Why School Boards Matter (Paperback)

Scott R. Levy

ISBN 10: 0262552728 / ISBN 13: 9780262552721

Published by MIT Press Ltd, 2025

About this Item

Paperback. How school boards are uniquely positioned to strengthen our public education system and our democracy.How school boards are uniquely positioned to strengthen our public education system and our democracy.In Virginia, a contentious school board meeting led to an arrest and trespassing summons. In Utah, eleven people were charged with disorderly conduct after a board meeting turned chaotic. Not long ago, school boards conducted mundane district business. Understudied and underreported, they were an afterthought of centrally driven education reform efforts. Now, across blue, purple, and red states, school boards have become the epicenter of heated debates, reflecting society's deep divisions. In Why School Boards Matter, Scott Levy challenges conventional wisdom by reminding us of the essential role school boards play.While battles in the boardroom may be uncomfortable, they exemplify how passionate Americans are about education. As policymakers debate the federal government's role in K-12 and states pursue sharply divergent policies, Levy offers a roadmap that empowers school boards to tackle intractable public education challenges, including initiative fatigue, district climate, and accountability. School boards are where theory meets practice, where federal and state requirements converge with local policies, and where constituents can advocate for important issues affecting our children today. Every K-12 stakeholder-administrators, teachers, parents, and students alike-has a vested interest in understanding how school boards shape education. "A defense of an essential American institution - the public school board - with strategies for strengthening both democratic structures and education outcomes for students"-- Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780262552721

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Why School Boards Matter (Paperback)
• Publisher: MIT Press Ltd
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262552728
• ISBN 13: 9780262552721
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

How school boards are uniquely positioned to strengthen our public education system and our democracy.

In Virginia, a contentious school board meeting led to an arrest and trespassing summons. In Utah, eleven people were charged with disorderly conduct after a board meeting turned chaotic. Not long ago, school boards conducted mundane district business. Understudied and underreported, they were an afterthought of centrally driven education reform efforts. Now, across blue, purple, and red states, school boards have become the epicenter of heated debates, reflecting society’s deep divisions. In Why School Boards Matter, Scott Levy challenges conventional wisdom by reminding us of the essential role school boards play.

While battles in the boardroom may be uncomfortable, they exemplify how passionate Americans are about education. As policymakers debate the federal government’s role in K-12 and states pursue sharply divergent policies, Levy offers a roadmap that empowers school boards to tackle intractable public education challenges, including initiative fatigue, district climate, and accountability. School boards are where theory meets practice, where federal and state requirements converge with local policies, and where constituents can advocate for important issues affecting our children today. Every K-12 stakeholder—administrators, teachers, parents, and students alike—has a vested interest in understanding how school boards shape education.

About the Author

Scott Levy is Adjunct Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has been elected four times to a local public school board in Westchester County, NY, and has served as president of a regional school boards association. He has also served as chairman of a children's hospital and Executive Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. He spent two decades as an investment banker advising corporate boards and senior executives.