Board Leadership

Strategic Board Governance

In collaboration with local community partners, PEJE trains the heads of school and board leadership of select Jewish day schools to perform their responsibilities more effectively. The components of this regional program include two in-person seminars, personalized school coaching, and skill building in the use of assessment tools. Through the SBG, local school leaders are learning about achieving financial sustainability through best practices in school governance, the roles and responsibilities of trustees, and the relationship between the board and the head of school.

PEJE is running two pilot SBG programs this year, one in Houston and one in New York. PEJE is partnering with the Houston Bureau of Jewish Education, and the Board of Jewish Education of New York, UJA Federation of New York, and the Institute for University-School Partnership at Yeshiva University.

 Build Your Own Board

PEJE's Build Your Own Board program trains school leadership teams (at least one professional and one board leader) to fill their boardrooms with the right leaders and strengthen their board's ability to govern strategically. The program in 2010 provides a one-day, interactive seminar and 16 hours of tailored, follow-up coaching. Led by PEJE Senior Consultant Cheryl Finkel, Board Leadership Strategy Manager Jill Goldenberg, and Board Leadership Senior Program Manager Linda Simansky, BYOB positions schools to create a culture where Board members understand and embrace their responsibilities to sustain their school through careful leadership development.

The BYOB Seminar takes place on April 18 in Skokie, IL.

Read a full description of the program.

Board Self-Assessment Tools

PEJE has collaborated with NAIS and the Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy to ensure access to several board assessment tools. As critical components of strategic board governance, these tools will be promoted to the schools throughout the year.

Board Excellence Measurement Tool
Board leaders: help measure your board's performance on specific organizational activities associated with effective governance with the new, no-cost Board Excellence Measurement Tool (BEMT), developed in partnership with the Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy. The BEMT is designed for Board Chairs and Chairs of the Committee on Trustees (or Governance Committee) to use, ideally with a coach. It offers a baseline of the board's current practice and helps track progress over time. Get a useful sense of your boards' strengths and challenges, and plan toward more strategic governance. See how the Leadership CoP learned about this tool.

Board Self-Assessment Tool / Head Evaluation Tool
The National Association of Independent Schools and PEJE have partnered to customize the NAIS Board Self-Assessment Tool and NAIS Head Evaluation Tool for Jewish day schools at a discounted rate. The package includes:

• Survey Instrument
• Management of internet-based survey process by NAIS
• Confidential custom school report summarizing results

Special package for Jewish day schools:
Board Self-Assessment Tool* $450 
Board Self-Assessment Tool / Head Evaluation Tool Package** $800

*NAIS members can purchase the Board Self-Assessment Tool for $250, but be sure to request the version customized for day schools.
**The Head Evaluation Tool will not be sold separately.

To purchase the package or learn more, contact NAIS: 202-973-9700 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Leadership Community of Practice (CoP)

Peer-to-peer learning is a powerful strategy for advancing learning and practice. PEJE supports the Leadership CoP for board chairs (and Heads of School) to facilitate learning around issues of critical importance to this group.

Leadership Line

The Leadership Line provides a no-cost, one hour consultation call for board chairs.