New York State School Boards Association’s “Be the Change for Kids” Campaign Honored with National Award
Alexandria, Va. (February 2, 2012) – The National School Boards Association (NSBA) has awarded the 2012 Thomas A. Shannon Award for Excellence, national award for leadership in public education, to the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) for the “Be the Change for Kids” campaign.
The 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 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 staff will receive the honor at NSBA's Leadership Conference at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, February 4.
“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.”
The campaign represents a multidisciplinary effort involving team members across many NYSSBA departments – marketing, communications, government relations, leadership development, information technology and executive – who took their ideas to new heights through their creativity and dedication to public education. The team worked tirelessly to create and distribute a message that public schools can provide a globally competitive education at an affordable cost, improve efficiencies without sacrificing quality, and demonstrate to their communities the importance of advancing change for greater student achievement.
“Be the Change for Kids symbolizes what school boards are about – moving forward and embracing change that leads to better opportunities and success for students,” said Timothy G. Kremer, NYSSBA’s Executive Director. “We’re proud to be recognized for our efforts and to share the campaign with our colleagues across the country.”
NYSSBA serves as the statewide voice of nearly 670 boards of education. The collective influence of some 5,000 school board members, who constitute half of the state’s elected officials, enables the association to work for the benefit of the elementary and secondary public school districts in New York State.
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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
Contact:
Linda Embrey, Communications Office
National School Boards Association
(703) 838-6737; lembrey@nsba.org
David Albert
Director of Communications and Research
New York State School Boards Association
(518) 783-3716; (518) 783-3542 (cell)
david.albert@nyssba.org
"Be the Change for Kids" logo available from lembrey@nsba.org