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The Taking Action Guide for the Governance Core
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The Taking Action Guide for the Governance Core
School Boards, Superintendents, and Schools Working Together



January 2021 | 136 pages | Corwin
Practical resources for building cohesive governance teams

As a supplement to the best-selling The Governance Core, this practical guide will help trustees and superintendents adopt a governance mindset and partnership that creates coherence throughout the district. With a systems thinking approach, the authors provide readers with the strategies and tools needed to build cohesive teams and engage in deeper learning and decision making. The Taking Action Guide for the Governance Core offers readers:  

a deeper understanding of core governance and how to build it
a planning guide to help new trustees get started
protocols and sample agendas for focusing on strategy and systems during open board meetings

Educational leaders will find this guide offers them a foundation for building strong, flourishing school districts that are equipped to adapt to and meet the daunting challenges of our time. 
 
 
Authors’ Note
 
About the Authors
 
Taking Action Guide Overview
 
How to Use This Guide
 
Module Content and Learning Processes At a Glance
 
Module 1: Moral Imperative and the Governance Core
1.1: Quote Share

 
1.2: Quick Write

 
1.3: Say Something

 
1.4: Think-Pair-Share

 
1.5: The 3-2-1

 
Governance Core Planning Guide

 
Personal Reflections

 
 
Module 2: Governance Mindset
2.1: Governance Mindset Reflection

 
2.2: Jigsaw

 
2.3: What? So What? Now What?

 
2.4: The 5 R’s: Read, Record, Retell, Relate, and Reflect

 
2.5: Governance Working Styles

 
Governance Mindset Progression

 
Governance Core Planning Guide

 
Personal Reflections

 
 
Module 3: Governing With Coherence
3.1: The 4 Corner Placemat

 
3.2: S.T.A.R.

 
3.3: Go to the Wall

 
Governance Coherence Progression

 
Governance Core Planning Guide

 
Personal Reflections

 
 
Module 4: Governance Culture
4.1: Developing Governance Principles

 
4.2: Establishing Governance Norms

 
4.3: Developing Governance Protocols

 
Governance Culture Progression

 
Governance Core Planning Guide

 
Personal Reflections

 
 
Module 5: The Governance Job
5.1: Deep Dive

 
5.2: Governance Reflection

 
Governance Job Progression

 
Governance Core Planning Guide

 
Personal Reflections

 
 
Module 6: Governance Tools
6.1: The 3 P’s: Purpose, Positives, and Plan

 
Governance Core Planning Guide

 
Personal Reflections

 
 
Module 7: Welcoming New Trustees
7.1: Protocol Planning

 
7.2: Turn and Talk

 
Governance Core Planning Guide

 
Personal Reflections

 
 
Module 8: Rising to the Occasion
8.1: The 4 A’s: Assumptions, Agreements, Arguments, and Action

 
Consolidating the Governance Core Planning Guide

 
Personal Reflections

 
 
Appendix 1: The Board Planning Calendar: What? Why? How? When?
 
Appendix 2: Board Planning Calendar Governance Tool Worksheet
 
Resources

Davis W. Campbell

Davis Campbell is the former Executive Director of the California School Boards Association and is Chair of the University of California Davis, School of Education Advisory Board and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Applied Policy in Education. Campbell has a deep and broad background in public education. He served for 12 years in the California Department of Education, serving six of those as Deputy State Superintendent of Public Instruction in charge of all education programs. In 1988 he was appointed Executive Director of the California School Boards Association, serving in that capacity until his retirement in 2001. He has also served... More About Author

Michael Fullan

Michael Fullan served as Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Special Policy Adviser in Ontario from 2003-2013. He received the Order of Canada (OC) in December 2012 and holds five honorary doctorates from universities around the world. His ‘interim autobiography’, Surreal Change, covers his work to 2018. Michael and his colleagues are now working diligently on field-based comprehensive system change in several countries. This work operates under the umbrella of what they call the ‘shared humanity paradigm’ —Equity, Engagement, Excellence--Deep change that integrates local (school and community), middle (district/regional), and state (policy)... More About Author

Babs Kavanaugh

Babs Kavanaugh has a diverse management background. She has over thirty years’ experience in organizational development. Her professional background includes: governance consultant and trainer; human resource director; marketing director; community health center executive director; and small business owner. Babs began her consulting career in the U.S. health care system in 1992, focusing on community-based primary health care services, as executive director of a rural community health center in Point Reyes CA. In 1999 Babs expanded her focus into the education system, joining the staff of the California School Boards Association (CSBA), as... More About Author

Eleanor Adam

Eleanor Adam consults internationally in the areas of leadership, change and learning and is a Senior Consultant for the Michael Fullan Enterprises Capacity Building team. She has worked with educators in a variety countries and states to improve and deepen learning for all students through excellence in classroom instruction and principal and district leadership. Her recent work has focussed on whole system change through the development of coherence at the state and district levels.   She has served as a teacher and principal in both elementary and high schools as well as an acting Superintendent and Supervisor of Special Education... More About Author

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ISBN: 9781071819012
$29.95