Healthy schools have thriving boards that invest in the lay-head partnership. Prizmah is dedicated to strengthening the capacity of our lay and professional school leaders, better equipping them to succeed in their roles to provide quality education for generations of Jewish children.  

Board Fitness, broadly defined, refers to the governance work Prizmah does with lay and professional leaders. It is work that is guided by a vision for strong and healthy day schools and yeshivas in which lay and professional leaders are committed to continuous improvement and partnerships that are nourished through ongoing education and development. The idea of ‘fitness’ signals a process that requires ongoing work and attention. It is not only a set of actions or practices; it is a mindset that helps leaders focus on the cycle of goal setting, achievement, and reflection rather than on a singular goal.

Resources for New Board Chairs 

• How to be a Super Board Chair (Stanford Social Innovation Review)
• The Role of the Board Chair (BoardSource)
• Board Chair Prep (BoardSource)
• Board Chair & Chief Executive Partnership (BoardSource)

Helpful Insights for all Board Chairs

• Leadership of the Board Chair in Creating Board Culture (BoardSource)
• Lessons Learned as a Board Chair (Rick Moyers)
• What Nonprofit Boards Can Learn from Corporate Boards (The Bridgespan Group)
• How to Be a Rockstar Board Chair (National Council of Nonprofits)
• Voices of Board Chairs: A National Study on the Perspectives of Nonprofit Board Chairs (Nonprofit Quarterly)
• Board Leadership (HaYidion)

Resources important to this moment

• Podcast: COVID-19 Generative Governance Board Guidelines by Richard Chait (NAIS)
• How Nonprofits and Board Members can Respond to COVID-19 (BoardSource)
• Challenging White Dominant Culture: Time to Look in the Mirror (CompassPoints)

Nourishing the Lay-Head Partnership

• Board-Head Collaboration: When Best Practices Aren’t (HaYidion)
• Hot Buttons: Improving Professional and Lay Leadership at Jewish Organizations (HaYidion)
• Role of the Board and Executive Staff (BoardSource)
• Best Practices in Head Support and Evaluation (Prizmah)
• How to Conduct a Chief Executive Performance Assessment (BoardSource)
• Head Support & Evaluation Committee: A Win-Win-Win Strategy (HaYidion)

Optimizing Board Performance 

• Prioritizing Time on the Board (HaYidion)
• Board Meetings: Virtual Meetings (BoardSource)
• Intentional Practices to Build Greater Capacity in our Boards and Professionals (Prizmah)
• Seven Lessons in Pursuit of Board Excellence (HaYidion)
• Building a Diverse, Philanthropic and High Functional Governing Board (HaYidion)
• The Six Essential Ingredients for Effective Governance (BoardSource)
• Becoming a More Effective Nonprofit Board (The Bridgespan Group)
• The Dynamic Board: Lessons from High-Performing Nonprofits (McKinsey&Company)
• Nurturing Leaders for Board of Trustees (HaYidion)
• Making a Community Board Work for a Community School (HaYidion)
• The Classroom Boardroom: Lessons from Wexner (HaYidion)
• Cultivating Relationship Within Schools and Across the Field (HaYidion)

Self-Study Guides for Lay and Professional leaders

• Sources on the Source: Jewish Reflections on BoardSource's Twelve Principles of Governance that Power Exceptional Boards
• A Jewish Day School Journal: Lessons Learned and Best Practices to Help Schools Achieve Sustainability by Rabbi Joshua Elkin

Research

Unlocking Leadership: Obstacles and Opportunities for Improved Day School Volunteer Leadership

• Full Study
• Executive Summary
• Data Informed Framework for Board Leadership

Board Leadership Reshet: Purposeful Jewish Lay Leadership Digest 

We invite all Jewish day school board members to join our Board Leadership Reshet where you will be able to connect with peers leading Jewish day school boards across the country. Click here to subscribe to Prizmah’s Reshet Board Leadership. 

Purposeful Jewish Lay Leadership Digest Archive

2018

• The 12 New Year Resolutions Every Nonprofit Board Should Make
• Committee Communications and Created Shared Understanding Among Board Members

2019

• The Importance of the Lay-Head Partnership 
• Past and Present Board Member Engagement
• Bringing Out the Best in Your Board
• Intentional Practices and the Lay-Head Partnership
• Ten Tips to Set Your Board Up for Fundraising Success
• Is Your School Ready to Begin A Strategic Planning Process
• Five Things to Consider Before You Vote to Approve a Large Tuition Increase
• Building Board Culture
• Productive Board Meetings 
• The Board’s Role in School Finance

2020

• Committee Structure and Composition
• Ingredients for Effective Feedback
• COVID-19 Pandemic Resources and Support
• Board Transitions, Onboarding and Orientation
• Duties of Care, Loyalty and Obedience and Board Engagement During COVID-19
• Connecting to Learn and Bringing Out the Best in Your Board
• Harnessing the Power of Giving and Receiving Feedback as an Essential Disposition for Board Member Growth and Development

If you have further questions or would like personalized support, email Ilisa Cappell, Prizmah's VP of Leadership Development, at [email protected]