As our education system becomes increasingly destabilized, it is more important than ever that our local elected leaders have the knowledge, skills, resources and capacity to fill in the gap should federal structures, guidelines and oversight disappear. 

Across the country, nearly 90,000 school board members are preparing to make decisions that will impact their communities for years to come. While national discourse captures much of our attention, now more than ever, it is at the local level where policies are shaped in ways that directly affect our daily lives.

School boards, in particular, wield tremendous power in shaping the future by deciding what students learn, which schools they can attend, what resources are available and how discipline policies are enforced.

If we want our students to thrive, school boards must function as high-performing, effective governing bodies.

 Ethan Ashley
 

School Board Partners’ latest paper, “Fulfilling Promises: What America’s School Boards Actually Need to Succeed,” identifies three core challenges that hinder the effectiveness of school boards nationwide: a lack of representation, a lack of role clarity and a lack of training and resources. To address these obstacles, we need to ensure school boards are more representative of the students they serve, provide clear guidance on the responsibilities of board members and dignify the role of board members through professional development and effective governance resources.

Our organization has seen the impact of these challenges play out in school systems across the country. When board members lack lived experience or deep relationships within the communities they serve, they often struggle to understand the real implications of their policies. For example, when boards do not include members who have personally navigated biased disciplinary policies, they may not grasp the urgency to reform them. 

Similarly, when board members fail to recognize the importance of culturally relevant curriculum, they may overlook the need for inclusive learning materials that reflect the rich histories and identities of their students.

But we also know what happens when boards get it right. Take the Tempe Union High School District in Arizona. Four years ago, the district was grappling with leadership tensions and unclear priorities. Three of the five board members received professional development and training focused on student outcomes from School Board Partners. They established clear goals, aligned their budget to those goals, engaged the community and hired a superintendent who shared a similar vision. Today, Tempe Union is an A-rated district in the state, demonstrating that when boards are supported and set up for success, students can excel.

The lesson is clear: School boards don’t have to operate the way they always have. We can — and must — equip board members with the tools to be effective partners in governance.

This requires intentional action from multiple stakeholders:

• Communities must engage in the process of electing and supporting representative school board members. This means voting for individuals who reflect the lived experience of students and advocating for boards that truly understand the challenges and strengths of the communities they serve.

• Superintendents, district leaders and education advocates must view themselves and school boards as essential partners in student success. This means calling for clarity in their roles, ensuring they have access to the right resources and respecting their critical function in shaping the future of our education system.

• State and local governments must allocate dedicated funding for school board training and professional development. We would never allow untrained individuals to run billion-dollar companies, yet we routinely place school board members in charge of massive public education systems without equipping them for the task. It is time to invest in them properly and consistently so they can deliver on their campaign promises.

At the end of the day, this goes beyond school boards — this is about the social contract that underpins our democracy.

Public schools educate the vast majority of America’s children, and the quality of their education will determine our country’s standing in decades to come. If we fail to set up our boards for success now, we risk failing an entire generation of students — and, by extension, our nation’s future.

The time to act is now.

Let’s commit to strengthening our school boards so they can fulfill their promises to students, families and communities.

When we get this right, we can transform education and ensure a brighter future for all.

The writer is the co-CEO and co-founder of School Board Partners, an organization that connects local school boards with training, support and mentorship.