Cape Girardeau School Board receives state award

For the second year running, the Cape Girardeau School Board has earned the Governance Team Award from the Missouri School Boards' Association.

The recognition, formerly known as the Leadership Team Award, allows the Missouri School Boards' Association to recognize school boards and their superintendents for commitment to improvement through ongoing professional development, regional and statewide leadership and participation in legislative advocacy for public schools and the students they serve, according to the association's website.

Out of Missouri's 520 school districts, 22 will receive the award this year, Cape Girardeau superintendent James Welker said. It will be presented during the MSBA Leadership Summit, set for June 6 and 7, at Tan-Tar-A in Osage Beach, Missouri.

"We're proud of our board," Welker said. "It's really a great group; they work well together," which isn't to say they don't disagree. " ... I think they're very dedicated to our school system and our students. They are active in terms of MSBA not only in our school district, but also in different activities that are held at the state level."

Welker said all board members are interested in the success of the Cape Girardeau district and its students.

"They don't have hidden agendas. They're all ... wanting the same thing. I think that makes a big difference," he added.

Looking at last year's plaque, Welker quipped that Beth Poyner, his administrative assistant, should have been on it.

"She does a lot," Welker said. "She probably deserves some credit there, too."

Board president Kyle McDonald said the recognition shows the Cape Girardeau School Board is "really cohesive" and active. He noted the award is not just for one person, but everyone on the team.

"If you've looked at the criteria for winning this award, it's just a list of activities a board has to do. It's not individual board members, but board members as a whole ... participating in different activities," McDonald said. He added it's not a matter being chosen, but of achieving the goals set forth by MSBA.

"It's an honor to be on a board that is this active and this cohesive," McDonald said. "I know early on our board struggled," but in the last five years, things have gone more smoothly.

He said the board has made "some good advances" on goals it wanted to achieve as a board and district.

Brent Ghan, chief communications officer for MSBA, said the criteria to earn the award are "quite demanding and really demonstrate the school board's commitment, and really the whole leadership team's commitment, to its own growth and professional development and [its] commitment to improving itself as a school board."

"A lot of boards are dedicated and will work on their own professional development, but they're aren't that many that fulfill those criteria. It's quite a unique and prestigious award," Ghan said. He added there are not many boards across Missouri that have won the award more than once.

"That's quite an accomplishment," Ghan said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.