Author Talk: Why School Boards Matter

Sign up for this special event hosted by the Scarsdale Adult School at Scarsdale High School on Tuesday September 30 at 7 pm.

School boards used to be perceived as mundane entities that conducted routine district business, an afterthought in the education reform movement.

However, more recently, not a week goes by without another battle in a school boardroom somewhere in America. Across blue, purple, and red states, school boards have become the epicenter of contentious debates, reflecting society’s deep divisions. In Why School Boards Matter, Levy explains that school boards are uniquely positioned to strengthen our public education system and our overall democracy. Drawing on history, research, and his personal journey from Wall Street to a school board seat, Levy makes the case that school boards have transformational power even as polarization and social media trends make governing more difficult. A call to action for board members, administrators, teachers, parents, students, and policymakers, Levy returns boards to the center of our education governance ecosystem. Board governance can be messy, but airing differences in a public forum is quintessentially American. Board meetings require us to make tough decisions with transparency and encourage us to engage in civil discourse and listen to our neighbors who do not always think as we do. As policymakers debate the federal government’s role in K-12 and states pursue sharply divergent policies, Levy reminds us of the essential role school boards play in shaping education and our country.

Author Scott R. Levy is an Adjunct Lecturer and former Visiting Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He hasbeen elected four times to the Byram Hills school board in Westchester County and has served as president of the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association, an organization with 54 member school districts. He also represented 74 school districts as a steering committee member of the Lower Hudson Education Coalition, and sits on the New York State School Boards Association Investment Advisory Committee. Levy was recently appointed by the NYS Board of Regents to become a trustee of the NYS Teachers’ Retirement System. Over the years, Levy has spoken at many events for school board members, superintendents, and teachers across the country and has published articles in Education Next, The Washington Post, and EdSurge. He has also served as Chairman of Blythedale Children’s Hospital and Executive Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. He spent two decades as an investment banker advising corporate boards and senior executives.

Author Visit: Scott R. Levy
Why School Boards Matter (2025)
Tuesday, September 30 • 7:00pm-8:30pm •
Scarsdale High School • Course 13515 • $30
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