A Message from the SRI Board of Directors

May 27, 2016

Dear SRI Community,

The School Reform Initiative was founded as an independent nonprofit organization in 2009, after spending much of our history as a program within other organizations. The founding SRI board worked diligently to develop an organization that:

  • established transparent processes and democratic representation, and
  • had a fully elected board of directors consisting of SRI affiliates who carry a deep investment in the mission and vision of SRI.

As we have grown as an organization, we have remained committed to these values and processes.

When SRI became a new nonprofit, SRI’s founding board of directors worked in partnership with an organizational development workgroup of affiliates to help design SRI’s organizational and governance structures. At that time, we knew that the mechanisms developed for the new organization would — and should — change as the organization matured. This is part of what it means to be an organization that is striving to live by its own principles, thinking about who we serve and working to do what we say we do. Seven years into our existence, we are no longer a start-up organization. Instead we are entering our second developmental stage that includes firmly establishing our identity as an organization, and determining how to not only survive, but also to thrive.

This past year, the SRI Board of Directors, guided by its Governance Committee — made up of board members — have been reviewing current organizational structures including:

  • our by-laws;
  • election and voting processes and procedures; and
  • specific board/governance structures that will support SRI in actualizing our mission as we continue to grow and develop.

In this review, we have identified aspects of our governance that are strong. We remain deeply  committed to affiliate voice, working to be a responsive organization who supports our growing community. In addition, the board is fully elected by the SRI affiliate community.

However, we have also identified several areas that need deeper, more intentional review. These include ensuring our organizational practices align with our by-laws, and legal and financial obligations; designing a voting procedure that will increase affiliate participation; designing a board development process that guarantees that the SRI board’s membership represents a broad diversity; and deeply reviewing our board and governance structure to insure that it will support the organization in actualizing our mission as we continue to grow and develop.

To honor our organizational commitment of transparency, we are writing to let you know that we are postponing our 2016 board election, that normally would be scheduled to begin in September 2016, in order to take much needed time to review our organizational structures and governance processes and make some important changes that reflect the growth of our organization. We will resume a board election process in Spring 2017, with the newly elected board members beginning their term at the Winter Meeting in January 2018.

The board election process is just one facet of our organizational review; however, it is one of the most public aspects, that potentially affects affiliates considering running for election. Rather than continuing our board election process as currently designed, the Governance Committee, after careful consideration, proposed the postponement in order to give the board time to thoughtfully review and offer recommendations for continuing processes. The SRI Board of Directors has unanimously voted to postpone the 2016 election, and charged the Governance Committee to embark on a comprehensive study of our by-laws and governance structures. Over the next year, the Governance Committee will continue to thoughtfully review our current processes and consider revisions. The three board members who were up for re-election this year have committed to extending their term for one more year, in order to maintain our fully elected board while we undergo our organizational review.

As this work is stewarded by the SRI Board of Directors, we invite and encourage our affiliates to join in this conversation over the next year to help guide and provide necessary input on our organizational structures. There will be a number of opportunities for affiliates to join this conversation, provide feedback on current and recommended processes, and help SRI continue to grow as an organization.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about this process, please feel free to email Kari (kari@schoolreforminitiative.org) or Board Chair, Pat Norman (pnorman@schoolreforminitiative.org). We will also host two question and answer sessions for affiliates who would like to learn more about this decision and ask questions. These sessions will be held June 1st at 7pm Eastern and June 2nd at 3pm Eastern, via WebEx. Please register to attend these sessions by filling out the registration form available here.

Thank you for your continued commitment to SRI and to the students, families and communities we work to serve.

Sincerely,

Kari Thierer
Organizational Director

Pat Norman
Chair, SRI Board of Directors

On behalf of the SRI Board of Directors

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