Evergreen and Vancouver named 'School Boards of Distinction'

The school boards of the Evergreen and Vancouver School Districts have been selected as 2009 'Boards of Distinction' by the Washington State School Directors' Association. The announcement was made at the association’s Annual Conference in Seattle this past Friday.

The two boards were among eight that were honored as 2009 WSSDA Boards of Distinction. The others are Issaquah, Pasco, Puyallup, South Kitsap, West Valley (Spokane) and White River.

The boards were selected under the association’s new Boards of Distinction Awards program. The program is the first official use of the new Washington School Board Standards adopted in June by the WSSDA Board of Directors.

Award applicants are required to submit an essay and supporting evidence to demonstrate how they are putting the new standards into practice. Applicants are asked to specifically address five of the eight standards:

Providing responsible school district governance
Setting and communicating high expectations for student learning, with clear goals and plans for meeting those expectations
Creating conditions district-wide for student and staff success
Holding the school district accountable for meeting student learning expectations, and
Engaging the local community and representing the values and expectations they hold for their schools.
Applications are evaluated by an independent review panel, and awards are given to those who receive at least 70 points out of a possible 100. Each of this year’s eight applicants received at least 80 points.

Members of the Evergreen School Board during the past year were Victoria Bradford, Joan Skelton, Troy Thomas, Holly Williams and Todd Yuzuriha. The superintendent is John Deeder.

Members of the Vancouver School Board during the past year were Edri Geiger, Mari Greves, Ed Rankin, Dale Rice, and Mark Stoker. The superintendent is Steven Webb.

Award-winning essays are made available to all school boards and districts in the state as an example of successful implementation of the new Washington School Board Standards. Essays are posted on the WSSDA Web site.