Last year, the New Jersey School Boards Association moved to a new customer management relationship software system, Cobalt. That move enabled the Association to automate some of the functions of NJSBA’s Board Member Academy (BMA) certification process.  

The Board Member Academy offers a variety of certification programs for board members who wish to pursue advanced training on all facets of boardsmanship. The BMA offers four levels of individual certification, New Board Member Boardsmanship; Certified Board Member; Master Board Member and Certified Board Leader.   

Process to Check on Certifications Board members may now check on the status of certification by logging into the members section of the NJSBA website.  At the login page, enter the email address associated with your NJSBA account, and your password. If this is your first time logging in, click “Get Started” to set your password. Once logged in, members should click on “My Account” at the top right of the page. After clicking on “My Account,” you will enter the member portal. To see your progress towards certifications, click on the links within the “My In-Progress Certifications” tile. These links will bring you to a screen showing your status toward completing the criteria to achieve certification.  

Exam Available All Year For the convenience of members, the new system will allow them at any time during the year to take the examination they must pass to qualify for Master Board Member or Certified Board Leader, rather than just during a window of time in the spring.  

Throughout the spring, NJSBA will be mailing out Board Member Academy certification awards. Any questions on the process may be addressed to Lucia Gershman, NJSBA training and professional development coordinator.