TSBA: Tennessee School Boards Association
Contact Us  Login
Home > School Board Academies

School Board Academies

State Law mandates that school board members attend training. State Board of Education Rules and Regulations require that every board member participate in seven hours of training annually.

TSBA provides the training for the five core modules: Advocating the Board’s Vision, Board Policy and Operations, Board/Superintendent Relations, School Finance, and School Law as well as other optional training modules. Planning, Teaming, and four online modules are offered by request.

Please refer to the School Board Academy Catalog below for the approved training modules for the current cycle.
2020-21 School Board Academy Catalog

  • Orientation

    Objective:
    To provide an overview of the roles, responsibilities and legal duties of school board members.

    Special Consideration:
    Board members who assumed office after January 1, 2020, are required to attend the orientation session before June 30, 2021.

    Description:
    This session is designed to meet the needs of new board members. Through active participation in this session, you learn the do’s and don’ts of effective boardsmanship.

    Major topics covered during the session include:

    • Education’s Governance Structure
    • Basics of Boardsmanship
    • Finance
    • Promotion of the School System
    • Board Policies
    • Planning
    • School Law
    • Board/Superintendent Relations
    • Board/Staff Relations
    • Board/Student Relations
    • Hot Topics Facing School Boards

    Agenda

    2020-21 Notebook

    2020-21 PowerPoint

    Presenters:

    Ben Torres Headshot1
    Dr. Tammy Grissom Ben Torres
    Jennifer White Emily Warren

     

    Register Online
  • Advocating The Board's Vision

    Cancelled

    Objective:
    To explore the board’s role in creating a vision for excellence for all students and in building public support to achieve the vision.

    Description:
    In this session, participants engage in discussion to learn what vision is, how it is created and the critical components it must include.  Board members discover how to build public support from all stakeholders for their school district vision, mission and goals.  During this session, participants will see the connection between standards of excellence in all areas of the school operation and the vision that they set as a school board.  They will also learn how to use data to assess needs, set goals and determine priorities for the school system.  Participants will have the opportunity to earn a micro-credential in the area of strategic planning.  The purpose of this exercise is to expose board members to competency-based personalized professional learning through micro-credentials and to help them become more familiar with an innovation that many of their teachers are engaging in through the Tennessee Micro-credential Pilot.

    Major topics covered during the session include: 

    • Exercising Board Leadership Through the Visioning Process 
    • Why Boards Need to Have a Vision
    • What Vision Is-What Vision Does-What Kills Vision
    • Role of the Board and Superintendent in the Vision and Planning Process
    • TN Succeeds: Equity, Expectations and Pathways
    • Vision of Students Today
    • Translating Vision into Action
    • Using Data to Assess Needs and Setting Goals
    • Building Stakeholder Support for the Vision
    • Working with the Media
    • Board’s Role as a Creator of Public Opinion

    Agenda

    Presenter:

    Dr. Tammy Grissom
    Register Online
  • Board Policy and Operations

    Objective:
    To provide an overview of the responsibilities of the board and superintendent in board operations and policy development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

    Description:

    This session focuses on the importance of school board policy and school board operations. Board Members will discuss policy development, Parliamentary Procedure, and board meeting procedures.

    Major topics covered during the session include:

    • Structure of Policy
    • Policy Development
    • Policy Review, Revision, and Oversight
    • Administrative Procedures
    • Board Operations
    • Parliamentary Procedure
    • The Board and Employees

    March 11, 2021 – TSBA Headquarters

    Agenda

    2020-2021 Materials

    Presenters:

    Randy Bennett Headshot
    Randall Bennett Jennifer White
    Register Online
  • Board/Superintendent Relations

    Cancelled

    Objective:
    To provide an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the school board and the superintendent.

    Description:
    This session focuses on ways to select a superintendent, build the board/superintendent team, and evaluate the performance of the superintendent. During the course of the meeting, you have the opportunity to look closely at both roles and learn more about interrelationships and independence — two essential elements for successful and productive relations. Participants will also review the elements of a superintendent contract.

    Major topics covered during this session include:

    • Job Descriptions of Board Members/Superintendent
    • Roles and Expectations of Superintendent/Board
    • Superintendent Selection
    • Employment Contract
    • Team Development
    • Superintendent Performance Evaluation
    • Code of Ethics

    April 16, 2021 – Johnson City – Cancelled

    April 23, 2021 – Jackson – Cancelled

    April 26, 2021 – TSBA Headquarters – Cancelled

    Agenda

    Presenters:

    Dr. Tammy Grissom Dale Lynch

     

    Register Online
  • The Board's Role in School Finance

    Objective:
    To provide an overview of the board’s role in developing the school budget.

    Description:
    In this session, board members will learn their role in the budget process and how it relates to the board’s mission and vision for the school system

    Major topics covered during this session include:
    • History of School Finance
    • Overview of the BEP
    • Local Revenue and Federal Funds
    • Budget Process
    • How to Reach a Budget Document
    • Factors Affecting a Budget
    • Building Support for the Budget

    June 10, 2021 – Knoxville

    June 17, 2021 – Jackson

    June 24, 2021 – TSBA Headquarters

    Agenda

    Presenters: 

    Robert Greene Chris Henson
    Register Online
  • School Law

    Objective:
    To determine the legalities that govern the school board.

