Each year in January, board members begin to look to register for mandated trainings.
NJSBA offers our members as many avenues as possible to fulfill these requirements. New board members are required to take Governance 1- New Board Member Training. Second-year members are required to take Governance II- School Finance. Third-year members are required to take Governance III- Student Achievement. Newly re-elected or reappointed members are required to take Governance IV- Legal Update.
Governance II, III, and IV programs run 90 minutes when held in-person. But NJSBA offers members two options to fulfill this training. They can complete a self-paced course through the NJSBA University, which allows learners to move through the materials on their own and ask the staff questions as needed, but it does not include any scheduled times with a facilitator. Governance II and III are currently available through the NJSBA University. Governance IV will be updated and released by Feb. 1.
Option Two is to attend our live virtual events or the “Foundations” programs. In the age of COVID, these virtual programs have replaced face-to-face sessions. They allow the learners to participate in a facilitator-driven session, where questions can be answered take place during the session. NJSBA hopes to keep these sessions more intimate, so that the attendees can engage with the facilitator and each other. They will be offered monthly from January through May. More sessions will be added as necessary.
New Board Member Training Governance I is a more intensive program, thus NJSBA has three different options available for the newest board members. Members may take the self-paced online course through NJSBA University. Members may also attend a live virtual event, but these programs are conducted in three parts.
If you attend the live virtual event you must attend all three sessions to complete the mandated training. These are in March and May. Finally, due to COVID, NJSBA will not be able to offer its in-person Weekend Orientation, but we have replicated the support and connection of that weekend program with a six-week course which will be offered from February through April.
This program will allow a limited number of members to work in cohorts of 10 with a seasoned board member on the required topics and materials. Course attendees will meet with their cohort once a week for six weeks, where they will discuss the videos, readings, and do activities to enhance their understanding of the role of a board member. This course will be intensive and rewarding!
NJSBA is excited to bring our new 2021 versions of training to the membership. As COVID continues to impact our lives, NJSBA continues to adjust and adapt to meet the needs of our members.
All sessions are listed on our webpage.