Hacienda La Puente board holds governance workshop, sets priorities and moves to align superintendent evaluation

Hacienda La Puente Unified School District — The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District board met in a study session Tuesday evening to clarify governance roles, adopt engagement norms and begin drafting board priorities that will shape the superintendent’s evaluation.

Consultant Nicole Anderson, who ran the workshop, told the board the session was intended as practice time for governing as a team. "So what we're gonna do is we're gonna focus it on governance, effective governance," she said, asking trustees to accept some "discomfort" as they worked through exercises to identify the district's priorities and expectations.

Why it matters: Board priorities determine the questions trustees ask staff, how the superintendent’s goals are set and the yardsticks used to measure success. Anderson walked trustees through a template that divides priorities into four buckets — teaching and learning, staffing, school climate/infrastructure and budget — and asked each member to propose…