Three win NYSSBA advocacy awards |
On Board Online • March 26, 2012
By Brian Butry
Communications Manager
NYSSBA bestowed advocacy awards on two school board members and a state legislator at the Association’s annual State Issues Conference at the Hotel Albany, in downtown Albany on March 11.
Jim Kaden, president of the South Huntington Board of Education, was named the Advocate of the Year and Anita Feldman, president of the Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES board, was honored with the Lifetime Advocacy Achievement Award. State Senate Education Committee Chair John Flanagan (R-Smithtown) was named the State Leader of the Year.
Kaden was nominated by colleagues on the South Huntington board and the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association. “Jim’s immense knowledge of educational policy and law, in addition to our district policies, makes him an invaluable member of our board,” they wrote in their nomination.
Kaden has served on the South Huntington board for nearly 20 years and has been unanimously elected board president every year since 1997. He is also the former president of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association.
“Jim is revered by the educational leadership on Long Island as a role model for strong, effective advocacy,” said David Little, NYSSBA’s director of governmental relations. “He embodies our credo of being ‘vocal, visible and vigilant.’ And his insight and ability to articulate the realities faced by our school boards is unrivaled.”
Feldman has served 20 years on the Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES board. She previously served 24 years on the Mahopac school board. She has also been on the board of the Westchester-Putnam School Boards Association since 1982. She has received multiple awards for her board service, including NYSSBA’s Everett R. Dyer Award for Distinguished School Board Service – the Association’s highest honor.
“She never misses an opportunity to talk to a legislator or an education department official to help them understand the issues facing schools and the students that they serve,” said Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES Superintendent James T. Langlois. “She has been doing this wonderfully for decades. As a result, many people turn to her for insight on how the political world affects our schools.”
Sen. Flanagan was praised by NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer for traveling throughout New York to meet with school board members and local legislators to get a clear sense of the needs of the entire state.
“He has gone to great lengths to approach public educational reform on a statewide basis,” said Kremer.
Sen. Flanagan has called attention to items high on NYSSBA’s legislative agenda, including mandate relief. He introduced “last-in, first out” legislation, blocked introduction of State Education Department legislation to remove boards of education, and held hearings to focus attention on reforming the teacher discipline system.