For more information, contact:
                                                                                                  Denise L. Berkhalter
                                                                                  dberkhalter@alabamaschoolboards.org

5 Leaders Honored as All-State School Board Members

BIRMINGHAM – (December 9, 2006) –Five education leader are being honored for distinguished service to public education by their peers and the Alabama Association of School Boards.

The five, named All-State School board Members, are:

• Dr. Marianalice Moody, a member of the Oxford Board of Education since 2002;
• Morris Acker, who has served two terms as president of the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education;
• Dr. Kirit Chaptwala, a member of the Selma Board of Education for six years;
• Lillie Dove, a member of the Brewton Board of Education for six years; and
• Lynda Powell, a member of the Covington County Board of Education for eight years.

“All five of these board members exemplify the high standards this award sets,” said AASB President Jim Methvin. “They are excellent school board members, who are committed to doing the job well and serving the interests of all students in their communities and in Alabama.”

They will be honored Saturday, Dec. 9, at AASB’s convention at The Wynfrey Hotel near Birmingham.

The All-State School Board Member distinction is the highest honor AASB bestows.

All-State candidates are nominated by their fellow board members and judged by a panel of distinguished former school board members. The winners are chosen for their commitment to ethical standards, proven records of activism, rapport with local officials and leadership in education and community activities.

All of this year’s winners have been active participants in AASB’s School Board Member Academy, an ongoing school for school board members. Acker has complete three levels of the Academy; Moody and Powell have completed all four levels. Chaptwala and Dove have completed all four levels and, by continuing their training, have earned the distinction Master School Board Member.

The Academy, an ongoing “school for school board members” founded in 1986, has four achievement levels based on the number of credit hours board members earn by attending conferences and workshops in eight key areas: roles and responsibilities; policy and planning; financial accountability; the optimal learning environment; academic achievement; staff development; board meetings and school law; and community engagement.

Biographical Information

Moody:

Moody is the first board member from Oxford to win the All-State award.

Moody, who currently serves as president of the Oxford school board, is an active partner with the mayor and city council in efforts to showcase the school system and encourage businesses to locate in Oxford.  With her help an international company decided to locate to the city this year.
 
An educator with over 30 years’ experience, Moody is a trusted figure in the community with a voice that is much respected.  “Her authority comes not only from her position, but from a community faith in her competency,” Superintendent Dr. Jeff Goodwin wrote in support of her nomination.

An enthusiastic supporter of students and faculty, she takes the time to be applaud kindergartners who can count to 100 and to judge middle school science fairs. She adds a personal touch by taking time to write a note of thanks to teachers who do a good job.  In addition, she donates books to the school libraries and provides gift certificates for academic competition prizes.

Moody also is the founder of a “Books for Babies” project through Altrusa’s Literacy Committee in Oxford. The program provides a book to every new mother while she is still in the hospital so that she may introduce reading to her child early.

Fellow board member Alex Davenport has high praise for Moody’s work with children. “Dr. Moody’s greatest love is providing children and adults in her sphere of influence unique opportunities to learn and be successful in their life endeavors,” she said.

She is an active member of Grace Episcopal Church in Anniston where among her many roles, she volunteers to support PreSchool Friends, a classroom for financially disadvantaged four-year-olds.

Acker:

Acker is the latest in a long line of Tuscaloosa County board members to be honored for their work for public education.

In supporting Acker’s nomination for the All-State honor, superintendent Dr. Frank Costanzo called him an outstanding school board member and exceptional member of the community.  “I know of no other person who deserves your recognition for their unselfish giving and total dedication to the promotion of public school education,” Costanzo said.
 
Acker, who has served for 10 years on the school board, has been active in education issues locally. Among his other contributions, he worked with the commission several years ago to pass a one-cent sales tax to generate over $80 million for the Tuscaloosa County and City schools to go toward construction of new schools, the elimination of portable classrooms, and to critical maintenance and upkeep of facilities. 

Once the senior varsity football captain, he has been a familiar sight at Wildcat Stadium holding the “down marker” in yardage chains at the county high football games for 38 years.  Although he no longer marks the downs, he still is in the stands showing support or listening to the Wildcats on the radio each Friday evening.

