Read our experts’ insights into what it takes for charter school governance teams to deliver exceptional results for kids.
Do you need your board to boost its role in fundraising and development this year? Charter school funding has changed a lot since the pandemic began. And more and more charter school CEOs and board members are coming to BoardOnTrack for help here. Here are four key ways for charter schools to ensure their boards […]
With the changes brought about by the Brown Act legislation, BoardOnTrack has adjusted our platform to help you remain compliant.
Many people know that an annual retreat is something that charter school boards do, but don’t really know exactly why they need to hold a board retreat every year. Board retreats are especially necessary in this pivotal moment. Here are the five primary reasons an annual retreat is a vital piece of your charter school […]
What are the key roles and responsibilities for a charter school board retreat? Everyone on your governance team will have a role to play in planning, participating in, and following through on your board retreat. Who Should Attend Your Charter School Board Retreat? The Governance Committee will take the lead in planning your retreat The […]
It’s often better and more productive to have a professional board retreat facilitator. Here’s why. It’s incredibly difficult to fully participate in a retreat while also facilitating. If your CEO or a board member is in the role of retreat facilitator, you might miss out on their full contributions to the retreat. Having an outside […]
Planning a board retreat can be daunting. And board retreat help comes in many forms. While board retreat facilitation can be a huge help to ensuring your charter school’s annual board retreat is effective, there are much more scalable ways to ensure that your board’s retreat is not only an effective event but sets you […]
Your annual board retreat is where you do deep strategic work and important board-level work like reelect your officers — your board chair, your vice chair, and other key positions.
Is your charter school board retreat subject to open meeting laws? Your charter school’s board meetings are subject to your state’s open meeting laws. The same is true for your board’s retreat. Know how your state’s open meeting laws apply Every state has different legal requirements. So while we can’t offer legal advice specific to […]
We’re often asked whether we offer board coaching and training or board meeting facilitation to charter schools looking to improve their governance capabilities. BoardOnTrack membership gives you access to powerful online governance tools built specifically to meet charter schools’ unique needs. But, what’s more, your membership provides you with access to a number of options […]
If your charter school board is preparing for a board retreat, be sure to complete a board assessment in advance. Charter school governance is a high-stakes endeavor. It must be treated with the professionalism it deserves. Charter schools use data to drive excellence in every aspect of the organization — their human capital pipeline, student […]
Your charter school board retreat agenda should focus on maintaining and improving your governance capabilities, as well as strategically contributing to your charter school’s success. These important board retreat agenda items help the board maintain its work as a governing body and a strategic partner to the CEO, while also clarifying how it’ll improve its […]
Watch the latest free governance training webinar by BoardOnTrack Watch it Now Watch this free governance training session to prepare to run a successful board retreat (even remotely). We’ll help you prepare a retreat that drives results. And you’ll be able to ask our experts anything. This session will teach charter school board members, CEOs, […]
By now, your board is used to working remotely together. You’ve been hosting your board meetings remotely, either using BoardOnTrack or a combination of tools like Zoom and Google Docs. But now it’s time to get ready for your board’s annual retreat. And this might be your first remote retreat. Board retreats are the time […]
Planning a strategic board retreat may seem daunting at first. However, it is largely similar to planning an agenda for a regular board meeting.
To deliver the exceptional results promised in your charter, you’ve got to be able to answer these questions fully. And the only way to do that is with data.
Supporting and evaluating your chief executive is among the most important functions of any charter school board.
Strategic goals work best when you act! You do not just set them and forget them. Here we review how to set goals and put them into action.
