Ethical Literacy® Learning Community

Finding 5

By admin,

Trustees as Keepers of the Moral Compass

While many of the trustees we interviewed see their roles as “in the background”—not on the front lines of these exemplary schools—they do not minimize the importance of their jobs in developing cultures of integrity. They describe their purpose first and foremost as stewards of the school’s philosophy and vision. They depend on the school head as their connector between the ideal vision and the brass tacks of educating students of character.

Connection: If “everybody counts” in building positive school cultures, even behind-the-scenes roles provide a positive influence. Trustees we met are for the most part involved in their school because of an appreciation for the importance of ethical development, and they make decisions accordingly. They take the trust in their role seriously, as keepers of the school’s moral compass.

Description: At many of the exemplary schools we studied, trustees view themselves as the drivers behind an ethical culture, despite their distance from the actual operations of the school and direct interaction with students. In several cases, trustees describe past experiences when the school’s climate was not as ethical and attribute this shortfall to their own misguidance as trustees. Consistently, trustees describe administrative and academic issues as less central to their role and identity than issues of ethics and character.

Trustees look to the school head for both input and output in keeping the priorities straight at the school. Says one school head, “My trust from the board is amazing: they look to me for the truth [and]… the vision—knowing that we fail every day.” One trustee adds to the metaphor. “The school head,” he says “is like the North Pole of my moral compass.” Despite their involvement in seemingly black-and-white tasks like fiduciary management and policy development, trustees report their roles as complex.

They’re challenged with decision-making about often-ambiguous issues, where “one size fits all” or other formulas simply don’t apply. Dispelling the impression he sometimes gets from others about the role of trustees, one says, “It’s not just, ‘Don’t lie, cheat, steal.’ We do a lot of work on gray areas.” And like all of us, they labor over the tough choices, and worry about the outcomes to their decisions. A trustee at a large rural boarding school puts this in a nutshell: “Ethical behavior is when it hurts.”

The importance of schools in teaching life lessons and furthering lofty ideals and principles—and the capacity of their particular school to do this successfully—is the predominate reason these trustees say they invest their time and energy this way. Indeed, several admitted to being alumni who were kicked out of their schools for various ethical lapses in their youth. This is precisely what leads them, later in life, to want to serve that school. In the long run, the early lessons—sometimes painful—in character and ethical development outweigh the academic training, and motivate them to serve and give back. As one trustee puts it, “You talk to alums, and they don’t talk about academics. They talk about this.”

Replication: Trustees recommend a number of practices that have, over the years, served them well as keepers of the moral compass. These vary from school to school, but all pivot around trust—both experiencing and contributing to trust, and arriving at trust through honest and arduous grappling.

Transparency: Trustees at these exemplary schools want to work in the open and in the light, not behind closed doors. “We try to make sure nothing’s hidden. That’s trust.”
Sincerity: Trustees who believe in ethics help develop ethical school values. “The institution is serious about this and we telegraph this. It’s the first thing the board asks about, the first thing on the strategic plan. Everybody talks about it constantly—values, values, values.”
Pragmatism: The trustees we met were “rollup-your-sleeves” groups who did not view their role as “back seat.” “Our responsibility is to do something,” one trustee said.
Communication: Trustees want to know where their decision making has taken the school, and must therefore be prepared to listen—even to bad news. “Trustees have made it clear they really want to connect,” says a parent at one school. “They’re very open to listening to people—it comes through.”
Alliance: One way to find out how policies and decision making impact the culture is to circulate within it and to invite real feedback. “Here the staff never feels nervous about trustees,” says one faculty member. “They’re clearly here to help us.”
Inspiration: Those who want to build school cultures of integrity should and must leverage the support of the trustees. In most cases, the reasons for becoming a trustee stem more from ethical experiences in school than from academic ones, and trustees are likely to be strong champions of this direction. Without them, it will be difficult to make headway in a positive direction. As one school head asserts, “Any culture shift has to start at the trustee/board level.”