Board meetings are the time and place where school boards act. In fact, only when coming together as a body in a legal meeting do school board members become a board. Effective board meetings are the first prerequisite for an effective board. Furthermore, what parents and voters see at board meetings determines largely what they think about their board, even their school district. Frequent, long, unfocused or contentious meetings are sure signs of an ineffective, perhaps even dysfunctional, board. Everything matters: length, time of day, agenda, protocol, configuration of the room, dress, decorum, etc. Because the primary reason boards meet is to consider the superintendent's agenda, board meetings are a joint responsibility between the board and the superintendent; and most boards are happy to defer agenda preparation to the superintendent and welcome suggestions regarding agenda review and meeting management. In this article, the author presents principles and practice patterns that contribute to effective board meetings and which superintendents should promote to their boards.