NSBA Honors New York State School Boards Association & Ohio School Boards Leaders with National Award

Alexandria, Va. (February 2, 2012) - The National School Boards Association (NSBA) has awarded the 2012 Thomas A. Shannon Award for Excellence -- a national honor for leadership in public education -- to the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) for the “Be the Change for Kids” campaign and to Greta Gardner, former Deputy Director of Policy Services for the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA).

The award, established in 1997 in honor of former NSBA Executive Director Thomas A. Shannon, is given annually to recognize extraordinary efforts performed on behalf of NSBA, local school board constituencies, and school communities. NYSSBA and Gardner will receive their awards at NSBA’s Leadership Conference at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C on Saturday, February 4.

“Be the Change for Kids” campaign, launched in January 2010, raises awareness on the funding crisis facing New York’s public education system and encourages school leaders to consider ways to optimize resources and embrace new methods of teaching and learning. 

“The work of the New York State School Boards Association’s ‘Be the Change for Kids’ campaign shows how a state school board association can do outreach in their state to promote investments in public education,” said Anne L. Bryant, NSBA’s Executive Director. “In a time when parents and taxpayers are demanding improvements in public education, ‘Be the Change for Kids’ has positioned New York’s school board members as change agents to advance student achievement.” 

Gardner, who recently retired from OSBA, came to the organization in 1984 to create a policy service department. Through her efforts, OSBA’s policy service is respected throughout the state and is one of the largest in the country. Gardner worked with more than 300 school districts during her nearly 28-year career at OSBA. This work ranged from a customized rewrite of a district’s policy manual to distributing updates of individual policies. She also served as editor of Policy Development Quarterly, wrote articles for other OSBA publications, and spoke at countless training and informational sessions.
 
“Greta Gardner is a leader that exemplifies OSBA’s mission of leading the way to educational excellence by serving Ohio's public school board members and the diverse districts they represent through superior service and creative solutions,” Bryant said. “Her willingness to go above and beyond is a model for all to emulate.”  

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Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards and their more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S. Working with and through our state associations, NSBA advocates for equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership. www.nsba.org  

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New York State School Boards Association
Ohio School Boards Association