TOPIC

FALL (Sept.–Nov.)

WINTER (Dec.–Feb.)

SPRING (Mar.–May)

SUMMER (June; July/Aug.)

School vision, mission, and policies

Review mission statement and current year’s goals for school.

Check to ensure mission/vision is reflected in implementation of school policies. Check for progress on school goals.
Visit the school (see below).

Continue to ensure mission/vision is reflected in implementation of school policies and to look for progress on school goals.
Attend the school’s annual student showcase.

Provide feedback and suggestions for next year’s school goals.

Headmaster evaluation*

Evaluation committee reviews the list of headmaster’s goals for the year as well as the job description and submits them to board for discussion and amendment/approval. 

Evaluation committee designs and implements surveys of staff, students, and parents. Committee reviews data submitted by headmaster. Board does a site visit to the school to informally observe how practices (through curriculum and instruction) are aligned with vision. Entire board discusses results of survey and interim data and site visit.

Evaluation committee reviews headmaster’s self-evaluation and writes its own. Board discusses and amends/approves evaluation before it is submitted to BPS.

Following year’s evaluation committee membership is nominated and approved.

School status reports

Board helps determine which indicators relevant to the school’s mission/vision to use to monitor school’s progress towards academic benchmarks and MCAS goals. These could include: attendance, suspensions, standardized test scores, college acceptances, etc.  Hear about the entering class and new faculty.

Receive updates on the chosen indicators to monitor school’s progress on its goals. 

Discuss staff needs and hiring process for following year. Discuss what is known about next year’s entering class.
Review the data from indicators and reflect on how well the school met its goals for the year. 

Attend graduation!

Governing board membership and bylaws

Select parent representatives from entering class (freshmen) and student government leader. Provide orientation to any new board members. Create a contact sheet with board members’ numbers and email addresses.

Review bylaws

Anticipate future vacancies and ensure selection of replacements. 

Establish and distribute meeting schedule for next year.

Budget and fundraising
(If district is experiencing budget cuts, the board will be updated throughout the year on whether any emergency changes need to be made.)

Review planned initiatives for the year and share any budget concerns.
Brainstorm any new avenues to explore for revenue sources and grant opportunities that are aligned with the mission of the school. 

Discuss new initiatives for following year and how budget will cover them. Review and approve budget for following year. (The budget needs to be submitted to the district by Jan. 1.) 
Follow up on what steps have been taken to secure new grants, contributions, or funding sources. 

Discuss current-year spending versus approved budget.  Identify any potential budget cuts.
Share results of initiatives for securing new revenue and the plans for how those funds will be used.  

Election-to-work agreement

Current-year election-to-work agreement is reviewed. Draft of next year’s work agreement may be shared by teacher reps. on the board.

An update is provided to the board about the negotiation and final completion of the work agreement with staff for the next year. Approve election-to-work agreement and provide to staff. 

Board is updated on any staff changes for next school year. 

New staff hired are acquainted with the work agreement as part of hiring process. 

Communicate with deputy superintendent

Inform the deputy of board meeting schedule and invite him/her to attend meetings.
Share the headmaster evaluation process with the deputy. 

Propose that the deputy meet with the board for a “check-in” sometime during the year. 

Invite the deputy to the annual student showcase and to graduation. Share successes with the deputy regarding MCAS results, college acceptances, and any other key indicators. Submit the final headmaster evaluation by the deputy’s deadline (usually June 30).