In 1837, the Massachusetts Board of Education was created as the first state board of education in America.
Boards of Education (BOE) began being established in other parts of country, with the primary focus being to help district school administrators and school business administrators with submitting annual budgets for public education, and, setting and maintaining policies, procedures, and standards needed for the smooth operation of a school district.
The mission and vision behind all that is done by a school board is directly connected to improving student achievement and teacher performance.
However, until a person has an opportunity to be up close and personal to the inner workings of BOEs, chances are the outsiders looking in will freely dole out criticisms and recommendations to the BOE about how “they should really be functioning.”
School boards of education have received their fare share of criticism and lambasting, especially over the last several years.
A person can generally read any e-newspaper or e-newsletter, or watch news’ programs on television to see just how much criticism is floating out there.
Until a person is on the inside closely examining what school boards face in today’s tough economy as they try to budget, establish and maintain policies, and set procedures and standards; the inclination may be to form opinions and make judgments about what “school boards are not doing correctly.”
Many a school year has gone by with large numbers of individuals describing the quality of a school board based on whatever real or imagined “facts” they have while their opinions about school boards are forming.
Sometimes a person will either run for and win a school board seat, or apply for and get a position within a school district that allows him or her to work closely with a school board.
He or she will then be “on the inside looking in” to undoubtedly form a completely new opinion about what school boards do, and why certain decisions are made regarding the functioning and overall operations of a district.
It is never a good idea for us to judge a book by its cover, and potentially miss enjoying a good read just because the cover may seem a bit tattered or unappealing.
It is just as bad of an idea for us to prejudge school boards until we are no longer on the outside looking in, but are on the inside looking in and working alongside school board members who want nothing but the best for our children just like the rest of us.
We can find out when school board elections take place in our communities and show support to our local school boards by casting ballots.
Vote to show support for the work school boards of education do to improve student achievement and teacher performance as a way to position our students and teachers to be more effective and academically competitive in today’s global society.
Sharon M. Biggs, M.A., is a wife, mother, and 21st Century educational leader & school district administrator who serves as Co-Chair & President of Lifeline Foundation, Inc. This 25-year educator, who is currently working on her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, is also Founder, Editor, and Chief Writer of LifelineExtensions.blog. View other published works at http://www.examiner.com/. Contact Sharon directly for more information: smbiggs@mylifelinefoundation.org. "Children are the globe's most precious commodity." (Terence H. Biggs, Jr. ~ 2009)
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