The Los Angeles-based Broad Foundation, which annually spends millions to improve U.S. education, is holding a retreat in Park City as part of a two-year program to train school board members to make better policy decisions.

The program, called Reform Governance in Action:

. . . trains he nation’s most promising reform-minded school boards and superintendents to become effective, high-performing teams . . . to establish a wide range of efficient and effective policies and processes that will improve board operations, strengthen management oversight and directly improve learning opportunities for students.

The foundation paid the way to Park City for attendees from Antioch Unified School District, Calif.; Elizabeth Public Schools, N.J.; Houston Independent School District; Memphis City Schools and School District of Philadelphia.

Unfortuantely, no districts from Utah, which ranks last on a few educational scales and is wrestling with ideas like school vouchers and merit pay, was not invited to attend the innovative Park City gathering.