Board Recognition

 

 

Lawrence Public Schools  
January School Board Appreciation Observance

Monday, January 13, 2025

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. 

                                                      ― Mahatma Gandhi 

January is School Board recognition month, and each January, we are pleased to take the opportunity to reflect on and honor the Members of our Board of Education, their commitment to the Lawrence Public Schools and the extraordinary service they so tirelessly give. 

When asked, most individuals are not sure exactly what school board members do, yet most understand that board members have important roles as leaders in the community.  

Members of the Board of Education give their time and energy, many hours each week to accomplish the work involved in serving at the local level.  As members of a body, they take on the responsibility for governance through their service on the Board. First and foremost, school boards look out for students. Education and children are more than a line or agenda item – students are the critical mission of the daily work of the board. 

The history of school boards includes their origin in the early 1800s in Massachusetts when the system of school committees was established by requiring each town to elect a separate school committee to have the ‘general charge and superintendence’ of all the public schools of the town. Over time, this model spread to the rest of the nation, ensuring that local citizens would have a direct voice in the development and governance of their public schools (source: National School Boards Association). 

The tradition of local governance of public schools has endured these two hundred years. 

Approximately 50 million students, 90% of U.S. school-aged children,  attend a public school, and today, more than 90,000 locally elected officials govern more than 13,000 local school districts. Now, more than ever, leadership matters; local Board of Education leadership matters here in Lawrence, as it does across all local communities.  

In borrowing from the National School Board Association, school board members believe public education is America’s most vital institution. Education is a civil right necessary to the equity, dignity and freedom of the American people, and all children deserve access and opportunity to an education that encourages them to reach their potential. 

These selfless individuals, who today are parents, grandparents, our neighbors and colleagues, are individuals who show extraordinary dedication to the children, teachers and staff, to the parents and community of Lawrence Public Schools; they embody an unwavering commitment and care for the success of each and every student and school. Board members are not driven by a ‘single’ agenda; they serve all children and have the well-being of all in the District as their focus.  

In pursuit of these beliefs, our board members continue to lead the local, state and national conversation about public education. They advocate for public policies and funding that ensure all students have access to an excellent public education where they live, create a better understanding of the importance of school boards and the benefits of local governance, and strengthen the effectiveness of schools now and for the future.  

As Superintendent, I, alongside the Lawrence Public Schools team and community, want to share our gratitude. Members, we appreciate each of you and the energy and hours you so generously invest in the 15,500 students, teachers and staff, parents,  our beloved Lawrence community, and in our shared future. We thank your partners, children and families for the time they have sacrificed with you so that you could be in service to all our community’s children. 

We wish you the joy and the reward of service. 

I encourage all in the Lawrence community to reach out, especially during January, to thank our board members for their continued commitment to our students, our teachers and staff, our parents and the Lawrence community. 

Therefore, on this 13^th day of January, 2024, we say a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to for your service (beginning date):

President Kelly Jones, 2018
Vice President  GR Gordon-Ross, 2018
Past President Shannon Kimball, 2011
Member Robert ‘Bob’ Byers, 2009
Member Carole Cadue-Blackwood, 2019
Member Anne Costello, 2023
Member Yolanda Franklin, 2023

We honor each of you with a gift of art from Louise, Kindergarten student at Hillcrest Elementary. 

Louise explores art under the guidance of gifted USD 497 Art Teacher, Beth Iversen.