Recognizing school board member service should be a year-round endeavor, but designating one week to highlight these volunteers’ efforts ensures they receive some of the thanks they deserve.
New York's School Board Recognition Week (Oct. 18-22) is an opportunity to raise community awareness and understanding about the crucial role school board members have within a school district.
Pioneer School District has a Board of Education that makes student needs a priority. Melissa Nocera-Collins is president, and Edward McCarthy is vice president. Other members include Mary Lou Merlau, Darla Schwab, Linda Rule, Justin Baker, Denise Urbino, Angela Wiseman, and Wendy Warner Regan.
The New York State School Boards Association created School Board Recognition Week as a time to promote awareness and understanding of the important work performed by school board members. Pioneer is joining all public school districts across the state to celebrate School Board Recognition Week to honor local board members for their commitment to Pioneer and its children.
“It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level,” Superintendent Ben Halsey said. “They make the tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability our citizens expect.”
Mr. Halsey said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:
• Creating a shared vision for the future of education
• Setting the direction of the school district to achieve the highest student performance
• Providing accountability for student achievement results
• Developing a budget that aligns district resources to improve achievement
• Supporting a healthy school district culture in which to work and to learn
• And much more!
“School board members give Pioneer citizens a voice in education decision making. Even though we make a special effort to show our appreciation in February, their contribution is a year-round commitment,” Mr. Halsey said.