THE POLICY CORNER What Is the Tone of Your District’s Policy Manual?

Jody Goeler

Sr. Staff Associate for Policy Service, CABE

Beyond the inventive melodies, the diverse rhythmic elements, and imaginative instrumental accompaniments, what continues to draw me to record albums, such as Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, the Beatles White Album, and Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde (I know, I’m old), is the coherence of tone each work possesses. In the case of Dylan’s opus, he described it as having “that thin, that wild mercury sound. It’s metallic and bright gold, with whatever that conjures up.”

Marvin Gaye delivers a light, airy and contemplative tone to his work as he takes an unflinching look at racism, environmental destruction and urban decay. With the Beatles, we get a tone reflective of its unadorned and experimental white cover.

Perhaps I would be overstating it a bit, if I were to compare board of education policy manuals to great works of art, but highly effective policy manuals do more than prescribe a set of rules to follow, provide a means for protecting a district from legal exposure, and meet legislative mandates.

Along with being clear and concise and informative and direct, the tone of a policy manual can both have an impact on district culture and climate and reflect the culture the board wishes to project to its community: What are the board’s aspirations for the district’s students, staff and parents, and how are they reflective through shared beliefs, values and attitudes and how are they conveyed in policy?

As boards of education review, evaluate and revise their policies, they should consider its manual’s internal coherence. Collectively, what impression would a community member gain from your district after reviewing your policies? Does your district value and support student agency? Does your district value and support adult learning and professional development? Does your district recognize the connection between a strong arts program and a healthy school climate? Does your district boast a gender neutral dress code policy? Does your board value and provide opportunities for community input? Or do the policies appear to be in conflict with one another. For example, it wouldn’t be uncommon for a “Student” or “Instruction” policy last revised twenty or thirty years ago to be incongruent with other updated policies.

The answer to these questions and others like them will likely help determine the tone conveyed or the lack of coherence displayed through the policy manual. Does the board only concern itself with mandates and compliance, or does it aspire for the students it serves to have a voice, assume academic risks and challenges, and tackle the challenging issues of the day?

In light of these questions, does the homework policy encourage and support substantive extensions of the lessons of the day, or is it consumed with the number of mandated minutes required each night? More generally, what does the board convey regarding the importance of and adherence to policy to its community?

While summer in CABE’s policy department is dedicated towards reviewing new laws generated from the recent legislative session and revising policies accordingly, the work of reviewing policies is an ongoing process. We look forward to continuing to support you in this important work.

Did you know that as a CABE member, your District has 24/7 access to the strategic communications services of Baldwin Media?

With more than 20 years of experience working with public schools, don’t do it alone

Over the years, Ann has partnered with countless Boards of Education and Superintendents navigate through a variety of issues, from getting out in front of budget referendums, personnel issues, social media challenges, school safety, etc

Assisting with district messaging for internal and external stakeholders and serving as the conduit between your “issue” and the media, she is here to help you manage the message

If she can help you with a simple phone call, there is no cost to you If the issue is more complex, then you can decide to access her expertise and additional services by contracting through CABE