February 2026

Greetings!

It was wonderful to see many of you at our first New Director Network gathering in January!

As I mentioned then, our goal is to 1) answer your questions as you’re getting acquainted with your role and 2) help you make connections with board members across the state who are also new to the role. In case you missed it, here is last month’s recording and slide deck, which we also post on our New Director Network webpage.

This month we’re focusing on the Open Public Meetings Act, which is foundational to performing your work as a board member within the law. Come with questions and ideas!

Resource

Learning how to operate within the framework of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) is one of the first lessons in school board work. You are required to take OPMA training during your first 90 days in office. If you haven’t yet, visit our Required Trainings page to see how. We also have an OPMA handbook that helps explain the law. We’ll explore this topic further during our next virtual gathering on February 19th.

Download the Guide

Coming Up

Winter Leadership Academy (virtual) - February 4, 5, & 7

Designed with feedback from school directors, Leadership Academy bundles professional learning opportunities into a predictable, annual schedule. The February 5th and 7th trainings count towards the state's professional development requirement for school board members on educational equity.

New Director Network Kickoff Meeting - February 19, 12-1pm

Join our February gathering with special guest, Patty Wood, who you can learn more about below.

If you lost your original Zoom confirmation email, you can always re-enter using the registration link. If you know other newly elected or appointed directors, please invite them to join.

Join the Network

Voices from the Field

Patty Wood

22 Years of Board Experience

Kelso School District & State Board of Education

Between service on public and non-profits boards, I have over 35 combined years of experience as a board member. During most of those years, I also served in a leadership role as board chair or a committee chair. Since 2009, I have enjoyed working with local boards to help them develop as a stronger leadership team.

And yet, with a generation of board experience, I would never be audacious enough to claim I am an expert board member. Rather, I am in awe at all I still have to learn, and that’s exactly what makes public service ‘exciting’ and worthy of my commitment.

I am often asked what I have learned about being an effective board member. Without a doubt, good leadership requires two character traits: hubris and humility.

Any leadership role takes a bit of hubris, and that is often the image associated with leadership. After all, you need a bit of audacity to lead. And you need to believe in yourself because, leading is not for the faint of heart. It takes courage, fortitude, a little bit of stubbornness, and a thick skin. It takes conviction in your beliefs. Good leaders lead through service to others. Particularly as school directors, we are leaders for those who have no formal pathway to project their voice. I am, of course, speaking about our public-school children. While we are elected officials who represent our entire community, we are specifically elected to advocate and govern for those who can’t vote, our children, to ensure that they can unlock the gate to their future as citizens in our community. And that takes a bit of hubris tempered with a strong sense of servant leadership.

Yet what is often overlooked as a critical leadership trait is humility. The recognition that there is so much you do not know. That you need to be actively learning and improving yourself, and you will never learn it all. You will never find the perfect solution that meets all needs. You will receive criticism, some of which is valid. You will make mistakes along the way. And for me, that is the most valuable thing I have learned and accepted. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt from his ‘Man in the Arena’ speech, “there is no effort without error and shortcoming.”

Despite my ongoing effort to keep learning and improving, there is much I don’t know, much I can’t know. And because of that, I will make mistakes. And when I make mistakes, I don’t have the luxury of dwelling. Rather, I need to graciously accept the criticism, accept my responsibility, and move forward as a stronger leader who now has more knowledge and experience in her toolkit. I encourage you to take a similar approach.

Leadership is not a spectator sport. It is an acquired skill that, like any physical sport, takes on-going training and practice in order to perform well once we are in the arena.

We are the lucky ones who get the privilege to do just that.

Your Staff Supports

WSSDA is here to help - please reach out anytime to Leadership Development staff by emailing ld@wssda.org or connect with us individually via the contact information below.

Dr. Heather Curl

Director of Leadership Development

360-890-5781

h.curl@wssda.org

Rassamy Smith

Learning and Development Specialist

360-522-3154

r.smith@wssda.org