Beliefs & Resolutions - Section 2: Control and Support of Public Schools

2.1—Local Governance
ASBA believes in local, lay governance of and accountability for public education. ASBA believes it is the responsibility of locally elected school boards as agents of state government to:

• Create the district's vision that is focused on students, excellence in education, and achievement through a collaborative process that involves staff, parents, community and students;
• Stay abreast of current education issues;
• Adopt and follow a code of ethical behavior;
• Enact, enforce and obey school district policies;
• Oversee and monitor school district finances;
• Promote a constructive relationship with the community by seeking its input and engaging in meaningful dialogue when appropriate on significant issues;
• Conduct self-evaluations to ensure the board as well as its individual members follow ASBA's Standards for Arkansas School Boards.

2.2—Goals for Education
ASBA believes that, in implementing goals for education at the federal, state, and local levels, policymakers should:

• Provide the highest quality education and an equitable educational opportunity for all children;
• Convince and remind all parents, guardians, and citizens of education’s critical importance to their communities, our state, and our nation’s success in today’s global economy, as well as our capacity to govern ourselves in a free, democratic society;
• Eliminate barriers to learning and employment by means of a state and national youth policy that coordinates services for youth at all government levels and enables schools to meet the needs of young people more effectively;
• Ensure an adequate supply of highly qualified and effective teachers and administrators, with special emphasis on increasing the number of ethnic minority educators;
• Integrate technology fully and appropriately into the learning process of all students;
• Provide sufficient training to teachers so they have the skills to incorporate technology into their classrooms and lesson plans;
• Ensure that all children in school receive the counseling, nursing, social work, and mental health services they need;
• Require funding of all mandated education programs, including IDEA and the No Child Left Behind Act;

2.3—Fiscal Adequacy
To discharge their responsibility properly, local school boards must have adequate funds to operate the public schools.

2.4—Leadership Team
ASBA supports the efforts of school boards to hire capable, competent chief administrators, whom they then support by entrusting to them the day-to-day operations of their school districts and by refraining from micro-managing those operations. It is the responsibility of school boards to create a shared vision with their community and their employees and then to ensure that their superintendent, or chief executive officer, works with them to achieve that vision.

2.5—Code of Ethics and Oath of Office
ASBA believes local school boards must conduct their business fairly and openly; comply with appropriate statutes; and adopt a Code of Ethics, mindfully incorporating its principles into all board activities.

ASBA believes that locally elected school board members should be ever mindful of the oath of office they have sworn to uphold: to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Arkansas, to refrain from being directly or indirectly interested in any contract made by the district except as may be permitted by law, and to faithfully discharge their duties as school directors in their local districts.

2.6—Accountability
ASBA believes that student needs and educational improvement should guide all the decisions made by local school boards. Those decisions should be based on continuous evaluations and should be consistent with state and local priorities and needs. To be effective, school boards, school employees, and school programs should be appropriately accountable to the citizens whose support—both tangible and intangible—is necessary for success.

2.7—Community Engagement
ASBA believes that the effectiveness of public schools is closely related to communities that are engaged and whose citizens are interested and involved in their schools. ASBA believes each local school board should pursue an active, well-defined program of school-community relations and citizen engagement and adopt such practices as part of their ongoing mission. Schools should encourage student involvement in programs that benefit the community.

2.8—Government Relations
ASBA believes in the democratic process and thereby understands the importance of effectively working and collaborating with lawmakers and other policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels to ensure sound public policy on matters pertaining to children and their education. ASBA encourages school board members to look at issues by asking themselves three questions—(1) Is it good for kids? (2) Will it help to build an education ethic in our state?, and (3) Is everyone held appropriately accountable—and follow that up by taking an active role in advocating for children, for their local schools, and for public education. ASBA urges all school board members to become actively involved in the legislative process at both the state and federal levels. School boards should keep in touch with their legislators and members of Congress, informing them of their districts’ successes, needs, and concerns.

2.9—School Board Member Professional Development
ASBA believes school board members must stay abreast of current developments and best practices in education by attending and participating in professional development opportunities to learn and demonstrate new skills and knowledge and to enhance their leadership role. Such opportunities include the many workshops, meetings, seminars, and conferences offered by the Arkansas School Boards Association, the National School Boards Association, and other organizations. Further, ASBA believes school board members should read and conduct the personal research necessary to make the best decisions for their schools and their communities. School boards also should inform their constituents of the need for and importance of professional development activities for school board members and all of the professionals who staff the schools.

