I joined the Council of Trustees (aka Board of Directors) of our children’s school less than a year ago. The school is young (founded 8 years ago) and the importance of proper governance is clearly very important. Since I left PeopleSoft I have been spending more time thinking about the role of the Council and the school and we have been doing some great work in our meetings discussing governance.
About a month ago we had a great joint meeting with several area schools (Portland Waldorf, Swallowtail and Bend Waldorf) to discuss governance in our schools. A consultant from the Seattle Waldorf School came down to talk about a novel form of governance called the “Policy Governance” model, created by John Carver about 30 years ago. Governance in Waldorf Schools in the UShas always be somewhat problematic – the philosophy of Waldorf’s schools since their inception is that they should be governed and operated by the teachers at the school. Unfortunately, the fact that most Waldorf schools are 501(c)3 non-profits means that they should not legally be governed by the teachers (who are employees). It makes for an interesting conundrum. The discussion at the seminar was lively and we have talked about it quite a bit since in our Council meetings.
The really big issue for most Waldorf School’s is that they are often governed by “insiders”. The Cedarwood Council is almost entirely made up of parents and faculty (with one exception) which means that there are many conflicts of interest.Although we try to temper any of our personal agenda’s in our decisions there is a bigger concern: can we see the big picture when we are so wrapped up in the details? Of course, this is not a problem only faced by Waldorf Schools, or even just private schools. Many boards have trouble making decisions that go beyond the needs of one stake holder (employees, customers or shareholders) on a regular basis.
The Council at Cedarwood is really a great group of committed individuals and it is a pleasure to work with them on a regular basis. I have learned a ton since I started on the Council and having this time away from work really allows me to see my volunteer duties in a new light.
Hi; I’m a waldorf school trustee, too. The Carver governance thing is interesting, but for a still-developing organization probably not very practical. Building the capacities among school community members to hold each other accountable and to build and develop the school’s vision is the work that will build the school to a point where oversight might be handed off to an outside board.
I left you an email address, but I’m not sure if it worked (I got an error message when I sent it).
Take care, David