Active in Tuscaloosa County civic affairs, he has served on the Northport Zoning Committee and SouthTrust Bank Board of Directors. He also is a member of the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce, and serves as a Deacon and Sunday school teacher at the Northwood Hills Baptist Church.

Chapatwala:

Chapatwala is the first Selma school board member to win the award.

A former vice president of the school board, Chapatwala has been active in AASB as a member of the Multicultural committee. Also works to lobby state and federal lawmakers on education issues through AASB’s Leader to Leader grassroots lobbying program and the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network.

Chapatwala was nominated in part because of his contributions to the creation of the Selma Early College High School in 2003. The school features a curriculum delivered jointly by the school system and college and university partners. The first of its kind in the state, the program focuses on agriculture and agribusiness and related industries. With a Ph.D. in microbiology, Chapatwala was effective in securing partnerships for the program to develop a strong curriculum in science. He also has donated books and supplies to the program for its hands-on science instruction. As an original member of the NASA team that created the program, Chapatwala provides training for the science instructors at the high school and others schools in the Selma system.

Kirit’s research has been a factor in the school system being involved with a pilot program for student nutrition and wellness, and already school cafeteria menus have changed to reflect the new focus.

In supporting his nomination for the All-State award, Charlotte Griffeth, director of the Selma Board of Education’s Office of Planning and Development, noted his devotion to the city and the school system. “Dr. Chapatwala’s tenacity and passion for seeing this historic city become the Mecca of the Black Belt and Alabama is both admirable and contagious!” she wrote.

School board President Benjamin Givan agreed. “Dr. Chapatwala’s involvement with the community provides him with the insight that is needed to enhance the education that is offered to the boys and girls of Selma…he has a heart for young people,” he said.

Dove:

Dove is first Brewton school board member to win the award.

Mrs. Dove taught in public schools for 30 years and is an avid public education supporter, providing strong leadership to the Brewton City Schools. In 2003, she campaigned actively – and successfully – for passage of a property tax increase in Brewton and Escambia County. She also is actively involved in the development of new policies for the school system.

“Her experience and wisdom, coupled with her ability to work with and understand people, make her invaluable to our school board,” board vice president Keith Miller wrote in support of her nomination.

At the state level, Mrs. Dove has served on numerous AASB committees, including the Summer Conference Planning, Nominating, and Multicultural committees. At the national level, she has worked with Alabama’s congressional delegation through the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network, traveling to Washington DC on behalf of AASB’s and NSBA’s legislative agendas for public education.

Mrs. Dove is active in the Brewton Area Habitat for Humanity, Executive Committee for the Southern Normal Alumni Association, and Escambia County Retired Teachers Association.

In supporting her nomination, Brewton Mayor Ted Jennings called her a natural choice for appointment to the school. “In working with others she is a catalyst to change,” he said. “Mrs. Dove is a true representative and ambassador of Brewton and its school system.”

Powell:

Powell is only the second Covington County board member to win. Former board member B.H. “Tubby” Hall was among the award’s first five recipients in 1992.

Powell was nominated in part for her dedication and service to the schools and Covington County. A board member for eight years and a retired teacher, she has missed only one regular board meeting, and that was during her battle with cancer.

Her work to help the school system revamp its hiring practices is credited with helping the system win unitary status this year, ending its longstanding desegregation case. In addition, she campaigned actively in support of an effort to raise the minimum property tax for education to 10 mills, an effort that will help stabilize the Covington County school system’s finances as well as those of other poorly funded systems around the state.

She also personally invests in student achievement, sponsoring a $100 savings bond each year to four students achieving the highest Stanford 10 achievement test scores; sponsors a $250 band camp scholarship, and serves on the committee for the Andalusia Pilot Club to award a $500 nursing scholarship each year.

Writing in support of her nomination, Alabama Speaker of the House Seth Hammett, a longtime friend of Powell’s, praised her professional attitude and her desire to serve the students in Covington County Schools. “I can think of no school board member more deserving of being named an AASB All-State School Board Member.

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