By Staff
LANSING – Two Cass County school board members, Christine Locke and Gary Solloway, both of the Cassopolis Board of Education, earned awards from the Michigan Association of School Boards for their efforts to improve their leadership skills and become more effective school leaders, MASB announced Thursday.
Awards are earned for classes completed in MASB's leadership training program, as well as for conference attendance, years of service and leadership activities.
Locke qualified for the President's Award of Recognition, the seventh and top level (levels 1-6, 29 200-level CBA classes and 1,383 education credits).
Solloway earned a Master Board Member Award, level 4 (levels 1-3, nine 200-level CBA classes and 368 education credits.
This year, more than 1,000 school board members statewide participated in the school board association's professional development program for elected school leaders.
MASB honors board members for seven levels of achievement.
"Trained school board members are better equipped to make informed decisions on tough issues such as budgeting, legal issues, personnel and curriculum. Cass County board members clearly recognize this connection and are dedicated to improving education in their districts," said Justin King, MASB executive director.
To achieve level 1 and become "certified," board members take 30 hours of classroom training in subjects ranging from school law and finance to community relations.
Higher levels of recognition require even more coursework, service and leadership responsibilities.