Superintendents Toolkit 2013

Suggested talking points: Board members/ staff attending conferences

1. Training for board members is now required by law, including:  Minimum of four hours of professional development leadership training on education and labor law, financial oversight and accountability and fiduciary responsibilities.  Training on the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) evaluations  Training on the Open Meetings Act 2. The Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) encourages board members to develop ongoing professional development plans so that they can continue to gain knowledge and skills that can be applied to their board service. 3. Conferences often offer a level of subject-matter expert speakers, presentations and training that an individual school district cannot afford to provide. 4. While online training can be effective in some instances, face-to-face interaction with school board members from other districts throughout the state and even in other states is a valuable source of information when it comes to:  Applying new educational strategies  Use of technology  The implications of new federal and state laws or mandates  Effective use of standardized tests 5. Bottom line is that school board members need to be as aware as superintendents of emerging issues, new laws and mandates and new strategies and approaches for public education if they are going to be effective in their roles as the people who set policies, control budgets of more than $ XXX dollars and hire and fire teachers and administrators. 6. Conferences remain one of the best, most cost-efficient ways to provide ongoing professional development opportunities for board members as long as those conferences are selected with those things in mind. 7. Cite any specific examples of any cost-saving tips, ideas or anecdotes that may have come from board members attending a conference.  The new performance evaluation processes  Other emerging issues in public education.