Training

Recognition Programs

The ASBA Awards Programs recognize both individuals and whole boards for their continuing education and pays tribute to entire boards whose members have all attained specified training development levels. ASBA also awards special recognition annually to two boards and one individual whose dedication and ethical service have made a positive and notable impact on the students in their districts.

Individual Member Development Award Program

The deadline for submitting hours to receive individual boardsmanship awards is four weeks prior to the ASBA Annual Conference.

Members complete progressive levels of training to enhance boardsmanship skills and earn hours through board development activities. The recognition levels of authorized activities are:

• Outstanding Board Member (only members elected before January 1, 2018) - any 25 hours of ASBA training credit
• Certificate of Boardsmanship (only for members newly elected after January 1, 2018) – at least 25 hours of ASBA training credit and must include the following:
  • 6 hours of the ASBA New Board Member Institute
  • 3 hours of ASBA Regional Meeting
    
  • 2 hours additional ASBA hours in each of the following areas: Finance, Governance, Legal, and Student Achievement (academic programs/needs, understanding data, etc.)
    
  • 8 additional hours of ASBA electives
    

• Members elected after January 1, 2018 must earn a Certificate of Boardsmanship before being eligible to earn any of the following awards, regardless of total number of hours earned:
  • Master Board Member – at least 50 hours
    
  • Pinnacle Award – at least 200 hours
    
  • Platinum Award – at least 400 hours
    
  • President’s Award – 500 hours or more
    
  • ASBA School Board Service Award – 30 or more years of school board service

ASBA tracks board members’ participation in ASBA and NSBA events, and The Southern Region Leadership Conference. ASBA also records the hours earned and notifies board members when they achieve any of these six recognition levels. Each school district must notify the Arkansas Department of Education at the end of each calendar year regarding each school board member’s earned training credit toward the state-mandated requirement. ASBA’s online eMembership system assists districts in keeping records, but the district is responsible for maintaining official board training records.

Whole Board Award Program

This program recognizes achievement in education excellence and ethical service to students. Boards accomplish this through a shared vision, team effort and unified commitment to ensure the best possible climate and education opportunities in their communities. These two levels of awards go to entire school boards, rather than individual members.

• Outstanding Board – earned when all members have achieved the individual Outstanding Board Member award and/or the Certificate of Boardsmanship
• Master Board – earned when all members have achieved the individual Master Board Member award. The Master Board receives a commemorative plaque. After winning this award, the school district’s board is not eligible for this award again for at least five years.

School Board of Excellence in Leadership

This award recognizes school boards whose dedication and ethical service have made a positive impact on the students in their district. Districts will be chosen based on evidence from each of the following eight (8) criteria:

• The board’s support for educational performance
  
• Support for educational improvement projects
  
• Commitment to a code of ethics
  
• Maintenance of harmonious and supportive relationships among members of the board
  
• Functions as a policy-making body with adherence to adopted policies
  
• Provision of financial support for the school system
  
• Participation in workshops and other performance improvement programs
  
• Public relations efforts, including community awareness
  

Two awards may be bestowed each year:

• 1 school district under student enrollment of  900
  
• 1 school district above student enrollment of  900
  

Each award will be based upon a board’s performance over the school year immediately prior to the year in which the award is granted.

Dr. Daniel L. Pilkinton Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education

This honor is awarded to outstanding individuals who have made substantive contributions to public education. This award is presented at the Annual Conference in December.

ASBA Educational Foundation Scholarship Program

ASBA awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are children of Arkansas school board members and who will attend Arkansas institutions of higher learning in the fall. The awards are based on a student’s academic record and leadership potential. One award is made in each of the four congressional districts. The J.K. Williams Memorial Scholarship, established in memory of former ASBA Executive Director J.K. Williams, is awarded to a student pursuing an advanced degree in the educational field.

Conference & Workshop Opportunities

ASBA’s Annual Conference – This two-and-a-half-day conference, held every December, is the largest annual gathering of school board members in the state. General sessions feature noted speakers, while breakouts allow board members to choose from a variety of topics based on their needs and interests. The policy-making ASBA Delegate Assembly also convenes to conduct its annual business, and an exhibit hall features products and services of interest to the education community.

New Board Member Institute and New Board Member Boot Camp – These post-election workshops orient new school board members to their roles and responsibilities. The New Board Member Institute is held each Spring following school board elections and runoffs and the New Board Member Boot Camp is held on the first day of Annual Conference each December. School board members earn six hours for attending the New Board Member Institute or the New Board Member Boot Camp.

Regional Meetings – Every fall ASBA schedules dinner meetings in each of its 14 regions. These meetings enable board members and superintendents to network with their regional colleagues and to hear timely topical information about district governance and upcoming events.

NSBA Annual Conference and Southern Region Leadership Conference – These annual events feature outstanding national speakers and networking opportunities with school board members from other states. NSBA’s Annual Conference is held in the spring, while the Southern Region Leadership Conference, is held during the summer in one of the tri-states: Arkansas, Louisiana, or Mississippi. Board members earn training hours for the sessions that they attend and document to ASBA.

