|
Sandy Hayes
17 years of board experience
Northshore School Board President and Past WSSDA President
You are rapidly approaching the one-year mark as a school director. Congratulations! Take a moment to reflect on all you have learned and how you have grown in the last year. After the shock wears off that you have been at this for a full year, you may have two, not necessarily related, thoughts. One is “After a full year, I haven’t changed anything” and the other “I still don’t know everything.”
For the first thought, of course you haven’t. You have done the most good by listening and asking questions. You have modeled for your community and your students how to be a lifelong learner and how being civil and respectful gets things done. School districts are like giant aircraft carriers where changing direction cannot happen quickly. Also, you are one of five and the board is one component of the leadership team. Positive change will come as you work within your team and use those positive leadership skills like active listening, compromise, and strategic thinking that will make others want to follow you.
As to not knowing everything, of course you don’t. Good job recognizing that you don’t have it all figured out. School districts are complex systems where the laws, rules, staff, communities and students are changing constantly. After 17 years, there is still much I do not know. Continue to lean into WSSDA and fellow board members in neighboring districts and across the state. There is a wealth of information on the WSSDA website and there are many opportunities to get involved with WSSDA. Good leaders find ways to continue to grow. Don’t stay in your comfort zone, reach out to board members in districts that look nothing like yours. You will find that the issues your district is facing are troubling many of us. Finding our common values is how things change for the better within your district and across the state.
For example, as I have talked with board members around the state, whether they come from small, midsize or large districts, east or west, rural or urban, everyone struggles with reaching and representing the whole community. We have had rich conversations about how we define our communities and who we aren’t hearing from. I’ve valued bouncing ideas and learning about different things to try.
Keep asking clarifying questions, actively listening and being flexible. We are so grateful that you have stepped into this role. Our students are the better for it.
| 
