NJSBA offers a variety of certification programs for board members who wish to take their training to a higher level. They include:

• Certificated Board Member
• Master Board Member
• Certified Board Leader

Certificated Board Member (CBM)

The Certificated Board Member is the first tier of the NJSBA Board Member Academy certification program. Areas of study are designed to give members a firm foundation in the essential governance skills needed to carry out their responsibilities. To receive this certification, board members must earn at least 20 credits and attain some credits in all of the following CBM core topic areas:

• Relationships: board/superintendent, board/community, board/board
• Policy
• Curriculum
• School Finance
• School Law
• Labor Relations
• Board Operations

Once all core areas have been addressed, the balance of credit hours may be earned in any of NJSBAs training programs. Credits must be earned at a rate of at least two per year.

Although NJSBA believes that training is essential, it should supplement, not replace, actual board experience. Therefore, a CBM will not be conferred prior to the members completion of at least one three-year term.

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Master Board Member (MBM)

The second level of certification, Master Board Member, builds on the CBM. Programs are designed to enhance interpersonal skills, strategic planning, negotiations and leadership skills, enabling members to better govern the course of education in their schools. To receive the MBM, members must have earned a CBM and 20 additional credits. The following core areas must be addressed:

• Leadership
• School/Community Relations
• Effective Meetings
• Strategic Planning
• Group Dynamics
• Board Member Ethics
• School Finance
• Labor Relations
• School Law

To further qualify for this high standard of achievement, candidates need to demonstrate mastery of the core areas by passing an NJSBA administered exam.

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Certified Board Leader (CBL)

The Certified Board Leader (CBL) award is the highest level of individual certification that NJSBA currently offers. Criteria for the CBL include:

• Attendance at the Leadership Conference
• Earning 15 credits beyond Master Board Member, for a total of 55 credits
• Serving as a board officer or county association officer for a minimum of one year

The credits must demonstrate evidence that the candidate has attended courses/meetings dealing with Professional Development in the following areas:

• Leadership
• Board Effectiveness
• Ethics
• School Law
• School Finance
• Strategic Planning
• Community Relations
• Student Achievement

In addition, the candidate must fulfill ONE of the tasks listed below:

• Submit a portfolio
• Participate in a simulation
• Complete a practical exam

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In addition to individual certifications, NJSBA offers certifications for boards. They include:

• Board Certification
• Board Recertification
• Master Board Certification

Board Certification (BC)

The most important tenet of boardsmanship is that individual board members have no legal status other than that of any ordinary citizen, except when sitting with the rest of the board in a legally constituted meeting. Through Board Certification (BC), the Academy recognizes mastery of the unique aspects of group process. How board members work together and with their chief school administrator determines how successful their deliberations are.

Boards will earn their certification by having NJSBA staff conduct programs designed specifically for them. A separate time must be set aside for these workshops.

Board Certification requires that a board earn 18 credits, participate in at least one full day or longer retreat and conduct a board self-evaluation. It is awarded for a minimum of three years and stays in effect as long as there isnt a turnover of more than one-third of the board who were seated at the time certification was granted.

Due to the special nature of direct service training, each credit earned will equal one hour of training. To earn credits, attendance must include at least seven out of nine board members, five out of seven, or four of five.

Core areas and suggested topics that need to be addressed include:

Group Process

• Teamwork
• Interpersonal relations
• Conflict resolution
• Board/superintendent relations
• Decision making

Planning

• Strategic planning
• Goal setting
• Self-evaluation

Effective Meetings

• Role of the president
• Agenda development
• Parliamentary procedure

Additional topics developed on an as needed basis will also earn board credits. Credit for local board training is not transferable to individual member accreditation programs.

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Board Recertification (BR)

Board Recertification (BR) requires that a board earn an additional 12 credits, and participate in a full-day retreat, and conduct a board self-evaluation. The same attendance requirements for certification are in effect for recertification. Upon completion of these requirements, a recertification emblem will be affixed to the board's certification plaque.

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Carole E. Larsen Master Board Certification (MBC)

The Carole E. Larsen Master Board Certification (MBC) award recognizes of high performing boards. Recipient boards must demonstrate an emphasis on Student Achievement in their board actions.

To earn Master Board Certification, a currently certified or recertified board must complete at least 10 additional hours of training, for a total of 28 board credits. Attendance at these sessions must include at least seven out of nine board members, five out of seven, or four of five. In addition, the chief school administrator must attend the sessions. A separate plaque is awarded for MBC. A board whose certification has lapsed must earn recertification and attend an additional 10 hours along with its chief school administrator.

NJSBA offers a wide range of training opportunities that boards can use to qualify for Master Board Certification, including sessions conducted by the Legal, Policy, Labor Relations and Field Services units of NJSBA.

In addition, to be considered, the district must have achieved, at minimum, 80 percent of the indicators in the Governance section of its most recent NJQSAC review. An overall average of 3.0 must have been achieved in the Board Self Evaluation.

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