Board members having a discussion.

Welcome!

Superintendents are an integral part of the district’s governance team, and the only employee a school board employs, oversees, and evaluates.

As described in the Washington School Board Standards, mutual trust, collaboration, and clear communication are hallmarks of a healthy relationship between a board and their superintendent.

Although WSSDA exists to serve school directors, the entire board-superintendent team can benefit from the publications, services, and other resources WSSDA has to offer:

Update your contact information with WSSDA to receive our updates to board-superintendent teams. WSSDA also offers other email lists, like for legislative updates, a daily state and national K-12 news roundup called eClippings, and more.

School boards direct and hire only one employee: the superintendent. Setting clear expectations is critical, as is evaluating their performance with one of these evaluation models. Read more…

WSSDA provides a list of superintendent openings as a service to Washington school districts. View the openings here.

Use a subscription to access model policy and the magazine WSSDA uses to communicate policy and school law updates, Policy & Legal News. WSSDA also offers policy manual review and organizes the Council of School Attorneys (COSA). If a district ever needs legal counsel, COSA is the place to look.

Produced with statewide input from hundreds of school board members and their superintendents, this booklet describes the roles and responsibilities of school board members during collective bargaining. Get tips for communication, challenging situations, and learn the five phases of the annual budgeting and bargaining cycle. Read more…

A free online survey used by boards to reveal their strengths and opportunities for improvement. Taken annually, boards use it to reflect on accomplishments and set strategic goals for continuous improvement. Read more…

Washington state is a national leader in student representation on school boards. Use WSSDA to gain insight into recruiting, onboarding, and supporting student school board representatives. If you already have “student reps,” refer them to our Student Representatives Network where they can share experiences and collaborate on topics of interest to students.