Joint Leadership Conference – Each spring ASBA and the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators (AAEA) host the daylong Joint Leadership Conference. Hot topics pertaining to education usually make up the agenda. After a legislative session, conference emphasis is on new or revised Arkansas laws.

Fall Leadership Institutes – This one-day training is offered in various regions of the state. Programming is designed to help school board members increase their effectiveness and ability to support and promote district achievements and goals.

Seminars and Custom Training – ASBA offers a variety of seminars and custom training appropriate for board members and other school leaders. ASBA can schedule specialized training on requested topics at various locations. For more information contact Dr. Anne Butcher, Board Development Director, at (501) 372-1415.

Online Coursework

ASBA is pleased to offer online course opportunities for its members.
IMPORTANT NOTE:

• The deadline for taking an ASBA online course for credit this year is December 20, 2020. Any exams taken after that date may not be scored by December 31.
  
• Courses may be completed for credit only once.
  
• If you are uncertain whether you have taken a specific course, please contact Kathy Ivy at kivy@arsba.org.
• Members may also verify credit hours earned by logging-in to their personal embrAMS (formerly eMembership) account. If you need assistance accessing login information, please contact Kathy Ivy at kivy@arsba.org.

COURSE FEES: The cost for each one-hour of credit is $40. Board members should advise the superintendent about the course and fee prior to completing the online course for credit so that the superintendent will anticipate receiving an invoice.

OUR COURSES

In partnership with the Arkansas PBS Television, Arkansas school board members have an avenue for accessing a number of video-based online professional development courses. Listed below are those currently offered (credit hours are in parenthesis):

• Superintendent Evaluation Training (3 hours)
• Module A: Using Data to Improve School Board Decision Making (1 hour)
  
• Module B: Definitions, Concepts, and Processes For Understanding and Using Data (1 hour)
  
• Module C: How Should Data Be Collected, Interpreted, and Used By Boards to Improve District Performance? (1 hour)
  
• Module A: Legal Issues as Pertains to School Boards – Ethics (3 hours)
  
• Inspired Teamwork and Leadership (3 hours)
  
• ASBA Block I: Arkansas Laws and Rules Governing School Board Meetings (1 hour)
  
• ASBA Block II: Parliamentary Procedures (1 hour)
  
• ASBA Block III: Mock School Board Meeting Agenda (1 hour)
• (New) Promoting Successful School Board Meetings (2 hours)
• (New) A Forensic Review of School Board Meetings (1 hour)

ACCESSING THE COURSES

To access these courses you will need to have an AR-PBS account, including a username and password.  In early 2020 ASBA courses for school board members were moved to Arkansas PBS’s Learn LMS (at the same time AETN became AR-PBS).  The UN and PW you used for AETN courses prior to 2020 will no longer work.

CREATING A NEW ACCOUNT

If you have not yet created a new account in Learn, you can do so by logging on to https://learn.myarkansaspbs.org/login/signup.php?registration=ASBA and following the instructions.

Your new account will be “pending” until you confirm your account.  To do this you will need to check your email for a confirmation email, open it and click to confirm your account.  If you don’t see it in your inbox, check your spam or junk folder.  If you don’t receive an email, contact the HELP desk at AR-PBS using the contact information shown below.

IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY CREATING AN ACCOUNT

• Persons attempting to create an account must first be listed in the ASBA database and then they must use the exact information they used for the ASBA database to create an account in the Learn LMS.  ASBA submits updated member information to AR-PBS on a quarterly basis.
• Persons attempting to create an account and who are at first unsuccessful may not be in the ASBA database or they may be attempting to create an account with an email address that is not the one shown as their primary address in the ASBA database.
• When setting up the account, you must follow the exact directions for creating a password.  Directly above the box for password creation are those instructions.  If these instructions are not followed precisely, a password will not be created.
• Each account creator should write down all the account information they are using to create the account, i.e., email address, username, and password and keep it somewhere safe for future use.
•  Be sure to find and respond to the confirmation email that you will be sent to activate your account.

If you need assistance, please contact the Arkansas PBS Help Desk

Arkansas PBS Help Desk
Monday - Friday 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Phone: (501) 682-0317
Email: learn@myarkansaspbs.org
Closed on Arkansas State holidays

Create New Account

If you already have an account, click on “LOG IN HERE” below to choose and begin a course.

Login Here

School board members, who wish to receive ASBA credit for the courses in this portal, should first complete a course in its entirety. This includes your review and study of the lesson materials, completion of the activities, assessments (80% mastery is the minimum required), and the associated course survey. At the end of the course, within the survey section, you will be asked if you wish to receive ASBA credit for completing it. If you mark “YES,” and fill in where indicated, your name, the school district where you are a board member, email address, and telephone number, your district will be invoiced for the course fee(s) and your credit will be documented in your embrAMS account.

Upcoming Events

Event Materials

Looking for presentations and handouts from the ASBA event you attended? Or, would you like to see what you missed if you weren't able to attend? Click on the date and event title below to view or download copies of any available materials from ASBA's special events.

ASBA encourages all members to BYOD, Bring Your Own Device, to access documents electronically and follow along during special events. To help, links to documents will be emailed to registered attendees prior to most special events.

Event materials will also be posted on this page the day of the event.