This year’s NASB Board Support Staff Person of the Year award goes to Jennifer “JJ” Batchelder, who serves as the Board Service Coordinator in Washoe County. Mrs. Batchelder has served in this position since 2013 and is an expert in the role. Her knowledge and ability to recall or research previous Board activities provides outstanding support to the Board of Trustees and her
community. She is exceptionally organized—she manages and supports Board
meetings, policy meetings, and committee meetings. She coordinated the virtual meetings and the transition back to in-person meetings. She promoted an online public comment process that makes hundreds of public comment emails available to board members as well as the public to further the district’s efforts to be accountable and transparent. Mrs. Batchelder accomplished this while also coordinating in- person public comments, taking minutes, and providing support during meetings. Moreover, Mrs. Batchelder treats everyone—trustees, community members, and staff—with respect and concern. For her contributions to the Washoe County School District, the board members, the superintendent, the staff members, students, families and community members, JJ Batchelder is the NASB Board Support Staff Person of the Year.
NASB held their September joint meeting of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors last Friday. The meeting was very productive and busy with legislative updates, analysis and review of three different bylaws, numerous reports, and building the first draft of the calendar for 2023.
15 of the 17 School Districts in Nevada were represented at the professional learning opportunity in Las Vegas over the weekend. Collaborating and focusing on the importance of positive board relationships were some of the highlights. Check out the team photo!
Sarah Roberson, Senior Education Advisor for Apptegy had a dynamic presentation at NASB recent professional learning opportunity in Las Vegas that focused on best practices for Marketing and Branding.
NASB had a fantastic workshop this weekend with four of our past Presidents sharing ideas and strategies. Thank you Wade Poulsen, Stacie Wilke, Bridget Peterson, and Laurel Crossman.
Whether you are a School Board that is functioning at a high level or a School Board trying to move forward after the rough years with the pandemic and other
challenges, the key is to not live in the past but to look forward with possibility and
create the future. We want to provide Board members with positive tools: positive authors, inspirational stories, positive websites, and positive ideas. This month we are recognizing the dynamic author, Jon Gordon. Mr. Gordon’s books focus on leadership, culture, and teamwork. The Energy Bus and The No Complaining Rule are two of his best books and were both bestsellers.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Angela McVicars - White Pine Country School District School Board Member. I have 3 kids, a junior, a freshman, and a 6th grader. I ran for school board to make things better for not only my kids, but for all kids in White Pine County School District! My full time day job is doing hair. I have been the board chair for the past 3 years. I am in my 2nd term and still feel like I’m learning. It was a very steep learning curve. I quickly learned after joining the board that there are many things as a board member we don’t control. The state has many mandates and laws that are passed down to us to implement into our district and policies. WPCSD has been a great place to be during the last few years and the pandemic, I feel very fortunate that our students have been able to stay in school full time with little disruption in learning.
Click on the following link to view the Nevada Association of School Superintendents 2022-2023 meeting calendar: https://5il.co/1d54h
Nevada Superintendent News: The Nevada Association of School Boards would like to take this time to recognize Dr. Kristen McNeill from the Washoe County School District and Richard Stokes from Carson City School District who are both retiring at the end of this school year. Both Mr. Stokes and Dr. McNeill have worked tirelessly for the betterment of the students and the communities that they have respectively served for many years. It is the hope of NASB that they both enjoy this next chapter in their lives. Thank you both for your dedicated service. NASB would also like to take this time to welcome new Superintendents Mr. Andrew Feuling and Dr. Susan Enfield . Mr. Feuling continues on with Carson City School District having been their fiscal services director for many years. Dr. Enfield comes to the Washoe County School District from the Highline Public Schools in the state of Washington where she is currently their Superintendent. NASB would like to congratulate Dr. Enfield and Mr. Feuling on their Superintendent appointments and wish them the best as they continue the important work ahead.
NASB President Kathryn Whitaker is introduced at the NSBA National Conference in San Diego California. She joins the Association Presidents fo\rom around the country. Leadership matters, and these leaders make an impact!
The April issue of American School Board Journal spotlights NSBA's 28th annual Magna Awards program. This year's award winners represent the enormous efforts of school leaders and district staff to create innovative programs:
More here https://nsba.org/ASBJ/2022/april
School Board Members should work as a Team
It’s critical that your board function as a highly effective team, together with the superintendent. Effective school boards empower superintendents to provide administration and management of the school district.
When trustees publicly question the authority and decisions of the superintendent, it undermines the work of the district and threatens public confidence in the school system.
If the superintendent isn’t doing a great job or not doing what the board as a whole wants, whose fault is that? Sometimes, the board has either failed to hire the right person or hasn’t given clear and specific goals and direction to the superintendent.
As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, express gratitude for the abundance you have in you life, for the joy that you share with those you serve and acknowledge the opportunities you have.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Today we celebrate the workers who built this country. Thank you to our teachers, administrators, staff and school board members, for continuing to build it's foundation! #LaborDay
Have a safe and joyous back to school week!
School Board Recalls Force Contentious Fights About Race, Virus Politics On Local Stages
US News & World Report (7/12, Camera) People don’t like wearing masks. Or they don’t want to get vaccinated against COVID-19. They’re mad about being holed up at home with their kids, and they’re nervous about the national discussion of race relations. Those are conflicts that affect policy discussions and campaigns at the national and state level. But mostly conservative activists are now taking the effort way down the ticket, targeting school board members and trying to replace the largely volunteer panels with people more sympathetic to their views, experts say.
There is much information and misinformation about CRT. Please use this link see this resource from the Edweek Spotlight to inform you views on this now very public topic.
https://bit.ly/EdWeekCRT
No school board has been immune to the new pressures brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, though some members have borne the brunt of rising tensions. State school boards associations can help boards navigate differences. Read the article here https://bit.ly/sbunderpressure
A big shout out to the NASB Legislative Advisory Committee!
Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2021!
