You could easily argue that our system of schools is old, but here’s one idea that I have been introduced to, more formally, as a new board member.  Boards are policy bodies, not execution bodies, and the policies they produce need the careful consideration and buy-in of the administration to have any hope of being successfully implemented in accordance with the intent of the board.  This seems obvious, but what I’ve seen too often over the years is that policy bodies spend very little time asking for input from those who will actually carry out the policies.  What I’ve witnessed early on is that there is a fairly formal process for drafting policies, providing time for review, and THEN formalizing them.  As they say, “what a concept!”

This seems pretty obvious, but at the moment, this is a truly refreshing idea and I’m glad to “re”-learn it.