By Carol C. Brown
5/6/03 -- NSBA's 63rd Annual Conference, held in San Francisco last month, offered a wonderful learning opportunity for local school board members from across the nation.
From the comments I received from attendees and staff and from my own observations, the conference was a great success.
The success is due in no small part to the members of the NSBA staff who worked so long and hard to put the 2003 conference together. To me, they epitomize collaboration, cooperation, and commitment.
My thanks go out to them and to the local school board members from across the nation who made the extra effort to attend. Your participation was necessary to make the conference a success.
At the conference, we were inspired, challenged, summoned, fired up, stimulated, stirred, encouraged, and beckoned. Now it's time for us to take all of the good ideas and innovative strategies we collected from the General Sessions, breakout sessions, Focus on Education Lectures, and our conversations with each other and put them to use for the children of this great nation.
As we move forward to provide equity and excellence for all children -- those of every race, religious background, and socioeconomic status; from every culture in the world; and those learning English, struggling with health problems, or with other special needs -- we must remember to engage our communities to help us.
We cannot do this alone. We need parents and grandparents, neighbors and business people, agencies and organizations, teachers and students themselves focused on educational excellence.
The challenge is huge, and sometimes it can seem overwhelming. But if we can build community teams and begIn to look at everyone as a resource, we can meet that challenge in whatever form it takes.
I look forward to serving as NSBA president during the year ahead. I am honored and excited to be able to work with the new NSBA Board of Directors, the state school boards associations, our National Affiliates, and the NSBA staff in leading this great organization into the future.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve. I pledge to work hard and represent you in all that I do in the coming year.