January 30, 2020
2018 NAIS Governance Study
The recent release of the 2018 NAIS Governance Study revealed a lot of interesting data about how independent school boards are performing based on the survey responses of 393 Board Chairs and 468 Heads of School.
I participated in an NAIS webinar yesterday that revealed some key findings.
There is a lot to unpack from this presentation and the accompanying report and I will continue to share relevant findings in future Chair Posts but I thought I would share a few interesting findings with you today.
Board Size is Decreasing
In 2006, average board size was 22; in 2012 it was 21; in 2018 it was 19
Board Chair Tenure
34% of schools have no term limits for Board Chairs
28% of schools have 1 term limit for Board Chairs
Board Policies
Only 33% of schools had a policy related to bullying
Only 46% of schools had a policy related to crisis management
Only 47% of schools had a policy on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Board Chair - Head Relationship
83% of Heads rate their relationship with their Chair as extremely or very strong
89% of Board Chairs rate their relationship with their HOS
as extremely or very strong
Overall Board Performance Satisfaction
80% of Board Chairs and 67% of Heads are extremely or very satisfied with overall board performance
Weakest areas of Board performance
Both Board Chairs and Heads indicated that 'fundraising' and 'increasing board diversity' were the lowest performing areas of the board
If your school is an NAIS member school, you can view the 2018 NAIS Governance Study from their website.
