Barb Smith, Mary Mathes, ISBA President, Larry Hauswald and Karen Lopp

Earlier this month, Indiana School Board Association presented five South Harrison Community School Corp. board members with a governance excellence award for their commitment to student success. Board President Mary Mathes, Vice President Larry Hauswald, Karen Lopp and Barb Smith received an exemplary honor award and Nick Evans received an advanced honor award.

School board members have the challenging responsibility of creating policies for the corporation they serve while also considering the needs of their community. To support school boards, ISBA provides ongoing training to equip board members with policy resources, legal updates, advocacy workshops and more. The more professional development sessions members attend, the more points received to count toward the Exemplary Governance Award. 

The EGA honorees this year include 197 awards: 82 Commendable Awards (Level 1), 60 Advanced Awards (Level 2), 32 Distinguished Awards (Level 3), and 23 Exemplary Awards (Level 4).

"These board members are leaders in the community and do all they can to serve South Harrison students, staff and families the best they can," said Dr. Eastidge. "I'm proud of these members and our board for being an exceptional group."

In addition to individual honors, a total of 106 school boards have earned EGA recognition. The board-level awards are calculated on the collective EGA status of individual board members and the completion of certain additional criteria, such as a retreat with an outside facilitator and the completion of a self-assessment.

For more information about ISBA’s EGA program requirements and to see the full list of individual and board award recipients, go to https://www.isba-ind.org/ega-awards.html.