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Rockdale County Board of Education earns Exemplary School Board 2016 recognition
Pictured, left to right: Rockdale County school board members Brad Smith, Sharon Pharr, Chairman Jim McBrayer, Katrina Young (also GSBA Vice President), Vice Chairman Wales Barksdale, Mandy North, Superintendent Richard Autry, Tony Dowdy.Conyers, GA – Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) is proud to announce that the Rockdale County Board of Education has achieved the Georgia School Boards Association’s (GSBA) 2016 Exemplary School Board recognition, once again earning the highest status awarded by the GSBA.

“I commend our board members for going above and beyond in earning this outstanding recognition,” says Superintendent Richard Autry. “Attaining excellence is a great achievement, but maintaining excellence is the true mark of dedicated leadership. This is the highest level of distinction in the GSBA recognition program which requires our board to meet several criteria, such as provide evidence of a system strategic plan, demonstrate accreditation compliance, and exceed the minimum training requirements. Only 39 school boards in the state have earned this status. This entire community should be proud of these elected officials for their hard work and dedication to quality public education for the children in Rockdale County.”   

The recognition program was designed to showcase best practices in school governance and leadership. GSBA recognizes good school board governance to foster educational community cultures in order to advance student learning and achievement.  

The Rockdale County Board of Education met and or exceeded the criteria set forth by GSBA to earn this honor of a 2016 Exemplary Board. The criteria may be reviewed by clicking here for more information. The GSBA Governance Team Recognition Program was developed by Georgia superintendents and board members based on the state board of education’s standards for effective governance to recognize exemplary leadership. 

The GSBA Board recognition program is a three-year, three tiered program.  For more information on the program you may visit the GSBA website for awards and recognition or click here to view the criteria for all tiers of the program.



Photo: The Rockdale County Board of Education was recently awarded the Georgia School Boards Association 2016 Exemplary Board recognition, the highest status in the GSBA program and the second consecutive year the Rockdale County Board of Education has earned this distinction. Pictured, left to right: Rockdale County school board members Brad Smith, Sharon Pharr, Chairman Jim McBrayer, Katrina Young (also GSBA Vice President), Vice Chairman Wales Barksdale, Mandy North, Superintendent Richard Autry, Tony Dowdy.