On March 31, join experts from Charter School Growth Fund, NACSA, and BoardOnTrack to discuss the results of our second-annual Charter School Governance Index. Last year, our first-ever Charter School Governance Index revealed four surprising trends that were a wake-up call for charter school CEOs and board members alike. To be effective, charter school boards […]
Have you scheduled your next CEO evaluation? If not, you’re not alone. Nearly 30% of CEOs report to us that their boards don’t follow a consistent CEO evaluation process. (That’s why, on our recent webinar, we taught our process.) Yet, a consistent CEO evaluation process helps ensure your CEO doesn’t start planning to leave. And […]
COVID-19 has changed the way charter school boards must operate. And it’s made transparency both more important and more complicated. Whether or not your state has issued clear guidelines with regards to entities that have to comply with the state’s open meeting law but must operate remotely, compliance and transparency are still expected. Here’s some […]
Join us live on Jan. 27 for this free charter school board governance training webinar. Or, register to get the recording as soon as it’s available. Though the specifics vary from one state to the next, the bottom line is this: charter schools are public entities and must operate transparently by complying with their state’s […]
Arguably, a charter school board’s most important role is its partnership with the CEO. It’s up to the board to hire, evaluate, and support the CEO. The start of the new calendar year means it’s nearly time for your CEO Support And Evaluation Committee to begin planning this year’s evaluation process. If your board is new to […]
The new year often brings a renewed sense of urgency to charter school boards and CEOs. And though this year has been exceptional, there’s still that drive to get things in order and make sure you end this school year strong. Effective board work starts with effective board meetings. But your meetings must maintain transparency, in compliance with […]
Whether or not you’re new to charter school governance, you’ve asked this question at some point: What is an “Open Meeting Law”? Or, more likely, you’ve wondered if your charter school’s board can really be effective while maintaining compliance. Open meeting laws (sometimes referred to as “sunshine laws”) vary slightly from state to state. Open […]
This school year has tested charter school CEOs in ways we never imagined. And, it’s shined a spotlight on the importance and power of the board-CEO partnership to help ensure that charter schools thrive even through the most challenging times. To help, we’ve rounded up all of our resources covering the following charter school CEO […]
A charter school board’s most important function is, arguably, to hire and ensure the success of your Chief Executive Officer. Implicit therein is responsibly setting the charter school CEO’s compensation. Even board members with HR and nonprofit leadership experience find this work challenging. Although they have direct experience benchmarking executive salaries, they’re intensely uncertain of […]
Once the Governance Committee has successfully recruited new board members, it is important to put an equal amount of time into orienting them and keeping them continually engaged.
An effective charter school organization hinges on a strong partnership between the board and its CEO.
Discussing diversity is an important part of the process through which a board develops its values and vision and something the best boards do well.
As unprecedented and unpredictable as this moment surely is, it’s also the time of year when vital board work normally happens. Especially planning and approving the budget for the upcoming school year. And at a time when we’re hearing talk of potential closures, it’s important to remember that the majority of charter school closures to […]
Has your charter school suddenly shifted to a distributed board? Struggling to govern effectively amid the crisis and changing regulatory requirements? You’re not alone. At the best of times, charter school governance is an intensely complex, high-stakes endeavor. COVID-19 has amplified the challenge with school closures, social distancing orders, and rapidly changing regulations. Charter school […]
Would you like to see BoardOnTrack in action? Join our next webinar. Or, if you’re already a BoardOnTrack member, log in now to see the upgraded meeting minutes tools for yourself.
BoardOnTrack’s Chief Governance Officer, Mike Mizzoni, recently sat down with Charter School Superstars to talk about how we help public charter schools remain academically strong and organizationally sustainable. Hear Mike’s insights on charter school board composition, managing organizational growth, and creating effective relationships with the CEO. He identifies the unique governance practices and additional challenges that […]
Mike Mizzoni, BoardOnTrack’s Chief Governance Officer, sits down with Charter School Capital for the second installment of our Charter EdTalks. Watch to learn how to build an effective charter school board. Watch as Mike shares his expertise on why is it important to put together the “right” board, what qualities you should look for […]
Mike Mizzoni, BoardOnTrack’s Chief Governance Officer, sits down with Charter School Capital for a quick-hitting and content-rich conversation. Watch to learn how a charter school board can best govern for growth. Mike shares his expertise on why charter school boards should be governing for growth, what that means, planning your board so that evolves over […]
Charter schools exist to deliver exceptional results. Delivering on the charter school promise requires exceptional boards. Our nationwide survey has revealed the goals that exceptional boards are focused on this year — and just how many boards aren’t aligned around a shared set of goals yet. Here’s why it matters.
YPICS Executive Director Yvette King-Berg shares what it takes to lead a charter school organization at a key growth stage, how her partnership with her board has been instrumental to her success, and what BoardOnTrack membership has meant to Yvette and YPICS overall.
Since their founding phase, Equitas has prioritized governance. With BoardOnTrack, they’ve built a self-sustaining board and strong board-CEO partnership. But it wasn’t exactly this way from opening day.
Charter board meeting minutes are a formal recording of transactions that happened at a particular time and place for your board.
Learn the five committees your board needs, what they do, and how to ensure they’re effective -whether you’re governing a single-site charter or a network of charter schools.
The term, data-driven governance, might be relatively new to the charter community — at least if you’re not yet a BoardOnTrack member.
