Skills and Expertise

• What is your past governance experience? Do you believe the board you served on was effective? Why or why not?
• Where are you from? Neighborhood, school, personal story.
• What work do you do right now? How might this work support the mission of this school?
• Why might you want to support this school? What unique contribution will you bring?
• What ideas, if any, do you have to leverage your networks and connections that could benefit the school?
• How might you advocate for the school publicly and privately?
• What would you do if the media or some local groups opposed the school?
• Do you have any past issues or conflicts of interest that could potentially interfere with your service on the board?
• Describe a project that you raised money for in the past. What were your goals and what was the outcome?
• What do you see yourself bringing to this board?
• What do you hope to get out of being on this board?

Teamwork and Group Participation

• What are the characteristics of effective groups?
• What qualities make some boards more effective than others?
• What do you see as the role of the ideal board member?
  [Note: Look for volunteerism and appropriate understanding of governance]
• When you are in a professional group, do you often change your mind on an issue about which you feel strongly? Can you think of any examples when this did or didn’t happen?
• If your personal views were to come into conflict with a decision of the board, what would you do?
• Would you be willing to make a financial contribution that was meaningful to you and the school if you were a member of the board?
• Describe an experience in which you had leadership responsibilities with a group. What worked? What did you learn about yourself?
• Describe your ideal approach to resolving conflict.
• Describe a situation in which you had a conflict with a team member, employee, or manager. What strategies did you use to resolve the conflict?
• Working on a board requires close teamwork amongst a group that is likely to bring diverse backgrounds and experiences. Can you describe an experience in which you worked with such a team? If not, how does this opportunity strike you?

Time and Energy

• What projects are you passionately committed to right now?
• What is your current work? How is it going? What do you like and dislike about it?
• Are you willing and able to commit at least ten hours a month to a cause you feel passionately about? Can you think of a recent example where you did this?
• Do you have any other non-profit commitments that might be a higher priority than your work on this board? If so, what are they?
• How many board positions do you currently hold? What conflicts would your service to this board present?

Philosophical Alignment

• What does the ideal middle school look like?
• Where do your children go to school? Are you satisfied? Why or why not?
• What is right/wrong with education right now?
• What would you never want to see in this school?
• What is a charter school?
• What do you like and dislike about the charter school idea?
• Do you think that we should hold children from poor urban backgrounds to college preparatory academic standards? What about students who have moderate disabilities?
• What do you believe about charter schools? Do you think they are good or bad for public education and the children they serve?
• Do you think public schools should be in the business of teaching character and civic education?
• Do you think that urban middle-school students should be required to wear uniforms and be expected to learn in a highly structured and disciplined environment?
• What is the primary purpose of public schools?
• Describe your vision of an excellent public school?
• Why do you think so many inner-city kids are not succeeding academically? What is needed to address these causes?
• Tell me about an experience or achievement from your own schooling that was particularly powerful for you?
• For our school, ten years from now, how would we know if it had been successful? What kind of measurable or appreciable results might we see that would have us know we had succeeded?