I want to take this opportunity to thank each school board member who took the time to communicate with legislators during the 2009 Legislative Session. The telephone calls you made and the e-mails you sent to legislators had an impact on the process and the decisions made.

Several members of the Executive Committee deserve our special thanks. Carolyn Edwards [NASB Legislative Chair, Clark] spent hours reading bills, talking with the Executive Director about policy considerations and strategies, and testifying on behalf of the Association. Sharla Hales [NASB Immediate Past President, Douglas] also spent hours reviewing legislative proposals, meeting with the Executive Director to lobby legislators about various issues, and testifying on behalf of NASB. Their contributions will impact school boards across the State in the present and into the future by improving legislation before it was enacted and keeping some proposals from moving forward. [It is my understanding that this means either working with a committee chair to keep a bill “in the drawer” or “killing” a bill by some other means.]

A number of school board members attended legislative hearings throughout the Session. My appreciation also goes to each of you—you know who you are.

Your board should have received the document prepared by our Executive Director about legislation enacted during the Session that impacts K-12 public education in one way or another. If you did not receive this summary document, it is available on the Association website www.nvasb.org in the Advocacy section. I know that we are all grateful to Dotty for her work throughout the Session and especially for the time spent to develop this document for our use. Her understanding of the legislative process and personal contacts with legislators greatly benefited NASB.  She kept us informed through Legislative Links and other messages, helping us remain aware and involved throughout the Session. 

Moving on to an issue of importance for all school board members, one of the first things that I learned as a new school board member is that curriculum is at the heart of education. It is comprised of the substance of daily classroom lessons, the skills that students master, and the integration of planned academics that, taken together, make up the instructional program. Curriculum is directly linked to student achievement. Therefore, an effective school board contributes toward student achievement by ensuring that curriculum is developed and reviewed regularly.

Several Nevada school districts pride themselves on a rigorous, relevant curriculum and are committed to continuous improvement in this area. Here are some of the key ingredients for effective curriculum planning school boards in these districts share:

Adopt a board policy on curriculum development and review.

Part of effective governance is ensuring that key policies are in place to direct the actions of school administration and staff. Policy should be reviewed regularly and revised as necessary. Adopted board policy serves as the foundation for building additional curriculum guidelines.

Develop a policy to set up a team.

Some school boards have established policies to direct the development of a Curriculum Leadership Team, including administrators and staff from various subject areas and grade levels.  Policies that establish subcommittees may also be in place to assist with specific curricular tasks. A well-established team is committed to curriculum development and review on a regular basis, particular when new, daunting curriculum projects are initiated, such as restructuring for a new intermediate school or implementation of full-day kindergarten.  This team assists with planning, development, and review in all curriculum areas.

Develop a policy for a comprehensive curriculum plan and review cycle.

Establishing a curriculum review cycle ensures equal treatment of all subjects and grade levels. It is also important that the policy maintain flexibility about the cycle to accommodate for trends in a particular field or changes in regulations. A policy that promotes a well-designed curriculum plan is, however, more than just a review cycle. The policy may include guidelines or frameworks for general curriculum review and enhancement, staff development and curriculum writing activities, technology integration, and infusion of other areas important to the board and community. Finally, a policy that promotes a well-developed curriculum plan ensures consideration of financial resource allocation along with a timeline.

Establish a policy about measuring the impact.

Curriculum drives and is driven by student achievement. Student assessment data should be gathered for the school board and reviewed in order for the board to effectively evaluate and consider additional policy about other curriculum initiatives. Data reviewed by the board may include results from state and locally developed assessments as well as other measures available. The district’s accountability report is a good place for the board to begin to measure the impact of curriculum policies already in place.

Notify constituents.

Disseminating information to the entire school community about policies that are related to curriculum development, assessment, and review promotes the exchange of knowledge and ideas.  This may, in turn, lead to discussion at the board level about other policy initiatives and greater support for existing programs.

Our role as school board members must include policy development for effective curriculum and instruction so that together we promote overall student achievement. Particularly during these difficult and challenging economic times, we must move out of budget crisis mode and into consideration of effective policies that will ensure that each of our schools provides maximum opportunities for student learning.

June 30, 2009

NASB President
775/293-1622
Irene.Chachas@nvasb.org

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From left to right: Carolyn Edwards, Legislative Chairwoman (Clark); Irene Chachas, President (White Pine); Dotty Merrill, Executive Director; Sharla Hales, Immediate Past President (Douglas); Jim Lemaire, President Elect (Carson City), and Christine Miller, Vice President (Storey).