Opinion
School & District Management Letter to the Editor

Training Charter Boards Poses a ‘Critical Challenge’

August 20, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

I’d like to affirm Greg Richmond’s call in his recent Commentary “Who’s in Charge at Charter Schools?” (July 14, 2010) for transparency and ethical practices in all aspects of charter school management, oversight, and governance. Recruiting and training charter school boards that know their roles and responsibilities is a unique and critical challenge.

While board members usually join with good intentions, they often bring little or no training in how to do their job effectively. Their education is generally on-the-job and only as good as the leadership of the particular board on which they serve. Some charters have been highly successful, while others have struggled and even had to close. These incidents have generated substantial negative publicity and been upsetting to all involved, including staff, students, parents, and community members. And it is the students who are hurt the most when a charter school fails to realize its mission.

As the founding chief executive officer of a successful Philadelphia charter and a member of another charter school board, I am personally aware of the challenges and rewards of this work. In my position at Foundations Inc., I am often called on to provide training and professional development for charter school boards. This is an area of work for which I have great passion and commitment because, ultimately, it is the students who benefit when a board is informed, ethical, and effective.

Julie Stapleton Carroll
Director of School Services
Foundations Inc.
Moorestown, N.J.

A version of this article appeared in the August 25, 2010 edition of Education Week as Training Charter Boards Poses a ‘Critical Challenge’

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
How to Leverage Virtual Learning: Preparing Students for the Future
Hear from an expert panel how best to leverage virtual learning in your district to achieve your goals.
Content provided by Class
English-Language Learners Webinar AI and English Learners: What Teachers Need to Know
Explore the role of AI in multilingual education and its potential limitations.
Education Webinar The K-12 Leader: Data and Insights Every Marketer Needs to Know
Which topics are capturing the attention of district and school leaders? Discover how to align your content with the topics your target audience cares about most. 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Explainer What Does a School Principal Do? An Explainer
Learn about the principal workforce, what makes principals effective, and how schools can retain the best leaders.
Image of staffing.
Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Running for a School Board Seat? This Is the Most Powerful Endorsement You Can Get
New research shows that this endorsement in school board races is more influential than any other, with virtually no downside.
5 min read
People in privacy booths vote in the midterm election at an early voting polling site at Frank McCourt High School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City on Nov. 1, 2022.
People in privacy booths vote in the midterm election at an early voting polling site at Frank McCourt High School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City on Nov. 1, 2022.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
School & District Management High Pace of Superintendent Turnover Continues, Data Show
About one in five large districts lost a superintendent last year, researchers found.
2 min read
Image of exit doors.
pavel_balanenko/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Finding the Source of PCB Contamination in Schools Just Got Easier
Researchers say they have found a promising method to determine where in school buildings the PCB contamination is greatest.
7 min read
Image of a brick wall and glass blocks.
iStock/Getty