Becky Albright has been on the Orleans/Niagara BOCES Board of Education for 18 years representing the Wilson Central School District.? She was recently elected as the BOCES Board President from June 2012 to June 2013.? You might know her if you watch LCTV as the host of ?Your Public Schools which brings news about local educational topics to about 60,000 viewers.? When asked about being a board member this is what she had to say:?
?Try a little bragging now and again.?
In the beginning I had two children.? When my son and daughter were five and two respectively I adopted 1200 others between the ages of five and twenty-one.? By now it is obvious that I am a school board member. Elected to Wilson Central in 1986 before my son started school and my daughter was out of diapers, I became ?Mom? in a much broader sense of the word!
In 1994 I was elected to Orleans/Niagara BOCES and my brood grew to 37,000 give or take.? I don?t remember their birthdays and they will never get my car keys, but they are mine non-the-less!? I fret over them, I advocate for them, and I brag about them every chance I get.
About this bragging thing, I feel fully entitled to brag, after all aren?t they just the best things ever?? What would we do without them?? Wouldn?t we have wanted folks to brag about us a tiny bit?
There is a distinct difference between advocating and bragging. Advocating is speaking up for public education and? the resources we need,? I do a lot of that when I visit legislators, but bragging is bringing attention to what these kids are actually doing. There might be a more subtle way of saying it than bragging , but broadcasting success is sharing good news with folks that forget there IS good news because they don?t hear it anywhere else.
Frankly speaking I find board work stressful.? Advocacy in this climate is very demanding and frustrating, but when I brag?..I light up. Bragging brings a thrill to these old bones and is exhilarating not to mention energizing.? When I talk about pending legislation and budget woes I get depressed, so who wouldn?t choose thrilled over depressed!
Have you watched the face of a kid when you talk nice to them, when you talk to them as though you think they are special and you are proud of them?? Do you notice how they sit up straighter, maybe even smile a bit?? Have you tried that with parents? Have you tried that with community members? When kids do well everyone puffs up with a sense of accomplishment, that feeling of well-being can easily outweighs tax increases and other troubling events.
So here is brag 101, act like they are your kids.? Remember how you would open your wallet and take out the pics of your kids, well these are your kids, take out some stats and share them!? Ask your superintendent for a ?cheat sheet? of student achievements, graduation percents, student athlete teams, the scholarship monies earned.? Armed with these go public.? When someone asks you ?how are the kids? let them know!
I only recommend what I have done.? I have seen the faces and the reactions when good news spreads not only to the school community but also to the community at large. Give them something to feel good about, brag a little once in awhile.?
PHOTO CAPTION: Becky Albright hosting her show ?Your Public Schools? with guests (LtoR) Orleans/Niagara BOCES Building Trades teachers Jake Daniels, Matt Anastasi and Anthony Molinaro.? To watch the interview you can go to www.onboces.org and under Career and Tech Ed go to the Building Trades website and find the links.?
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Source: http://orleanscounty.wgrz.com/news/schools/67898-boces-board-president-becky-albright-talks-kids
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