The New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) and Greta Gardner, former Deputy Director of Policy Services for the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA), received the 2012 Thomas A. Shannon Award for Excellence at a luncheon on Saturday at NSBA’s Leadership Conference.
NSBA gives the award annually during its Leadership Conference to recognize extraordinary efforts performed on behalf of NSBA, local school board constituencies, and school communities.
The NYSSBA was honored for its “Be the Change for Kids” campaign, which 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 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 NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant. “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.”
Gardner, who recently retired from OSBA, came to the organization in 1984 to create a policy service department. Through her efforts, OSBA’s policy service is respected throughout the state and is one of the largest in the country.
“Greta Gardner is a leader that exemplifies OSBA’s mission of leading the way to educational excellence by serving Ohio’s public school board members and the diverse districts they represent through superior service and creative solutions,” Bryant said. “Her willingness to go above and beyond is a model for all to emulate.”
Gardner worked with more than 300 school districts during her nearly 28-year career at OSBA. This work ranged from a customized rewrite of a district’s policy manual to distributing updates of individual policies. She also served as editor of Policy Development Quarterly, wrote articles for other OSBA publications, and spoke at countless training and informational sessions.
“I’m proud that I was able to be part of creating OSBA’s policy services and help the program grow into a valuable service for Ohio’s 718 school districts,” Gardner said. “It’s one of many important tools that OSBA offers to strengthen public schools around the state, and I am honored to be recognized for it.”
