The 2018-2019 Board Member of the Year is Sister Carol Adams of the Salem City Board of Education in Salem County.
Each year since 2005, the New Jersey School Boards Association has honored a local board of education member whose work has had a positive impact on the education of children in his or her community.
An independent out-of-state panel reviews the nominations and identifies the individual who will be honored as New Jersey’s School the Board Member of the Year.
Sister Carol Adams will be honored by NJSBA President Dan Sinclair on Wednesday, Oct. 24 during the 2018 Workshop being held in Atlantic City.
Sister Carol has nearly 18 years of service on the Salem City school board and she has been an active member for more than 50 years in the Sisters of St. Joseph’s Parish. She has served as vice president of the Salem City Board of Education, and principal of St. Mary’s Elementary School.
Sister Carol started the Food Pantry for Salem City. As chair of the Curriculum Committee, she insisted that students in impoverished Salem City have access to the most outstanding educational programs available.
As a result, Salem City is now an International Baccalaureate World School. It has expanded its AP offerings from four to 11 courses – the most in the county. And she oversaw the implementation of a STEM Pre-Engineering Program via Project Lead the Way.
Salem now has an articulation agreement with Rowan University which allows Salem students to receive college credits at the College of Engineering.
Sister Carol Adams has dedicated her life to changing the trajectory of Salem City’s students, so that they can break the chain of generational poverty. She was nominated Dr. Amiot P. Michel, superintendent of the Salem City district.