MONTGOMERY-Local school board members from northern Alabama were among the honorees recognized at the Alabama Association of School Boards’ annual awards luncheon held Dec. 6 at the Hyatt-Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel. The luncheon was held as part of AASB’s Annual Convention, which drew more than 500 school board members from across the state to Birmingham, Ala., Dec. 5-7.
In all, 32 local school board members – and 318 school board members statewide – were recognized for advancing in the AASB School Board Member Academy, a school for school board members.
The education leaders were honored for their commitment to ongoing training to build their boardmanship skills, increase their understanding of key education issues and strengthen their leadership skills.
“We are honoring our members for their pursuit of boardmanship excellence, which is evident in their continuous participation in AASB’s School Board Member Academy,” said AASB President Gwen Harris-Brooks. “When local school boards practice effective governance, schools thrive.”
AASB has nine geographic districts. District 8 includes the county school boards of Colbert, Cullman, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan, Tuscumbia and Winston counties and the city school boards of Athens, Cullman, Decatur, Florence, Haleyville, Hartselle, Muscle Shoals, Russellville and Sheffield.
The awards luncheon was a highlight of AASB’s Dec. 5-7 convention, themed “Unleash the Champion Within.” The event opened Dec. 5 with the association’s annual delegate assembly and featured several inspiring general sessions and information-packed breakout sessions on Dec. 6 and 7 designed to help participants strengthen their boardmanship and leadership skills. Keynote speakers included Brad Cohen, a nationally known motivational speaker, teacher, school administrator and author who has overcome Tourette Syndrome; Ramona Smith, 2018 World Toastmasters champion.
Below are the District 8 board members and the levels they have achieved during the 2018-19 training year in AASB’s School Board Member Academy:
Level I (Requires 25 training hours)
- David Yarber, Colbert County
- Shane Rusk, Cullman County
- Kacey Johnston, Franklin County
- Dennis Hargett, Lauderdale County
- Larry Hill, Lauderdale County
Level II (Requires 50 training hours)
- Shannon Hutton, Athens
- Thomas Barnes, Colbert County
- Chris Branham, Cullman
- Lee Powell, Cullman
- Wayne Myrex, Cullman County
- Dwight Jett, Decatur
- Ronald Christ, Limestone County
- Jeremiah Stoddard, Muscle Shoals
- Polly Ruggles, Sheffield
- Mark Finley, Winston County
Level III (Requires 75 training hours)
- Sandra James, Colbert County
- Joey Orr, Cullman
- Kenny Brockman, Cullman County
- Michael Graves,Cullman County
- Britton Watson, Florence
- Donna Jones, Haleyville
- Shanon Terry, Lawrence County
- Lamar Frith, Winston County
- Randy Lee, Winston County
Master (Requires Level 4 plus 15 hours, including one additional core course)
- Bill Griffin, Florence, first year
- Clayton Wood, Muscle Shoals, first year
- Michele King, Decatur, third year
- Ronnie Owens, Lauderdale County, third year
- Daniel Patterson, Lauderdale County, third year
- Bret McGill, Limestone County, third year
- Mike Tarpley, Morgan County, sixth year
- Terry Holden, Lauderdale County, seventh year
About the AASB School Board Member Academy
Founded in 1986, AASB’s School Board Member Academy includes four achievement levels based on the number of credit hours board members earn through conferences, workshops and other training events. There are eight core courses: roles and responsibilities, policy and planning, financial accountability, the optimal learning environment, academic achievement, staff development, effective boards and relationships and community engagement. Board members who complete the core courses and the Academy’s four levels can continue their training to earn the Master School Board Member distinction and ultimately attain Master Honor Roll recognition with participation in an AASB advocacy day and an AASB-led poverty simulation.
AASB’s Academy year runs from July 1 to June 30. The Academy helps board members comply with the School Board Governance Improvement Act of 2012, which requires orientation of new board members and at least six hours of annual training. Two of those six hours must be earned from training completed as a whole school board (with at least the majority of the school board in attendance).
In the 2019 training year, Alabama’s individual school board members earned just shy of 15,201 combined training hours and more than 99 percent met or exceeded the state individual training requirement of six hours. Training hours must be earned annually and do not carry over from year to year.
Media Release/Dana W. Vandiver/Alabama Association Of School Boards
