ASBSD President wants to focus on growth, board member development.

Expanding board development opportunities, promoting community engagement and leveraging technology should be association priorities in the upcoming year, according to newly elected ASBSD President Duane Alm.

Alm, who serves as president of the Aberdeen Board of Education, outlined an issue-oriented agenda during the January ASBSD Board of Directors Meeting. The topics will resurface as the full board enters into the strategic planning process for the upcoming year.

ASBSD board members and staff have focused more on strategic planning in recent years. Alm feels the process has helped the association focus on continuous improvement.

"As ASBSD board members, strategic planning is an important part of our leadership role" Alm said. "It helps set the direction for future growth."

Alm feels the association has made progress, particularly in aligning the organization to help members face new challenges. Going forward, discussions should focus on growth, he said.

ASBSD President Duane Alm has outlined a number of priorities for the association for the upcoming year. Alm took over the role of ASBSD President at the January Board of Directors meeting.

Alm hopes the board agrees to move the association forward in three areas.

ASBSD needs to provide more professional development opportunities for school board members, Alm said, adding that many board members don't yet see the benefits of attending training and investing in their own success as a board member.

Advancing board member training may tie directly into another issue Alm believes is important - making more effective use of technology.

Using the ASBSD website or packaging information onto DVD, for example, might be ways to get information to board members quickly, he said.

Alm also wants to see the association help school boards engage their communities.

“When the community gets involved in education, it positively impacts student achievement," Alm said.

Alm at admits that there are budgetary limitations that will impact what the association is able to do.

"That's why, as a board, we need to set priorities," he said.

In addition to the strategic priorities, Alm told board members he'd also like to see:

• ASBSD staff increase efforts to develop grassroots lobbying procedures for school board members to work with legislators.
• Board of directors increase their communication and dialogue efforts with board members in their regions.
• The ASBSD Executive Committee become more actively involved in the NSBA Western Region meetings, which could lead to more involvement at the national level. ASBSB has a lot of expertise and leadership skills that can impact educational decisions made at the regional and national levels, Alm said.

ASBSD board members will work to finalize strategic priorities at the March board meeting before adopting a budget in May.