(3) Obstacles that Head Start Boards Face

One of the major obstacles that Head Start boards face is that they don’t understand the mission and history of Head Start, which makes it more difficult to understand the Program Governance function from the legal and fiscal responsibility, and how as a Board, they are involved in the overseeing of the program.

That’s why The Gravely Group offers our signature training, “Breathing Life into a Non-Profit Board.” The Gravely Group approach is that we look at the Head Start Performance Standards from the Policy Council and Governing Board perspective in regards to fundraising, standards of conduct, advisory committees, and individual members’ roles and responsibilities.

Attendees of our training can expect to learn about the three entities of Program Governance, the Board, the Policy Council, and Staff, and how they should be able to work together from a team perspective.

Attendees will also learn an often overlooked aspect of proper Board function in Head Start or any non-profit, and that is the right away to run a meeting. Too many boards don’t know the proper way to run a meeting according to parliamentary law and the Open Meetings Act. That can include tasks such as making and passing motions and keeping proper minutes.

During this training, we also do a “mock meeting” which gives participants a chance to see how an effective meeting is operated. Attendees will learn how to ask the right questions when in a meeting so that members can share relevant and pertinent information with each other in the clearest way possible.

This training is appropriate for Board members, Policy Council members, senior staff, family service workers, as well as people in the community.