Governance Committee - Annual Goals - 2020 / 2021

Governance Committee - Actions update

May 2021

In May all Board Committees reviewed their goals and development projects for the 2020 / 2021 school year. At the May Board Retreat recommendations were made and new goals established for the 2021 / 2022 school year. These goals were then approved at the May Board meeting.

April 2021

• Goal 1 & 3 - As reported in January, three Board members attended a 'Better Boards' course. One outcome of the course is the decision of the Governance Committee to embark on a diversity and skills assessment of the Board members. They also learned about some aspects of the strategic planning process including measuring the impact of guiding statements.

• Goal 2 - The Board Policy Manual Revisions are to be completed at the end of the calendar year.

March 2021

• Goal 2 - With the completion of the by-laws review process, the Committee will focus on updating the Board Policy Manual to reflect the new operation procedures.

• Goal 3 - The two new Board members were enrolled in a Governance Foundations training offered by the Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS).

• Goal 3 - Three Board members will also attend this year's virtual ECIS Leadership Conference, to be held in April. The conference's central theme this year is 'Diversity and Belonging', although sessions regarding strategic planning and risk assessment in a post-pandemic world are also being offered.

February 2021

• Goal 1 - The ISP Association elected a new Board member, Onika Miller, to the Board of Trustees at the Annual General Meeting. Her strategic planning expertise will be useful as the school embarks on the renewal of the Strategic Plan.

• Goal 1 - At the AGM, the Board bid farewell to outgoing staff participant on the Board, Paul Willson, and welcomed Assil Charara to join the Board. Assil was elected successfully by the staff in January.

• Goal 2 - The ISP Association adopted new by-laws which will modernise the operations of the Association and the Board.

January 2021

In January the Board Committees reviewed the annual goals, project and progress as part of a mid-year review. The following developments and outcomes were recorded.

• Goal 1 - The Committee has been able to assess areas where succession planning is needed and target accordingly, but member profiles for the committees still need to be developed.

• Goal 2 - The Committee is well on track to completing its goal regarding the By-Laws revision with the new By-Laws to be adopted at the AGM planned for February. Once this is completed, the revision of the Board Policy Manual is to continue.

• Goal 3 - Board members have participated in fair bit of strategic planning professional development since the start of the year, and it is envisioned that this will continue to be theme into the following academic year as a new Strategic Plan is drafted. Three Board members will also take part in a 'deep dive' type Board course. The area of risk assessment is expected to be covered and they will share their learnings on this topic to the whole Board.

December 2020

• Goal 1 - The Governance committee chair has arranged to meet, this month, with some of the parents on the shortlist to discuss how they can contribute to the Board's goals and objectives by becoming Board members.

• Goal 1 - A member of staff was elected as a Board member with non-voting rights for a two-year period. The news will be announced to the community at the February AGM, when the term will begin.

• Goal 2 - The by-laws review is in its final stages. After feedback from the community, the proposed changes have been sent for translation and a final review by lawyers.

• Goal 3 - The Governance committee is targeting professionals with expertise in these areas to meet with about joining the Board.

November 2020

• Goal 1 - The Governance committee has continued to narrow down a shortlist of parents who could be approached about join the Board, as well as parents who have expressed interest.

• Goal 1 - The Governance committee reviewed, and sent forward to the Board, the CV of a staff member wishing to stand elections for the position of staff member with non-voting rights on the Board. The Board approved the candidate and the staff election is scheduled to take place in December.

• Goal 2 - Significant progress made on the by-laws review - a community feedback session was held to inform and gather feedback on the proposed by-laws changes.

• Goal 2 - Several policies are in the works to be considered by the committee by the end of this school year: fundraising policy, purchasing policy, assessment policy and learning support policy.

• Goal 3 - The whole Board attended a training on the rising to the challenges and opportunities in education, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

October 2020

• Goal 1 - A list of potential parents with essential expertise who could be approached to join the Board has been generated.

• Goal 2 - Sections from the Board Policy Manual were identified for priority updating through this academic year.

• Goal 2 - The by-laws review is continuing, with the involvement of the Finance Committee planned for November.

• Goal 3 - The training and development needs of the current Board members has been assessed and a training schedule developed to enhance their skills as Board members.

September 2020

• Goal 1 - The Board has started building awareness of its operations through the newsletter, with an aim to call for candidatures soon.

• Goal 1 - The Governance committee discussed the development of a 'member profile' for each board committee, to build a profile of the types of expertise needed by the Board.

• Goal 2 - The Board Policy Manual was reorganised over the summer with discussions continuing on how to bring the process to its completion.

• Goal 3 - Discussions have begun about training needs for the newest Board members.