The city school board soon will begin getting grades, including one on whether members work well with one other.

Trained volunteers will begin attending agenda and legislative meetings to observe whether board members are civil to each other and focusing on the business at hand.

The Downtown group A+ Schools announced the "Board Watch" initiative yesterday, saying it will use the volunteers' notes to issue periodic report cards on board performance.

"The board is only going to be as good as the public demands," said Carey Harris, the nonprofit community group's executive director.

Ms. Harris said she hopes the program leads to higher student achievement in the Pittsburgh Public Schools and heightened interest in board affairs, such as higher voter turnout and more contested school board races.

A+ Schools will evaluate the board, not individual members, Ms. Harris said, calling "good governance" the members' joint responsibility.

Volunteers will attend their first meeting -- an agenda session -- tomorrow. The first report card may be released in mid-March on the organization's web site at www.aplusschools.org.

"I think this represents a significant move forward in terms of accountability for a public entity," said Susan Hockenberry, executive director of Local Government Academy on the North Side. LGA, which provides training and other services to government, helped develop Board Watch.

Ms. Harris said the initiative builds on the League of Women Voters' Observer Corps and Court Watch programs, in which volunteers monitor government meetings and court proceedings. The League's Greater Pittsburgh chapter is one of a handful of groups recruiting Board Watch volunteers.

Ms. Harris said the effort already has attracted about 30 volunteers, who attended a training session and will operate in teams of three to ensure objectivity.

Each observer will fill out a checklist on topics ranging from the availability of agendas and other meeting materials to whether school board members made any "sarcastic, derogatory, contemptuous or accusatory" comments.

"I think that it's a great initiative," board member Heather Arnet said. "Certainly, increased transparency and improved board governance can only make the board and district more efficient and productive."

"It's a good and worthy idea, but an even better idea would be 'Administration Watch,' " said board member Randall Taylor, who contends the board and public should ask more questions about Superintendent Mark Roosevelt's spending and academic initiatives.

The board long has had a reputation for bickering and micromanagement, though there has been less of that -- at least in public -- since Mr. Roosevelt joined the district in 2005. Mr. Taylor and member Mark Brentley Sr. sometimes criticize Mr. Roosevelt's initiatives at length during meetings.

Ms. Harris said A+ Schools researched good government practices in designing its checklist for volunteer observers.

She also consulted Donald McAdams, founder of the Texas-based Center for Reform of School Systems. Mr. McAdams has worked with the Los Angeles-based Broad Foundation, which trains superintendents -- Mr. Roosevelt is a graduate of the program -- and other school officials.

Mr. Brentley called the idea of citizen observers nothing new, saying he's long encouraged churches to send representatives to board meetings.

He said he has concerns about Board Watch because he considers A+ Schools less an independent group than an advocate for Mr. Roosevelt, something Ms. Harris disputed. Mr. Brentley said he also was concerned by Mr. McAdams' work with Broad, saying he isn't pleased with the organization's influence on the district.