Six Boards in Morris County Earn Board Certification; One Board Receives Carole E. Larsen Master Board Certification

At the recent Morris County School Boards Association Meeting, held at Pequannock Township High School, six boards of education were recognized for recently earning board certification and one board earned the Carole E. Larsen Master Board Certification.

Board certification recognizes the entire board’s commitment to effective governance and continuous improvement through training. Areas of focus include ethics, goal setting, board roles and responsibilities in policy development, finance, communications, community engagement, student achievement and other areas of need as identified by your district’s board.

These boards include the Kinnelon Board of Education, Long Hill Township Board of Education, Mountain Lakes, Mendham Township Board of Education, Netcong Board of Education and the Unity Charter School Board of Trustees.

The Pequannock Township Board of Education was also recognized for its Carole E. Larsen Master Board Certification. The Carole E. Larsen Master Board Certification is awarded for high-performing boards. The board must provide evidence to demonstrate an emphasis on student achievement in their board actions. To earn the Carole E. Larsen Master Board Certification, a currently certified board must also complete at least 10 additional hours of training for a total of 26 board credits within the first two years of earning its certification. Senior Field Representative Charlene Peterson introduced and presented each of the certifications. More details are below.

Board Certifications

Kinnelon Board of Education

The Kinnelon Board was first certified in 1996, recertified in 2017, and now in 2024. The board set board certification as a board goal in 2020, and each year, put in the work needed through annual training on ethics, the superintendent’s evaluation process and goal-setting sessions. Strong board leadership carried the board through a superintendent search and a turnover of members. The board and its new superintendent invited the community in for strategic planning and are also revisiting the district’s mission statement.  Charlene Peterson, NJSBA senior field service representative, refers other districts to the Kinnelon School District website to see its Colt Connect interactive dashboard that provides progress updates on its goals. Kinnelon is a strong and close-knit community and the same is true of the board team. 

Long Hill Township Board of Education

The Long Hill Township board was first certified in 2000, recertified in 2017, became a Master Board in 2019, and earned certification again in 2024 with 28.5 credits. Long Hill Township was among the first boards in Morris County to establish a Governance Committee focused on the board’s work. This is the third year the board is presenting at NJSBA’s Workshop on governance, and because of these presentations, it has inspired several boards across the state to form a Governance Committee. In addition to a superintendent search, the board’s regular training focuses on further developing a governance mindset and a focus on student achievement. NJSBA’s Policy team uses the policy-tracking spreadsheet that Long Hill created as a model for other districts. On the district’s website, you will find a governance pledge, board timeline, and a code of governance, all examples of effective governance in action.

Mendham Township Board of Education

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The Mendham Township Board was first certified in 2004 and recertified in 2011. In 2022, the board set a goal to again pursue board certification and actively incorporated training into its work, with a strong focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and training on roles, social media, policy governance, parliamentary procedure, the board’s role in the budget, and annual goal setting retreats. In a discussion about identifying board expectations, the board developed standards for the board. The board captured its commitment to effective oversight, governance, and making decisions based on relevance to student success and identified a culture of excellence, recognition and equity while supporting its professionals to innovate and excel. A committee of the board has already identified training for this upcoming year as the board continues its training journey.

Mountain Lakes Board of Education

The Mountain Lakes board was first certified in 2000. 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 undertaken in the past four years, earning 20 credits exemplifying the motto that “it takes more to be a Laker.” The board, in its journey, has always committed itself to continuous improvement. This is evident in the ongoing training in ethics, the role of the board, the superintendent’s evaluation process and orientation of new members.

Netcong Board of Education

The Netcong board was first certified in 1999, recertified in 2017, and became a Carole E. Larsen Master Board in 2018. Here we are again in 2024. The board accumulated 18.5 credits in just three years. Every year after its reorganization meeting, President Bernadette Dalesandro calls NJSBA Senior Field Service Representative Charlene Peterson to book the Netcong training sessions. The board books training sessions for ethics, the superintendent’s evaluation, the board self-evaluation and goal setting. Guided by a stable board and district leadership, the district underwent a successful strategic planning process, new members were welcomed on the board this past year with a retreat, and the board grapples with space issues and a regionalization study. Through all this, the board has continued its commitment to training and unwavering support for student success.

Unity Charter School Board of Trustees

Of the 85 charter schools in New Jersey, Unity Charter School in Morristown is the only third charter school in the state to earn a board certification. The school’s mission focuses on sustainability and the development of the whole child. The board opens every meeting positively by sharing compliments and acknowledgements. The board works well together and has undergone extensive training in committee effectiveness, finances, ethics, and roles, demonstrating its commitment to governance effectiveness. The community was invited to participate in the strategic planning process. Every year there is an annual board retreat. The board has an effective Governance Committee, sets annual board goals, has action plans to track completion and continually looks at how to increase its governance effectiveness. 

Carole E. Larsen Master Board Award

Pequannock Township Board of Education

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The Pequannock Township board was first certified in 2004, recertified in 2016, earned the Master Board award in 2017, and board certification in fall 2023. Immediately after, the board set a new goal to earn the Carole E. Larsen Master Board Certification and did so in one year.  It is the only board in Morris County in the 11 years that Senior Field Service Representative Charlene Peterson has been with NJSBA to earn two Master Board Certifications during that time. In addition to two retreats, with one focused on student achievement, the board challenged Peterson to design trainings throughout the year for a high-performing board. One of the members commented that when they first got on the board, they could not understand why there was so much of a focus on certification and then said, “Now I understand – we have been preparing ourselves to be a strong and informed board team armed with the knowledge and confidence to address challenges that may come before us.” In one of the training sessions, the board responded to scenarios on “What Should the Board Do?” As she was walking out of the session, one of the audience members stopped Peterson to remark on how impressive she found their responses to be.  Pequannock Township is one of the few boards in Morris County that operates as a committee of the whole, a governance structure where all members of the board participate in decision-making, and its governance committee is named the Board Effectiveness Committee. Separate from their training together as a team, the board members actively engaged in earning individual NJSBA certifications. The board team consists of two Certified Board Leaders, three Master Board Members, and one Certified Board Member.