On Sept. 16, the Mountain Lakes Board of Education was presented with a plaque, honoring it for achieving Board Certification.

Board Certification recognizes the full board’s commitment to effective governance and continuous improvement through training.

For some boards, earning certification is a goal with a carefully laid out plan.  For the Mountain Lakes board, it was the culmination of the hard work the board has undergone in the past four years. The board worked closely together to hire a new superintendent, engage the community in strategic planning, hold annual goal setting retreats, and conduct ongoing training in ethics, the role of the board, the superintendent’s evaluation process and several other topics.  Training together became part of the board’s culture that will not only benefit the current board, but also set the stage for future boards.

The Mountain Lakes board was first certified in 2000.

Members of the board with an NJSBA staff member. Left to right: Dr. Lauren Silva McIntyre; Sara Forman; Dr. James Hirschfeld; Tom Chiang Jr.; Joanne Calabria Barkauskas, board president; Jennifer Parker, vice president; Erinn Tucker; Dr. Aruni Don; immediately behind her is Charlene Peterson, senior field service representative at the NJSBA; Meghan Leininger; and Leigh Hermey.