School Board Institute

NYSSBA’s School Board Institute (SBI) is a program of eight comprehensive, standards-based courses designed to develop the leadership capabilities of school governance teams. These eight courses integrate the Key Work of School Boards developed by the National School Boards Association (NSBA). The courses are tailored to the needs of New York school boards.

SBI courses are needed to be considered for the NYSSBA Leadership Recognition Program.

Seeing the Big Picture (Course One)
Use a systems framework to analyze how your district works, examine how the relationships of the parts can help or hinder student achievement and attainment of other goals.

Defining Team Roles and Responsibilities  (Course Two)
Define the roles and responsibilities of school board members, board officers and the superintendent, and explore where effective governance teams focus and how they operate.

Decision-Making for Effective Governance  (Course Three)
Examine four distinct communications styles that affect decision making. Learn to understand your peers and make good team decisions more effectively.

Community Collaboration for Student Achievement  (Course Four)
Learn how to tap the talents of others for your students’ benefit. Learn how to build trust and teamwork as you focus on actions that unite rather than divide.

Setting Direction – Vision, Goals, and Standards  (Course Five)
Learn how to craft a vision, establish goals, and develop strategies for transforming vision and goals into reality. Learn how to set standards for your district goals, and explore effective processes to ensure standards and goals are being met.

Affecting Culture and Climate  (Course Six)
Discover how to establish a culture and climate that support the achievement of district goals and performance standards.

Establishing Accountability, Assessment, and Continuous Improvement  (Course Seven)
Using policies and procedures for accountability, assessment, continuous improvement, and examine practical approaches to keeping your district on the right course.

Aligning Goals, Policies, and Resources  (Course Eight)
Learn the impact of alignment – a year round process – decisions on the subsystems throughout the district.