The White River School Board was not one of the two groups selected as the 2011 School Boards of the Year by the Washington State School Directors’ Association during its conference Nov. 19 in Bellevue; however, Mike Jansen, Jean Lacy, Susan McGuire, Cassie Pearson, Denise Vogel and Superintendent Tom Lockyer were one of the 16 board of directors nominated.
Auburn and Vancouver were the winners, while Chimacum, East Valley (Spokane), Franklin Pierce, Issaquah, Kent, Lakewood, Marysville, Puyallup, Selah, South Kitsap, Sunnyside, University Place, West Valley (Spokane) and White River were noted as Boards of Distinction.
“Though we weren’t named as School Board of the Year, we are very proud of being recognized as a Board of Distinction for the third year in a row,” Lockyer said.
WSSDA’s Boards of Distinction awards program honors school boards that demonstrate effective use of the Washington School Board Standards. The standards, developed and adopted by WSSDA in 2009, promote researched-based governance practices that lead to high levels of student and district performance.
Award applicants are required to submit an essay and supporting evidence to demonstrate how they are putting the standards into practice. This year, applicants were asked to address the following benchmarks (one from each of the five standards):
• Ensuring school board and district transparency through a process that is open and accountable.
• Leading the development, articulation and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by schools and community.
• Employing and supporting quality teachers, administrators and other staff and providing for their professional development.
• Evaluating the superintendent on clear and focused expectations.
• Ensuring the board is accountable and open to the public, including seeking divergent perspectives in its decision making process.
Applications are evaluated by an independent review panel, and awards are given to those who receive at least 70 points out of a possible 100.
