Team Leadership: School Boards at Work

School Administrator, April, 1998 by Rene Townsend

Every superintendent's goal is to have school board members working together, focused on student learning and the improvement of their school district. Michal Rosenberger's book, Team Leadership: School Boards at Work, could help achieve that goal.

Tough decisions are not new, but with the spotlight shining more intensively on public education, boards today are operating in emotionally charged environments. Rosenberger's descriptions of the personal, social, organizational and political challenges facing school boards and their superintendents are right on target.

Board members and superintendents will find a wealth of ideas and questions to ponder. Of particular value are the "Board Self-Evaluation" questions throughout the book.

Most of Rosenberger's observations about effective and ineffective practices will resonate with school leaders, and all of her points should prompt reflection and analysis. Missing is a discussion about the reality of board members with personal and/or political motives who are not interested in the general improvement of the district and the impact that can have on schools and the community.

(Team Leadership: School Boards at Work, Michal K. Rosenberger, Technomic Publishing Co., Lancaster, Pa. 17604, 170 pp. with index, $34.95 hardcover)