From Strategic Planning to Advocacy and Implementation: Board of Trustees Retreat
By Anne Hipskind Roberts, Chair, Board of Trustees
On April 28th, The San Francisco School Board of Trustees, along with members of the Administration, participated in our annual spring retreat. The theme of the day was “From Strategic Planning to Advocacy and Implementation.” The goals for the day were:
- To facilitate professional development for board members and administration with regard to governance such that they understand their role as trustees and administration, in relation to Committees and Strategic Plan implementation.
- To further develop interpersonal relationships among trustees and administration and to facilitate team and community-building.
To this end, we spent the morning with consultant to nonprofit organizations and independent school boards Lynn Wendell who led us through a series of exercises to understand our interpersonal work styles, to examine the role of governance as it relates to day-to-day school program, and to consider our roles and responsibilities as it relates to Strategic Plan implementation.
We specifically looked at our STEAM effort (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math) as part of the Empathy in the Age of Acceleration priority. Board members and administrators were asked to consider, “How does STEAM show up in everyday life? Your personal life? Your professional life?” Through this exercise we saw the interconnectedness of each of these disciplines; we recognized the vitality and relevance of our Arts program to the priority; and we affirmed our commitment to seeing this effort implemented through the lens of our Humanitarian Promise.
As we begin the implementation of our Strategic Plan, STEAM, and beyond, perhaps it is an exercise for each of us to consider: How does STEAM show up in your everyday life? Your personal life? Your professional life? We are excited to reflect with you as our journey into the Strategic Plan continues!
Posted May 08, 2018
