The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that many homeschool leaders have no group to lead. Some may enjoy the break from responsibilities, but other feel lost and lonely without their groups.
Carol Topp, the HomechoolCPA, is joined by Doreen Browning, co-moderator of the I am a Homeschool Group Leader Facebook group and Jamie Buckland, Classical Program Consultant.
Listen as Carol, Doreen and Jamie discuss:
- Leaders without a group can feel lost, lonely and without a purpose
- Perhaps this is the time to “pour in” instead of the usual pour out
- Resources to help you pour into yourself or others (see below)
- Keep up with board meetings.
- Do some things you never have time to do.
- You need to be replaceable!
In the podcast, Jamie mentioned some resources she uses to “pour in” to being a better leader. Here’s her list:
- Creativity Inc.: Overcoming Unseen Inspiration
- The Next Right Thing Podcast on making hard but good decisions
- Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education by Stratford Caldecott
- Mere Motherhood by Cindy Rollins. Read Jamie’s review
Carol Topp has found these resources to be very helpful:
- Homeschool Organization Board Manual by Carol Topp, CPA- a template to create your own board manual of important documents and a training guide for board members. Read more below…
- BoardSource.org– lots of good articles for nonprofit board members in their resource library
- Lessons From The Nonprofit Boardroom: 40 Insights For Better Board Meetings by Dan Busby and John Pearson
Join the Facebook group for homeschool leaders: I am a Homeschool Group Leader. 1200+ homeschool leaders offer ideas, encouragement and respectful exchange of ideas. https://www.facebook.com/groups/72534255742/
Jamie Buckland, the Classical Program Consultant is available for phone consultations regarding starting and running a classical homeschool group. Contact her at https://jamiebuckland.net/
Homeschool Organization Board Manual
Homeschool board members should keep all their organization’s important papers in a safe and accessible place. Usually, a 3-ring binder works well.
Author and homeschool advisor, Carol Topp, CPA, has created a Homeschool Organization Board Manual. It is a template to create a board member binder. It has:
- A list of important documents to keep in your binder
- Section dividers so you can organize the important papers
- Tools to help you run your meetings smoothly including
- A sample agenda that you can use over and over again
- A calendar of board meetings
But this is more than just a few cover sheets for your binder. It is also a 55-page board training manual with helpful articles on:
- Suggested Board Meeting Topic List
- Board Duties
- Job Descriptions for Board of Directors
- What Belongs in the Bylaws?
- Compensation and Benefits for Board Members
- Best Financial Practices Checklist
- How to Read and Understand Financial Statements
- Developing a Child Protection Policy