of Reform Governance in Action, points to the Aldine Independent School District in Texas, which this year won the Broad Prize for Urban Education; the Duval County, Fla., schools; and the Charlotte-Mecklenberg, N.C., district as among the program鈥檚 success stories.

Some Don鈥檛 Finish

But he also counts as successes some school district teams that didn鈥檛 finish the program, but implemented what they learned.

Denver is one example. Bruce Hoyt, a school board member there, says the training members received helped lay the groundwork for the improvement agenda the board pursued with then-Superintendent Michael Bennet, who later left that job to accept an appointment to a U.S. Senate seat.

Hoyt says Denver didn鈥檛 finish because participants found it hard to implement their reform plan with Bennet while also trying to finish RGA鈥檚 strict schedule. But the program鈥檚 case studies were key, Hoyt says, allowing the Denver board to see how other urban districts were tackling similar problems and getting results.

Wallace Report: Leading for Learning

The sixth annual Leading for Learning report, funded by The Wallace Foundation, examines the school board鈥檚 role in education leadership.
鈥� Click here to read the full report.

鈥淚t has really given us tremendous confidence in knowing we are implementing the right reform model, even if we haven鈥檛 seen the results flow as fast as we鈥檇 like,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time well spent. The entire training is right on point with what every urban school board member and school team needs to know.鈥�

McAdams says the program also was getting 鈥渞eal traction鈥� with school board members in the District of Columbia before Mayor Adrian M. Fenty took over the school system in 2007.

Katzir of the Broad Foundation says the results of the training have been mixed, with some districts showing greater progress in improving student achievement than others.

鈥淕ood school boards are not a sufficient condition for high-performing schools,鈥� McAdams says, 鈥渂ut they are a necessary condition.鈥�

鈥淭hey are not going away,鈥� he adds, 鈥渟o helping them become productive as reform leaders seems to be a very wise public-policy direction.鈥