The Academy is a "school" for school board members, providing ongoing training on important education, legal and management issues.

As a school board member, you are automatically enrolled in the Academy. You will be notified of board development opportunities, and AASB keeps a record of your attendance. Twice
each year, you will receive a copy of your Academy record. Levels and awards are tallied at the end of each fiscal year (June 30), and those achieving new levels are recognized at AASB’s summer conference and/or at local board meetings in the fall.

Academy Content

From start to finish, the Academy is designed to accommodate your hectic schedule. Most of its
statewide conferences overlap weekends to reduce
time away from jobs. Two additional meetings are
held annually in each of AASB’s nine districts. The meetings begin with dinner and are followed by a presentation on a current education topic.

At the heart of the Academy lies the “core curriculum,” a series of programs reviewing the basics of education governance. These courses are:

Leadership I and II: These two cores provide an introduction to school board service for new school board members and new superintendents. These intense workshops cover a variety of subjects to help you get off to a sound start.

Leadership for Financial Accountability: This core goes beyond the basics of finance to include strategies on passing tax referenda, understanding school accounting, and aligning your system’s finances with its mission in ways that help raise student achievement.

Leadership for Developing Highly Effective Staff: This course includes information on using student achievement data to make effective staffing decisions. It also covers employee recruitment, staff development, the tenure and fair dismissal laws, sexual harassment, and effective evaluations.

Leadership for Academic Achievement: This core is the heart of the National School Board Association’s Key Work of School Boards and other pivotal new research aimed at raising student achievement. It addresses curriculum alignment, testing, data-driven decision making, research on effective learning and related topics like special education and federal programs.

Leadership to Create the Optimal Learning Environment: This course stresses that the learning environment is more than just bricks and mortar. It includes strategies for managing facilities, keeping schools safe, improving parental involvement, expanding internal communication and team work.

Leadership for Policy and Planning: This core helps boards develop policies that raise student achievement, fulfill their responsibilities, and comply with the law. It emphasizes strategic planning, using technology and keeping the community informed.

Leadership for Community Engagement: This core provides you with more than just skills to survive a television interview. Community engagement brings together public relations, media
relations and internal and external communication to enhance relationships between schools and those they serve.

At least two conferences a year focus exclusively on a core curriculum topic. While attending the core courses is not mandatory, it is a prerequisite for reaching the Academy’s fourth and master levels.

Academy Achievements

Academy participants can strive for four achievement levels. Upon completing the Academy, school board members who continue to develop their boardmanship skills annually can attain the distinction of Master School Board Member, and ultimately the Master’s Honor Roll.

To earn the various awards, school board members attend Academy conferences worth a specified number of instructional “hours” and participate in core curriculum courses. Awards are based on hours earned from July 1-June 30 each year.

Questions?

AASB members who would like to learn more about the Academy or their standing in the Academy should contact AASB's Director of Membership Services, at 334/277-9700.