Board meetings are important. Your full board meetings — and committee meetings in between — are where your board’s work happens.
Building a founding charter school board is only one of the steps in the charter startup process. And getting it right is vital to the success of your organization.
While your BoardOnTrack Champion drives the strategic side, your BoardOnTrack Superuser keeps the board’s operations running smoothly.What is a Superuser?
The Governance Committee is essential to support the health and function of your board. It is responsible for recruitment, orientation, training, and evaluation.
The Development Committee assumes the primary responsibility for raising non-grant funds to support the organization’s mission.
A Finance Committee is essential to ensuring your organization has the financial resources needed to fulfill its mission.
Every charter needs someone on the team to be their good governance champion; someone who carries the torch for good governance.
Having an effective academic excellence committee is essential to the success of the organization. Here we outline how to form and run one.
Like so many things in charter school leadership, successfully negotiating your compensation depends on a good process.
There are so many results your charter organization is trying to deliver. But none are more important than academic excellence.
Charter school leaders need to better understand the landscape, benchmarks, and quite frankly how to talk to your boards about your compensation.
Surveying your staff is a vital practice for retaining top talent, or uncovering any issues that might negatively impact your organization.
BoardOnTrack’s annual calendar of board activities will help your board stay focused and productive, knowing who needs to do what and when.
Our year-round charter CEO evaluation cycle allows you to get a bead on how your partnership is doing and touch points throughout the year and then the end of year evaluation.
The top 10 mistakes that charter school boards make when they evaluate their leader — and what you can do to avoid them in the future.
We’ve discovered that the stellar board-CEO partnerships in the Charter Board world are built on four vital factors.
The CEO support and evaluation committee is one of the most important functions of any governing board. They effectively select, support, and evaluate the organization’s CEO.
The Academic Excellence Committee is essential to your success. Academics are, after all, at the very heart of your organization.
April is National Volunteer Month. To help them stay engaged and inspired, show them that you appreciate them. Here’s how.
You might feel like your board-CEO partnership could be better, but hesitate to spark the conversation. Do you consider it a partnership?
Part two of a two-part story with Caprice Young & Marci Cornell-Feist as they discuss the CEO guide governing for growth in every stage of the organization.
Part one of a two-part story with Caprice Young & Marci Cornell-Feist as they discuss governing for growth in every stage of the organization.
Keeping you board members engaged is a common challenge. Review best practices and put your board members potential into practice.
Having worked with hundreds of boards across the country, we’ve compiled the top 4 questions asked when trying to set strategic board goals.
Our year-round charter CEO evaluation cycle allows you to get a read on how your partnership is doing with touch points throughout the year and then the end of year evaluation.
There are a few key skills you want to have amongst your charter school board. Ideally, the board brings a depth of expertise that the staff of the school might never have.
Should departing CEO’s join the board upon leaving and other tricky recruitment questions. A look at the top 5 questions about recruiting.
Here are the top 10 most common mistakes to avoid when setting board goals. It’s imperative you set strategic goals. Here are 10 things you don’t want to do.
BoardOnTrack members know we are constantly refreshing our platform to better support them. We’ll keep you organized with new features.
Governance is a team sport. Great governance teams find an appropriate balance between the their CEO’s roles and those of their board.
Board goals will differ from the CEO’s goals. Combined, they’ll help strengthen your board-CEO partnership and help your governance team to meet the organization’s goals.
A National Board Certified Teacher, Frances Teso set out to provide high-quality education to kids who were being underserved.
BoardOnTrack is here to help you grow. Wherever you are in your journey, your charter is a mandate to grow.
Exceptional boards define their priorities, in line with the organization’s priorities. But, the most successful boards don’t stop there.
Using data from hundreds of boards around the country, BoardOnTrack has defined exactly what makes an exceptional board.
To understand whether a goal belongs to your Board or your CEO, start with understanding the difference between governance and management.
With the right people in the right roles, the board can grow an organization that provides quality education for a growing number of kids.
Goals need to be visible to everyone on your team; and you know what needs to get done, when and by whom so that the work actually gets done.
A high-functioning board is made up of great board members who each align with the mission for their organization.
While your BoardOnTrack Champion drives the strategic side, your BoardOnTrack Superuser keeps the board’s operations running smoothly.What is a Superuser?
Join thousands of trustees and executives learning to lead even better with BoardOnTrack.
What’s the state of charter school governance today?Learn the six surprising trends revealed by this first-ever national charter school governance index.