Three districts last month voted on specific curriculum materials rather than setting curricular standards and delegating implementation to staff. This pattern reflects a persistent governance confusion that research links directly to superintendent turnover — and declining student outcomes in the districts that practice it most aggressively.
Continue reading →When a superintendent cites board micromanagement as a reason for resignation, most coverage treats it as a personnel story. It isn't. What this week's high-profile resignation reveals about the boundary between governance and management — and why that boundary is more consequential than most board members realize.
Continue reading →Most board overreach doesn't begin with bad intentions. It begins with confusion about what governance actually means — and who is accountable for what.
Annual performance reviews are necessary but not sufficient. Boards that only evaluate their superintendent once a year are often the last to know something is wrong.
A multi-year analysis of district performance data shows a durable correlation: boards with strong outcome-monitoring practices produce better student results, even controlling for demographics.