LaCrosse School Board receives honor

LaCROSSE – The Washington State School Directors' Association presented awards for School Board of Distinction for 2021 to five LaCrosse School District board members.

Board members Cat Wigen, Mike Stubbs, Terry Miller, Harmon Smith, and Tami Schwartz received certificates at the annual WSSFDA conference.

The state has 295 school districts and this year, 34 school boards were recognized as Boards of Distinction. LaCrosse School Board was one of four school boards from the small school division to be recognized. The division includes schools of up to 2,000 students.

The recognition is based on school board standards that encourage boards to focus on student achievement as their primary responsibility.

School board standards are comprised of five core principles:

• Responsible school district governance

• Communication of and commitment to high standards of student achievement

• Creating district-wide conditions for student and staff success

• Holding the district accountable for student learning

• Engagement of the community in education

To receive the recognition, boards have to show a link between their leadership in applying state school board standards and closing gaps that impact student success.

"The boards that are honored relied on careful analysis of data and developed unique approaches that reflect those needs of their students and families," a spokesman said.