Governance Resources

SAIS provides several resources for board guidance, training, self assessment, and head evaluation.

Guidance

SAIS schools should bear in mind that good governance is a part of accreditation. The relevant standards and indicators can be found here and the governance questions asked during the pre-accreditation visit are here.

• For background on best practices for independent school boards, see the NAIS Principles of Good Practice for Boards of Trustees and Independent School Trustees.
• Sample documents and checklists:
  • A Nonprofit’s Checklist for Better Board Succession Planning Boardable
  • Building and Maintaining a Strong Board Culture SAIS
  • Conflict of Interest Policy Sample SAIS
  • Leadership Transition Checklist: Board of Trustees SAIS
  • Policy Manual List SAIS
  • Sample Board Meeting Calendar SAIS
  • Sample Trustee Manual SAIS
  • Board Policy Manuals: When Do They Create Problems? John Littleford

Trustee Training

Effective Board Governance Videos SAIS

• Overview of Effective Boards
• Effective Board Rooms
• Board Actions / Handling Complaints
• Additional Situations / Case Studies

SAIS Webinar Recordings (SAIS membership required)

• Trustee Education Series – Auditing Landscape for Nonprofits
• Trustee Education Series – Board Orientation & Emerging Trends
• Trustee Education Series – Contracts and Evaluations
• Trustee Education Series – Effective Governance Through Board Nomination
• Trustee Education Series – Empowering Head of School Transitions Through Strategic Planning
• Trustee Education Series – Governance Best Practices & Board Nominations
• Trustee Education Series – Head of School Transitions & the Longevity of Heads
• Trustee Education Series – Hot Legal Topics for Boards of Trustees
• Trustee Education Series – Nurturing Success: The Path to Exceptional Support for Your Head of School
• Trustee Education Series – Philanthropic Landscape & Trends
• Trustee Education Series – Setting the Course: Enhancing Board Governance With Comprehensive Bylaws
• Trustee Education Series – Shifting from Status Quo Tuition Setting to Long-Term Sustainability Strategy
• Trustee Education Series – Signals & Trends Impacting the Education Sector
• Trustee Education Series – The Building Blocks of Small School Financial Health
• Trustee Education Series – Understanding the Head’s Contract

• Engaging the Board and Increasing Effectiveness of Your Advancement Committee
• Head of School Contracts & Compensation
• Recruiting for Board Diversity
• Trustee Trends & Orientation
• Trustee Tune-Up – The Fundamentals of Independent School Trusteeship
• Trustee Tune-Up – Financial Wellness for Trustees

Additional Information:

• Avoiding Conflict of Interest on a Nonprofit Board Foundation Group
• Board Member Responsibilities and Roles Boardable
• Board Resources for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion SAIS
• Board Structures: The Good, the Bad and the Downright Ugly John Littleford
• Board vs. Head of School Roles & Boundaries Pat Bassett
• Boards of Trustees Need to Develop New Skills to Be Agile and Effective NAIS
• Building More Diverse Boards of Trustees NAIS
• Committee Management: Roles and Responsibilities Boardable
• Developing High-functioning Boards With Trustee Education NAIS
• Don’t Overlook New Trustee Orientation NAIS
• Four Principles of Purpose-Driven Board Leadership Stanford Social Innovation Review
• How Boards Can Support the Head of School and Nurture School Leadership NAIS
• How the Best Boards Approach CEO Succession Planning Harvard Law
• How the Board-Head Relationship Works in Decision-Making NAIS
• Is Your Board Ready for the Future? Inside Higher Ed
• Managing Head-Board Communications NAIS
• Moving from Oversight to Foresight: Essential Work for the Board NAIS
• Some Key Indicators of Strong or Weak Board Governance Behaviors John Littleford
• Succession Planning to Set Schools Up for Long-Term Success NAIS
• The Board Subcommittees You Need (and the Ones You Don’t) John Littleford
• The Trustee Table Podcast NAIS
• To be or not to be…a trustee? That is the question! Greenwich Leadership Partners
• Trustee Orientation: From a One-Time Event to a Thoughtful Ongoing Process NAIS
• Trustees’ Guide NAIS
• Trustee Training Tools from the NAIS Bookstore NAIS
• Why Alignment is Important in Head of School Searches Jim Wickenden

Board Self-Assessment

• 5 Things Independent School Boards Can Do To Hone Their Governance Practices Fisher Phillips
• 10 Best Practices for Board Evaluations BoardEffect
• Assessing Board Performance: Best Practices for Nonprofits BoardEffect
• Board Evaluations: The Complete Q&A Guide For Nonprofits Boardable
• Effective Board Evaluation Harvard Law
• End of Trustee Term Interviews Can Provide an Information Treasure Trove NAIS (login required)
• How to Design an Effective Board Evaluation Process BoardEffect
• Nonprofit Board Self Assessment Tool McKinsey & Company
• Self-Evaluation Template for a Board of Directors BoardEffect
• Successful Board Assessments BoardSource
• Trustee Evaluation Instrument NAIS (login required)

Head Evaluation

In an independent school, one of the primary responsibilities of the board of trustees is the hiring, nurturing, and evaluation of the head of school. The evaluation, when done correctly, enhances communication between the head and board around the school’s strategic goals. It establishes common goals for the year and utilizes appropriate assessments for measuring progress on those goals. The SAIS white paper, “The Head of School Evaluation Process” offers guiding principles for effective head of school evaluations, how to develop the evaluation process, a sample timeline, and sample evaluation survey.