To my surprise, I've been told by every school Board members that the School Board is not responsible for "education". Well fancy that, by now I'm wondering who's responsible for education at ISK? Their answers were the same, "The Director". Well fancy that, then who's making sure that the Director is doing a good job? Obviously, not the School Board because they are not responsible for education!
Anyway, to satisfy my curiosity, I visited the ISK website and stumbled upon the ISK Board Policy Manual (surprise, surprise!!), and to my surprise (again), the policy manual states the following:
1.3 School Structure and Organization
1.3.1 The School Board
The Board is the governing body of the School. All matters that pertain to the making of policy for the School will rest with the School Board. The School Board’s primary responsibilities are to provide:
- Education for the Students
- Constructive work environment for the teaching and non-teaching staff
- Facilities for the operation of the School
- Financial leadership in all matters
Hmm, it seems to me (if I can actually interpret this into simple English), that according to the Policy Manual, the School Board is responsible for education and it is their "primary" responsibility. But why do these Board members tell me otherwise?? Are they really that ill-informed?
Seriously, who is responsible for Education at ISK? I quote from Eminem: Will the real slim shady please stand up!
Take a poll.
online poll by Opinion Stage
3 comments:
Hi Lucy,
Maybe the appropriate question would be to find out if/how the Director's performance is evaluated and if/how education is included in these assessment criteria.
If nothing public exists, the parents can always weight on it.
My personal impression:
Board delegated education related subject to Director (which kind of does make sense - she is supposed to be professional hired for that purpose). What I do not like is that we seem to absolve ourselves from any responsibilities in that area.
I have a personal feeling that the Board just does not feel competent or comfortable enough to start any serious discussion about how we can improve the quality of education in ISK.
So back to you question about director evaluation: October Board Meeting Minutes IIIc:
Director’s Goals for 2013-2014:
1) Monitor strategies in the Action Plan for 2013-14 to ensure completion to a high standard and keep the Board informed regarding progress.
2) Ensure the 5 Year Accreditation Visit from NEASC/CIS is successful.
3) Develop action plan for successful work/life balance.
Comment #5
Who is Responsible for Education at ISK?
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The Board of Directors at the vast majority of schools – public and private are comprised of parents. Almost all of these parents have a keen interest in their children’s education, but alas, most are not “education professionals.’
The ISK Board is no different. Lucy mentioned that “some of Board members have children attending ISK” when in fact, the large majority do. It was written that the all Board members said ‘the Board is not responsible for education’. From John’s view, most experienced Board members understand what their roles are. There is a first-class Board training program that each member goes through once elected.
John has no doubt that the Director and faculty together with the Board are jointly responsible for the education of our children. As a lifelong education professional, Director Heard guides the Board on issues that require educational expertise. The Administration also does substantial ‘benchmarking’ with other international schools to compare notes with other educational best practices.
The Board is there to insure that the environment is right, the policies set, and the finances are stable, to allow the Director and faculty to pursue and implement the right education programs and strategy.
For the record, on a personal note, we are very pleased with the quality of education that our children are receiving at ISK. We are particularly thrilled with the focus not only on the “three R’s” (reading, writing and arithmetic) but with the development of our children’s creative talents – the often ignored ‘right side of the brain’ stuff. In this area, ISK truly excels.
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