NJSBA Report Seeks Major Changes in Special Education Policy

Special Education Report: Major Recommendations

Special Education Report: Exemplary Programs

Moncrief Named New Jersey Board Member of the Year

Commissioner Clarifies Permissible Workshop 2007 Hotel Rate

Registration Deadline Approaches for Advanced Board Member Training at Workshop

What Not to Miss on the Exhibit Floor at Workshop

Retiring Board of Directors Members Honored

Ethics Decisions: Update

Change of Meeting Date: NJSBA Resolutions Subcommittee

Calendar

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Cathy Moncrief, a 17-year veteran of the Lindenwold Board of Education in Camden County, is New Jersey’s 2007 School Board Member of the Year.

Moncrief, who served as board president for 12 years, works as a world language teacher and instructional supervisor in Washington Township, Gloucester County.

“Cathy exemplifies the very nature of community service through service on a school board,” said Kevin E. Ciak, NJSBA president. “She is a tireless public servant who works without pay or benefits for the betterment of children in her community, and throughout the state.”

NJSBA established the School Board Member of the Year program in 2005 as a way to highlight the contributions of the more than 4,800 local board of education members in New Jersey.

An independent panel from the Pennsylvania School Boards Association selected Moncrief. Nominations could be made by other board members, superintendents, business officials, school district staff or the community.

Even before Moncrief joined her school board in 1990, she established herself as a child advocate in Lindenwold by leading a citizens’ group to encourage the borough to provide busing for students who had to cross a dangerous highway, the White Horse Pike, to get to school.

When she joined the board, the district was facing financial difficulties. Moncrief earned a reputation for sound judgment that helped the district regain its fiscal footing. Later on, the district underwent a feasibility study and dissolution of the Lower Camden County Regional School District. This resulted in Lindenwold changing from a K-6 district to a comprehensive Pre-K to Grade 12 district, which required a referendum, construction of a high school, and the development of appropriate policies for all grades. The district is now in its sixth year of operating as a Pre-K to 12 district. Moncrief helped guide her district through challenges that have included defeated school budgets, administrative turnover, and a highly mobile and economically disadvantaged student population.

Under her leadership, the school district is closing the achievement gap and its graduation rate is rising. The board received NJSBA’s Ray Milam Urban Boards Award for effective governance, a Lindenwold teacher was named Princeton University’s State Educator of the Year and, last year, Lindenwold High School was named a best practices school by the Successful School Practices program of the International Center for Leadership in Education, a New York-based organization that promotes more rigorous and effective curriculum.

On the state level, Moncreif has served on NJSBA’s Board of Directors, its Urban Boards Committee and its Special Education Committee. She was her district’s representative to the Re-Inventing New Jersey's High Schools State Summit. In 2000, she chaired an NJSBA study calling for changes in special education funding, which led to the enactment of legislation that financially benefited school districts. In October of last year, she appeared before a joint Legislative Committee, testifying on the costs of special education.

She has earned the designation of Master Board Member through NJSBA’s Board Member Academy. Only 179 board members have achieved the rank since NJSBA created the program in 1992.

“Cathy understands the full range of demands and issues that school board members face, ranging from advocacy to supporting academic achievement,” said Ciak. “She is a dedicated volunteer, who has effectively served the children of her community.  Her efforts have also benefited children in communities throughout the state.”