Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Trustee Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CalSTRS governance committee advances refreshed trustee education pathway and mentorship program
Summary
CalSTRS governance committee reviewed a redesigned trustee continuing-education pathway and a formal mentorship program intended to improve onboarding, tie materials to Diligent, and provide mentors for new and tenured trustees; staff will add links and report back in September.
Amy (last name not specified), a CalSTRS staff member, presented a redesigned continuing-education pathway for trustees the committee has been developing for roughly 18 months, saying the plan "builds on all of that" constituent feedback and aims to make onboarding and ongoing learning more visible and accessible.
The pathway lays out suggested milestones for trustees in three windows: 0–3 months (observe meetings, meet key staff, begin Diligent materials), 3–6 months (one-on-one conversations with chairs and consultants, mentor assignment), and 7–12 months (continued engagement, check-in with CEO and chair). Amy said the materials will be integrated with Diligent and that the committee will receive a final closeout in September reflecting progress and next steps.
Saba (last name not specified), a consultant on the engagement team, described a formal board mentorship program provided as "attachment 1," which documents mentor and mentee guidance, checkpoint examples and suggested questions. "We wanted to put together a program that would have this loose structure that would provide some flexibility for trustees to tailor it," Saba said, noting the program preserves informal, organic mentor relationships while giving them a consistent framework.
Trustees asked for practical tools to use the pathway: hyperlinks to an external-events listing and a concise sheet of recommended conferences and trainings. Trustee Ruffino praised a previously prepared conference sheet and said such a resource would be "incredibly beneficial" for new trustees. Staff confirmed an external-events list will be updated every six months and that links and a notification mechanism (via the monthly governance newsletter) will be used to alert trustees when materials are posted or refreshed.
The committee characterized the education work as an information item; staff said they will operationalize the materials, integrate the mentorship program into onboarding, and report back at the committee's September meeting. No formal vote was required on the education pathway during this session.
