Superintendents strengthen board relationships through coaching
January 27, 2020
Twelve school district superintendents from across California are delving into board governance issues thanks to ACSA’s Targeted Assistance program and funding support from the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. In February 2019, CCEE contracted with ACSA for coaching services to support and improve school district governance teams based on the governance model and resources developed by the San Bernardino Superintendent of Schools. The $76,000 agreement enabled 12 districts to receive coaching through ACSA’s Targeted Assistance Consulting Solutions, a service where former administrators work alongside current superintendents to help them reach their goals.   “Districts’ stability in leadership is crucial for continuous improvement efforts in achieving student success. Strengthening the superintendent and board relationship to work as a collaborative team provides the students with the best opportunity for continuous improvement,” said Chelsea Kang-Smith, CCEE’s Director of Systems Improvement and Leadership Development. “By partnering with ACSA’s retired administrators for coaches, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, 12 districts and eight County Offices of Education, CCEE is supporting districts through networking within our System of Support by connecting County Offices of Education and ACSA.” While ACSA’s Targeted Assistance Consulting Solutions offers expertise in two critical areas — board governance and labor relations — this partnership focuses solely on governance issues. Coaching looks at establishing role clarity, communication, establishing trust, evaluations and identifying key priorities. Targeted Assistance Coach Christine Frazier said each of the districts she is working with for this CCEE partnership has very different support needs, including establishing a superintendent/board relationship, handling difficult facilities needs and transitioning to a new superintendent. “All of these districts benefit from a new set of eyes assisting them with their role,” Frazier said. Targeted Assistance Coach Eric Cederquist said one of the crucial aspects of this coaching is having direct contact with both sides of the relationship. “Most other coaching models do not have direct contact with both the new superintendent and the board. However, Targeted Assistance allows and encourages this interaction,” he said. “This coaching model allows for increased flexibility to ensure maximum communication for success in the areas of governance, leadership and board-superintendent relations.” For Los Gatos-Saratoga Union HS District Superintendent Michael Grove, support in developing a high-functioning governance team was crucial. Grove suggested that a new superintendent use the “honeymoon” year to invest in time, training and team building on governance topics. “Work on governance team norms, protocols and training before there is an issue,” Grove said. “Once there are troubles on the team, it may be too late.” Grove said ACSA’s Targeted Assistance dovetails nicely with California School Boards Association training. All members of the Los Gatos-Saratoga High School District governance team completed the Masters in Governance training and the team utilized CSBA’s board self-evaluation tool to assess areas of strength and identify areas for growth. “It was vital to have outside facilitation from Targeted Assistance to make sense of the CSBA survey results, to lead team efforts in goal setting, to facilitate study sessions, and to serve as an ongoing resource throughout the year,” Grove said. As ACSA and CCEE enter the second year of this two-year partnership, coaching services will continue with additional funding from County Offices of Education. Targeted Assistance Co-director Frank Adelman said coaches will be meeting soon to share what they have learned so far from their experiences with these 12 districts.

Targeted Assistance
What: ACSA’s Targeted Assistance Consulting Solutions is designed to enhance the superintendent’s ability to leverage resources to meet the goals of the Local Control and Accountability Plan in two critical practice areas: Labor Relations/Bargaining and Governance.  Info: For more information about this program, including how to participate, please contact ACSA Targeted Assistance Co-Directors Trudy Arriaga, 805-766-3377,
tarriaga@acsa.org
, and Frank Adelman, 530-339-0930,
fadelman@acsa.org
, or visit
www.acsa.org/targetedassistance
to submit an interest form.
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Superintendents from 12 California districts are receiving coaching from ACSA’s Targeted Assistance Consulting Solutions thanks to a partnership with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence.
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