The Crucial Role of Alignment in School Governance: A Blueprint for Student Success
By Jeffrey Tobey, Peoria School Board Candidate
I was sitting at the kitchen table with one of my daughters as she furrowed her eyebrows and tightened her lips in puzzled frustration. “What am I doing wrong?” She asked as she rapidly began to erase the writing on her paper, brushing away the rolled-up bits of eraser. Like many parents helping their children with math homework, it can be daunting. I asked her to show me her process in solving the problem, using the catchy phrase to recall the order of operations - Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. Everything was seeming correct until she went to put together the final answer. She forgot to properly align her numbers and account for the decimal placement. The moment she realized this one simple fix, everything fell into place.
Of all the leadership courses, books, and seminars I have completed, the principle of alignment has been front and center - often called by the latest buzzword or acronym at the time. The concept of alignment in leadership simply stated is the shared understanding and movement towards a set of strategic objectives in order to have the greatest outcome. Alignment is perhaps the single most important concept within leadership which, like my daughter’s math problem, can help achieve the right outcomes.
A school governing board sets the tone and tempo of any educational institution. Its ability to align its members, goals, and strategies can be the determining factor in the success of the district. A governing board must unite the dais under a common vision for the district. Leadership author Steven Covey eloquently phrases, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” The main thing related to the business of a school district is the safety and education of its students. When each board member is aligned with this vision, collaboration becomes more than a concept - it becomes the driving force behind every decision. Proper alignment also fosters trust, which is a valuable currency in helping achieve the shared goals even quicker.
As a candidate for the Peoria Unified School Board, I bring my professional and life experience to help adopt policies to make PUSD safer and elevate the performance of our district. Ultimately by establishing alignment between our board, teachers, staff, parents, students and community, we will maximize our ability in Peoria to become the model of school safety and competitive education in the state.
Jeffrey Tobey is a husband and father of four children in Peoria. To learn more about his candidacy for the Peoria School Board, visit his website at Votetobey.org or email admin@votetobey.org.