Maureen:
Regarding your inquiry about a "reliable and valid instrument to evaluate a
school board"...
In the U.S. at least, there are thousands of local school boards operating
under dozens or even hundreds of different charters and facing a mind
boggling mix of conditions and challenges. The notion of a single
"instrument" for use in evaluating this diverse array of organizations and
issues seems like a tall order to me. That aside, I am ignorant of the way
school boards work in Canada, My ignorance leads me to ask a handful of
questions:
How are the school boards structured and chartered in Montreal?
For what are they responsible? To whom?
Are members elected or appointed? By whom?
Who are the judges of the school board? Who will be evaluating the
school board?
What is the purpose of the evaluation? What actions will be predicated
on its results?
It seems to me the stakeholder piece of your inquiry goes to the heart of
the matter. (If none of the stakeholders cares about any of the other
measures, they are, by definition, irrelevant and can be ignored.) The
central issue would then be one of gauging how well the school board is
meeting the needs and requirements of the important stakeholder groups. (In
this context, an "important" stakeholder group is one that cannot be safely
ignored.)
In any event, a piece of the evaluation puzzle might lie in something called
"The Accountability Scorecard." Its central premise is that all
organizations (school boards and otherwise) survive and succeed to the
extent they are able to identify and respond to the needs and requirements
of important stakeholders (including themselves) without sacrificing any one
to the other in significant or lasting ways. You can find a paper about it
at my articles web site. Simply click on the URL in my e-mail signature
below and, once there, click on the articles link.
Regards,
Fred Nickols "Assistance at a Distance"
The Distance Consulting Company
http://home.att.net/~nickols/distance.htm
nickols@worldnet.att.net
----- Original Message -----
From: Subject: Evaluation of a school board
Baron, Maureen <
MBaron@EMSB.QC.CA>
> I am looking for a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate a school
board.
> Anyone know of anything?
>
> I should provide some details: - I am looking for something that
evaluates:
> - head office functionality
> -relationships with stakeholders: parents, community, students and media
> -use of financial resources
> -systems analysis (cybernetics)
> -I am not looking for academic achievement measures - we already have
plenty
> of those
> -utilization of resources such as real estate, transportation,