Strengthen Governance. Align Leadership. Move Forward. Together.

A leadership workshop for superintendents and school boards from Dr. Michael Hinojosa and the Together Network for Transformation.

Instructor: Dr. Michael Hinojosa & the Together Network for Transformation

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Overview

The TNT Governance Alignment Workshop is designed to help leadership teams step back, clarify priorities, and reestablish a shared framework for moving their district forward.

District leadership teams across the country are using this experience to strengthen board–superintendent trust, clarify strategic priorities, and create momentum for the next phase of district improvement.

Led by former Dallas ISD Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa and the Together Network for Transformation, this experience focuses on the practical work of leadership — helping boards and superintendents strengthen trust, align expectations, and build momentum for the next phase of their district’s work.

Challenge

Most school boards and superintendents share the same goal: to create great schools and deliver meaningful outcomes for students and communities.

Yet the path to achieving that goal is rarely straightforward.

District leadership teams often face challenges such as:

  • Unclear or competing strategic priorities
  • Governance dynamics that slow decision-making
  • Differences in expectations between board members and the superintendent
  • Strategic plans that feel disconnected from day-to-day leadership work
  • Leadership transitions that disrupt progress and continuity

Traditional board training often focuses on governance rules, compliance, or policy. While these areas are important, they rarely address the deeper leadership dynamics that shape how boards and superintendents actually work together.

The Governance Alignment Workshop was created to address that gap.

Rather than focusing on theory, the workshop provides a structured leadership experience that helps teams strengthen trust, clarify priorities, and develop a shared approach to solving complex district challenges.

Who This Workshop Is Designed For

This experience is especially valuable for districts that are:

  • Welcoming a new superintendent or board leadership team
  • Preparing for or launching strategic planning work
  • Navigating governance challenges or leadership transitions
  • Seeking to strengthen board–superintendent trust and collaboration
  • Looking to align leadership around clear priorities and outcomes

Many districts choose to include cabinet leaders and senior administrators so that alignment extends beyond the boardroom and into the district’s broader leadership team.

What You’ll Experience

The Power of Board–Superintendent Relations

Drawing on his experience leading multiple public school systems, including Dallas ISD, Dr. Hinojosa shares practical lessons about what strong governance relationships look like in practice.

Participants explore:

  • Why the board–superintendent relationship is one of the most powerful drivers of district success
  • How effective leadership teams build trust and maintain alignment
  • Common challenges districts face and how successful leaders navigate them

This session helps leadership teams reframe governance not as a set of rules, but as a collaborative leadership partnership.

Strategic Prioritization Exercise (Nominal Group Technique)

Leadership teams participate in a structured prioritization process designed to surface and organize their district’s most important challenges.
Using a research-based approach known as Nominal Group Technique, the exercise ensures that every voice in the room is heard while helping the team focus on the issues that matter most.

Districts often leave this activity with greater clarity about:

  • their most pressing leadership challenges
  • areas of alignment among board members and the superintendent
  • where additional focus and conversation may be needed

This process also introduces a practical tool that leadership teams can continue using in future strategic discussions.

Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes Leadership Activity

In this reflective leadership exercise, participants consider the qualities that define the most effective leaders they have known.

Through a structured discussion, teams explore whether the leadership traits they value most relate to knowledge, skills, or attitudes — and what those insights mean for the way boards and superintendents work together. This conversation often helps leadership teams clarify the expectations and leadership culture they want to model within their district.

Strategic Thinking Framework Introduction

Many districts rely on traditional three- or five-year strategic plans that can quickly become outdated as new challenges emerge.

During the workshop, participants are introduced to a more agile strategic thinking framework built around an 18-month planning horizon. This approach helps leadership teams focus on the next phase of meaningful progress while maintaining a clear long-term vision.

Rather than focusing exclusively on long-range planning documents, the framework encourages leaders to concentrate on the next set of strategic decisions that will move their district forward.

Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, leadership teams will:

  • Strengthen trust and working relationships between board members and the superintendent
  • Identify and prioritize the district’s most important leadership challenges
  • Develop a shared leadership language for governance and collaboration
  • Explore a practical framework for strategic thinking and planning
  • Build momentum for addressing the district’s most pressing priorities

Most importantly, participants leave the experience with a clearer understanding of how they can work together more effectively to lead their district forward.

From Alignment to Strategy

For many districts, the Governance Alignment Workshop serves as a low-risk first step in exploring deeper strategic work with the Together Network for Transformation.

Rather than committing immediately to a large consulting engagement, leadership teams can begin with this focused session to assess their current alignment, clarify their most pressing priorities, and determine whether additional support would be valuable.

Following the workshop, districts have the option to expand the engagement into a customized Strategic Thinking Framework partnership designed to help move from leadership conversation to sustained district progress.

In this expanded engagement, TNT works alongside district leadership teams to develop a customized 18-month Strategic Thinking Framework aligned to the district’s most important priorities.

This deeper work may include:

  • development of a district-specific strategic thinking framework
  • leadership alignment and governance support
  • guidance for implementing key strategic priorities
  • ongoing checkpoints to help maintain momentum

For districts that choose to move forward with this expanded engagement, the investment in the initial workshop is applied toward the full partnership.

dr michael hinojosa

About Dr. Hinojosa and TNT

Dr. Michael Hinojosa served more than 26 years as superintendent across six public school systems, including Dallas ISD and Cobb County Schools.

His honors include:

  • Texas Superintendent of the Year
  • Urban Educator of the Year (Council of the Great City Schools)
  • Distinguished Alumnus, Texas Tech University College of Education

Today, Dr. Hinojosa leads the Together Network for Transformation, a leadership consultancy founded by experienced K–12 leaders who have spent their careers guiding districts through the realities of public education leadership.

Their work focuses on helping districts move beyond planning conversations and toward practical leadership action that strengthens governance, builds leadership capacity, and improves student outcomes.

This workshop reflects lessons learned from decades of real-world leadership experience — not theory.

Investment

Governance Alignment Workshop
Half-day, in-district leadership experience

Investment: $6,500 + travel

Districts may expand this initial work into a deeper engagement with the Together Network for Transformation to develop a custom 18-month Strategic Thinking Framework aligned to their most critical district priorities.

For districts that pursue the framework, the Governance Alignment Workshop serves as the first step in the process, and its full cost is credited toward the Strategic Thinking Framework engagement.

Bring This Workshop
to Your District

Most districts begin with a short conversation to determine whether the Governance Alignment Workshop would be helpful for their board and leadership team.

Schedule a brief conversation to explore bringing this leadership experience to your district.

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