This past fall, I had the opportunity to represent Synergy School, an independent progressive school for grades TK-8 in San Francisco. In collaboration with O&T supervising attorney Michelle Sonu, I worked on aligning Synergy’s current governance practices and documents to state statutes, IRS requirements, and best practice principles relevant to nonprofits in California. We also adapted Synergy’s existing governance materials to both their practices and unique non-hierarchical culture.

What makes Synergy distinct from most nonprofit clients is their commitment to collective leadership. This commitment is defined by their educational cooperative, a group of individuals that includes all teachers and aides who make decisions related to program, curriculum, student life, and teacher hiring and evaluation, as well as an administrative team that oversees the school’s day-to-day operations and school-wide communications. Synergy’s commitment to collective leadership is further mirrored by their 48-member board of trustees, which includes full-time teachers, teacher-administrators, administrative staff, the school’s cofounders, parents, and alumni.

As is the case for all O&T Clinic clients, listening to our client was paramount to producing governance materials that would be tailored and practical. Because Synergy’s non-hierarchical structure is so core to its culture, we had to make sure we heard from each of the relevant constituents, many of whom wear multiple hats for the organization. After meeting with members of the board in early October, we came away with a better understanding of Synergy’s history, current practices, and goals for our engagement.

Over the course of the quarter, we applied our takeaways from this meeting to review Synergy’s articles of incorporation, rewrite their bylaws, update their board handbook, create new committee charters, draft new policies, and develop practical board tools, such as board approval guidelines. We also wrote a comprehensive report setting out our advice and recommendations. We further refined these documents after receiving written feedback from Synergy and facilitating a meeting with board members in December. We have asked the board to review our work critically as they decide on recommendations to bring forward for a formal board vote.

Throughout the engagement, I was incredibly impressed with Synergy’s dedication to ensuring that every aspect of their leadership model exists to purposefully serve, support, and guide their students. In every interaction, the board was a model for thoughtful discussion and consensus-building. It was truly rewarding to work with a client that was so responsive to our questions and receptive to our advice. This project was certainly a highlight of my clinical experience, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to represent Synergy.