2.10—Standards of Board Operations
School boards should function as nonpartisan, broadly representative, corporate bodies. Each member of a school board should let his or her consideration for the entire district take precedence over partisanship and special interests. Even when elected by zones, board members have the responsibility to consider the needs of all the children in their districts. Individual school boards are encouraged to adopt the Standards for Arkansas School Boards approved by the 2002 ASBA Delegate Assembly.

2.11—Written Policy
After consultation with groups affected, school boards should formulate and adopt written policies, know and follow those policies, and properly delegate implementation of those policies. Further, all policies should be reviewed on a routine basis.

2.12—Open Board Meetings and Public Information
School boards should conduct school district business in open session, except as otherwise provided by law, and use every possible means to inform the public of matters concerning the schools.

2.13—Parent, Business, and Community Involvement
School boards should make special efforts to promote the active participation of parents, business, and other community members in formulating a shared vision and participating in a mission that will benefit all students.

2.14—School Volunteers and Business Partnerships
School boards should encourage, acknowledge, and support business partnerships and the meaningful use of volunteers as ways of enriching the learning experiences of students while helping to build strong and vibrant school communities.

2.15—Board Self-Evaluation
School boards should conduct a regular self-evaluation and develop an action plan for continued improvement. A comprehensive program of continuing education should be part of that plan.

2.16—Board Mission Statement
School boards, in concert with the community and staff, should help to define and establish a shared vision, values, and purposes that drive the mission of the school system. That mission should be reviewed often to make certain the work is faithful to the vision and values.

2.17—Strategic Planning
School boards should use a strategic planning process to reach mutual agreement in setting, revising, and achieving their districts’ goals.

2.18—Board-Superintendent Relationships
Each local school board and superintendent should devote appropriate time and energy to developing productive, cooperative working relationships and to developing a climate where everyone works cooperatively so education can flourish.

2.19—Superintendent Evaluation
Each local school board, in concert with its superintendent, should develop an instrument to evaluate the work of the superintendent. By law, the board must evaluate the superintendent at least annually or no less often than prior to any extension of his or her employment contract.

2.20—Equal Rights
ASBA supports equal rights for all persons regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, immigration status, socio-economic status, or disability. All local school boards should review their policies to guarantee equal opportunity for both staff and students. School boards should recognize the value of diversity, continue to promote equality, and eliminate procedures that limit equal opportunities for students and staff.

2.21—Teacher Education and Licensing
School boards should encourage continuous improvement in the quality of teaching and school administration. ASBA supports efforts to effectively train highly qualified teachers in a manner that is aligned with the state’s education standards. ASBA supports renewable teacher licensing and rigorous standards for achieving and maintaining licensing based on an objective assessment of subject knowledge, student academic growth, classroom management and instructional techniques, interaction with peers, and ongoing, focused and strategic professional development.

2.22—Teacher Evaluation
ASBA supports the Teacher Excellence and Support System, created by Act 1209 of 2011. The law sets up a process designed to provide meaningful teacher evaluation, set the parameters for evaluations to follow, and create consistency throughout the state.

2.23—Teacher Recruitment, Retention, and Salaries
ASBA supports efforts to develop a comprehensive approach to teacher recruitment in the state. ASBA encourages cooperative and coordinated efforts among the private and non-profit sectors, state government agencies, colleges and universities, and public schools to: (1) identify and encourage first-rate students to enter the teaching profession; (2) ensure that the teaching profession is attractive both economically and personally, and (3) increase the number of minority students entering the teaching profession. ASBA strongly supports efforts to ensure that Arkansas teacher salaries are competitive with those within the region, as well as efforts to more effectively retain high quality educators for Arkansas public schools.

2.24—Professional Standards
ASBA supports voluntary national certification for teachers and principals and encourages national, state, and local officials to support individuals seeking these distinctions and to reward their successful accomplishments.

Click on one of the sections below to continue reading:

Section 1 – Declarations of Appreciation
Section 2 – Control and Support of Public Schools
Section 3 – General Policy Considerations
Section 4 – A Continuing Resolution

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