    Description:
    School board members must be familiar with the legal issues that affect policy. In this session, participants review the legal duties of the school board and the Tennessee Sunshine Law.

    Major topics covered during the session include:

    • Duties and Powers of the Board, Superintendent, and Local Legislative Body 
    • Open Meetings and Open Records
    • Ethics
    • Students’ Rights
    • Employee Rights

    May 18, 2021 – Johnson City

    May 25, 2021 – Jackson

    May 27, 2021 – TSBA Headquarters

    Agenda

    Presenters:

    Ben Torres Jennifer White
    Register Online
  • A Deep Dive Into Boardsmanship

    Cancelled

    Objective:
    To provide a deep dive for seasoned board members into the most important aspects of boardsmanship.

    Description:
    This session will explore, in depth, answers to the many questions that have arisen since the new board member took office and first attended the Orientation module.

    Major topics covered during the session include:

    • The Evolution of Boardsmanship
    • Promotion of the School System
    • School Law
    • Board/Superintendent Relations
    • Board Relationships with Staff/Students
    • Hot Topics Facing School boards

    Agenda

    Presenters:

    Dr. Tammy Grissom
    Register Online
  • Planning: A Joint Venture

    Objectives:

    • To develop practical skills and increase knowledge in the planning process
    • To provide superintendents and board members with methods to develop a common vision and mission statement
    • To develop strategies for setting system goals
    • To monitor/evaluate results to bring about systemic change
    • To provide follow-up and support in Part II for boards who have previously attended a Joint Venture session


    Special Considerations:

    • The superintendent and majority of the school board must attend.
    • Superintendents and school board members meet in large group, presentation, and discussion sessions with other systems as well as with team members in small group settings throughout the two-day workshop experience. The casual meeting site facilities provide a relaxed atmosphere and open communication.

    Planning: A Joint Venture I
    The importance of planning for a school system’s future is the major focus of this institute. The Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee School Boards Association present the steps for establishing a school system’s mission and vision. Also included are strategies to help you plan for school improvement through goal setting, and definitions of strategies, as well as methods to monitor and evaluate results to help you modify plans over time. Participants discuss how to incorporate the State Department of Education’s Strategic Plan and the State Board of Education’s Performance Standards/Master Plan into a school system’s plan.

    Planning: A Joint Venture II
    For those boards that have attended Planning: A Joint Venture I, Planning: A Joint Venture II is available. In this session, boards review their beliefs and mission statement and report the progress they have made toward their goals. Prior to the sessions, board members are asked to complete a board self-evaluation instrument and mail it back to TSBA to tabulate and analyze. During the session, the facilitator shares the results with the board and leads members through a process to discover ways to improve. Each board has the opportunity to further develop its strategic plan, including in-depth exploration of a board project, or the board may focus exclusively on plans for board improvement.

    Scheduled by Request

    Contact TSBA at tammyg@tsba.net or call 615-815-3901 to schedule the Planning: A Joint Venture module.

  • Teaming and the School Board

    Objectives:
    To increase collaboration and productivity in a school governance team and support high achievement for all children.

    Special Considerations:
    The superintendent and majority of the school board must attend.

    Description:
    Managing a school system is “big business” that educates the majority of tomorrow’s citizens and the success of a school governance team is directly related to the future of our nation.

    Major topics covered during the session include:

    • Understanding Groups and Teams
    • Behavior of School Board Members in Board Situations
    • Effective Communication Among the Board Team
    • Effective Governance Team
    • Trust Building Behaviors
    • Build an Effective Board/Superintendent Relationship

    Scheduled by Request

    Contact TSBA at tammyg@tsba.net or call 615-815-3901 to schedule the Teaming and the School Board module.
  • eBoardsmanship (online course)

    Objectives:

    1. To provide a Boardsmanship Profile to board members. 
    2. To offer recommendations to increase knowledge and skills in key areas. 
    3. To determine the effectiveness of the School Board Academy Modules. 


    Description:
    This assessment module is a way for board members, the Tennessee Department of Education and TSBA to work hand in hand to determine if the modules are taught in a way that is helpful and memorable to you. This tool identifies your areas of expertise and provides suggestions for obtaining additional information in areas that can help you, as a board member, to grow professionally. 

    TSBA will provide a web-based “eBoardsmanship” module and you will work through the four sections of the module: 

    1. Board Game 
    2. Mini-Scenarios
    3. Structured Situational Analysis
    4. Video Clips

    Once you have completed the four sections online, your responses will be tabulated and the results provided to you online in a Boardsmanship Profile that identifies your expertise in each of the Modules. The profile includes an explanation of scores as well as suggestions and ideas to help you further develop your knowledge and skills. Verifications of completion will be sent to TSBA.

    Special Considerations:
    • Board members must have access to a computer with internet connectivity.

    This module can only be taken once.

    To register for this online course, please click on the button below.

    Register Online