To ensure that you structure the board's time to be as efficient and effective as possible, we recommend that the board chair and the CEO (with input from committee chairs) create a calendar for the year of the key work of the board. 

It may take some time to create this kind of calendar initially, but your efforts will pay off.

The work of a charter school governing board is cyclical and there is a good chance that this calendar can then be used, with slight modifications, year over year.

Creating this type of calendar will help you determine how many board meetings you need, and when you might need deeper strategy sessions to delve into key strategic issues.

A detailed calendar will help the full board have peace of mind that the major issues are being addressed.

What follows is a list of suggested topics to consider for each month

(see below to download a sample calendar)

We've made our best attempt to layout when we think key tasks should take place, but each charter school is unique, so you should feel free to adapt this as you see fit, by cutting and pasting items into the most appropriate month.

July - September

As you prepare for the upcoming school year, your focus should be on defining your board recruiting needs, CEO expectations, and fundraising groundwork.

Make sure you know who you have on the board, when people’s terms are ending, who you’ll need to recruit for this year, and that you’ve got a deep enough bench to handle succession planning.

Use your review to build out a three-year recruiting roadmap — or review the roadmap built for you in BoardOnTrack. {If needed, determine whether any trustees still need to complete their profiles to ensure your BoardOnTrack recruiting roadmap is complete.}

Plus, ensure you’re prepared to recruit, train, and retain those stellar trustees by reviewing your individual and committee-level roles and responsibilities.

Finally, determine whether bylaws need to be revised to align with your recruiting or expansion plans. If so, you’ll need to get that scheduled on an upcoming full board meeting agenda.

Before the first day of school is also the time to begin laying the groundwork for your CEO evaluation process. This is led by your CEO Support & Evaluation Committee, if applicable.

• Review the CEO’s short- and long-term succession plan for him/herself.
• Finalize goals against which to measure CEO’s performance for the year
• Review with BoardOnTrack recommended annual support and evaluation process

While all of this is happening, your Development Committee should be gearing up by drafting an annual fund development plan and clarifying the full board’s role in fundraising for this year.

October – December

With the school year in full swing, each of your committees should be busy doing meaningful work.

If you haven’t already finalized them, ask each officer and committee chair to complete a job description based on BoardOnTrack samples.

These documents help clarify how the roles of the full board, committees, and CEO, differ but complement each other. The full board will approve your revised job descriptions.

If your roadmap will include a plan for expanding the board, make sure you’re ready to discuss this with the full governance team.

Your expansion plan, nomination policy, and policy for adding non-voting members to committees will need to be approved by the full board before you can begin to implement them. BoardOnTrack members can find samples in the Resources library in the platform.

This is also a great time of year to evaluate your board meeting effectiveness. Great meetings are the top tactic for boosting board member engagement…and unproductive meetings are the most common way to tank engagement.  Consider:

• How much time are you putting into strategic forward-looking work vs. reacting to what’s happening in the day-to-day?
• How well-attended are your meetings?
• How well organized are they?
• Are you complying with open meeting law consistently?

These scenarios should include staff and CEO pay scales, and any necessary research and revisions; the projected number of students and new staff slots; anticipated per-pupil tuition; and any facilities plans.

Use those scenarios to create multi-year, multi-scenario budget projections. Review those projections with CEO and finance staff. And then present them to the full board.

The fall is also the time to complete the annual audit and share your findings with the board.

Your Development Committee kicks it into high gear now by creating a plan for the year, and sharing it with the full board for approval.

Include in your plan a statement of clear expectations for individual trustees. Determine what, if any, education you’ll need to provide trustees in order to meet those expectations.

Once you’ve got approval, waste no time in leaping into implementation. But first, make sure you’ve got a process in place to track individual trustee support of the development plan.

The CEO Support & Evaluation Committee

At a full board meeting, review and vote to approve the CEO’s goals and short- and long-term succession plans.

At each monthly committee meeting, report on progress towards the CEO’s goals.

In December, conduct a check-in with your CEO to ensure you’re on track to meet the goals agreed upon at the start of the school year. In advance of your check-in, gather input from board, ask the CEO to complete a self-reflection, and ensure that staff satisfaction survey is completed, so that you can incorporate all of this in your check-in.

Your Academic Oversight committee gears up by providing a board training, in conjunction with the CEO, on what assessments the school uses and what each one assesses.

Complete the first committee check-in of the year. And, at your next full board meeting, update the board on any key learnings.

January – March

Your Governance Committee will continue to implement your recruiting and/or board expansion plan, and continue to evaluate board meeting effectiveness on a regular basis.

This is also the time of year to conduct an individual trustee assessment. Use the results to inform nominations at your annual meeting. To do so:

• Develop a plan in conjunction with Board Chair to provide feedback to each trustee
• Hold individual trustee meetings to give feedback on performance to date

In the new year, your Finance Committee will Review first draft of budget for next fiscal year, and then Present the first draft of the budget for next fiscal year to full board.

Work with CEO and finance staff on revisions for the first draft and Present final budget for next fiscal year to full board for approval.

Continue to implement plan, Track individual trustee support of the development plan, Conduct board education as needed.

Provide a board training in conjunction with CEO on what assessments the organization uses and what each one assesses

Complete second committee check-in of year on interim assessments using BoardOnTrack assessment check-in question list

Update board on learning’s from second committee interim assessment check-in

At each committee meeting, report on progress towards CEO goals.

In March, conduct another CEO check-in to review their progress towards the year’s goals. As you did for the December check-in,  gather input in advance from the board, ask the CEO to complete a self-reflection, and ensure that staff satisfaction survey is completed.

April  – June

The Governance Committee

• Hold individual trustee assessment meetings
• Make recommendations for additional terms based on individual trustee assessments
• Conduct Orientation for New Trustees
• Conduct annual meeting
  

Conduct your end-of-year CEO evaluation, incorporating staff surveying into as needed.