At a governance-focused session on Sept. 18 the Board of Trustees conducted training and a facilitated discussion about governance practices, self-evaluation and board norms. Superintendent Dr. Adamson led the training, framing it around chapters 1 and 2 of Governance Core and a supplemental book study (The Energy Bus). Dr. Adamson said the sessions were intended to reinforce a governance mindset and to help trustees "keep student outcomes, equity, and access at the forefront." Trustees reviewed the board handbook and six board norms (accountability, stewardship, ethics and integrity, collective impact, communication and respect), discussed areas for improvement — including onboarding for new trustees, meeting pacing and agenda design, transparency and evaluation processes — and agreed to pursue a structured self-evaluation. Trustees also debated whether to collect anonymous feedback from staff and the public to inform the self-evaluation: some trustees supported a separate, anonymized feedback channel as input into the board process; others raised concerns about mixing external perception data with internal board self-evaluation and recommended separate "buckets" for internal evaluation and external feedback. The board noted an upcoming training opportunity (NCLE full-day training on Nov. 13) and asked staff to circulate dates for a dedicated self-evaluation session; staff said they would propose dates and materials. Other operational follow-ups included improving the digestibility of board communications (summary highlights and analytics on open rates) and considering ways to reduce presentation length in meetings so trustees have more time for discussion. Several trustees emphasized that governance training is an ongoing process and that the handbook and norms should be living documents. No formal votes were taken; the board identified next steps and assigned staff follow-up.
