FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2024
Contact: Jackie Wallenstein
866.682.2729 x7082
[email protected]
School Districts Recognized for Innovation and Commitment
Reston, VA – The Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) is pleased to announce the recipients of ASBO International’s 2024 Pinnacle Awards, which recognize innovative school business professionals and their districts for their resourcefulness and creativity in solving challenges and championing education.
The awards, sponsored by Virco, Inc., highlight replicable projects and practices that support schools and communities.
The ASBO International 2024 Pinnacle of Excellence Award recipient is Howard-Suamico School District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which turned an environmental safety crisis into an opportunity to strengthen safety processes and procedures, build community relationships, and share lessons learned with other districts.
In Spring 2022, the district experienced a large-scale evacuation and reunification of approximately 900 students when an unknown odor was detected at one of the district’s middle schools. “Although the odor proved harmless in the end,” according to assistant superintendent of operations Michael Juech, EdD, SFO, “the situation tested many areas of the emergency preparedness of the district and helped identify opportunities for growth, training, and improvement. The district was able to use the experience to steer our vision of what safety and security needed to include.”
Juech says the district developed strong collaborative relationships with first responders and community leaders, was able through a grant to provide training around safety and reunification and had the opportunity to share what they learned with their colleagues in other districts.
The 2024 ASBO International Pinnacle of Achievement Award recipients are:
Hanover County Public Schools in Ashland, Virginia, for a collaborative initiative that addressed the need for more streamlined preK education in the community. Christina Berta, MBA, SBA, SFO, assistant superintendent of business and operations, explains that “through strategic thinking and collaboration,” the district’s instructional and finance teams were able to move from a model of three separate preschool programs to create a comprehensive preK setting that includes special education and general education students in one classroom.
Mansfield Independent School District in Mansfield, Texas, for a unique experiential learning environment for early learners. After a visit to a regional service center that utilizes experiential learning, Jeffery Brogden sketched the initial design for the prototype for the early learner's academy on a paper napkin. Mansfield district leaders and stakeholders collaborated to establish an early learners academy that engages pre-K students in a full time curriculum of experiential learning and immersion on a daily basis. The district encourages others to visit and observe. “It is our district’s goal to improve all public education opportunities,” Brogden says.
Pattonville School District in St. Ann, Missouri, for a purchasing process to leverage the district’s ability to provide extended-learning opportunities to students and expose them to a variety of careers. Chief financial officer/operating officer Mary Jo Gruber, CPA, CGMA, SFO, explains that the district uses value-added services, which are additional offerings provided by businesses that go beyond their core product or service offerings, to provide extended learning opportunities for students. “For example,” Gruber says, “construction companies allow students to job shadow, accounting firms perform onsite visits to a classroom to connect the current curriculum to real-life accounting, or engineering firms sponsor robotics leagues or scholarships for AI events.”
“On behalf of ASBO International, I am pleased to congratulate the 2024 Pinnacle Award winners,” ASBO International Executive Director Jim Rowan says. “These districts epitomize what innovation and commitment look like, and we thank them for implementing positive, meaningful change for their districts.”
Brian True, Vice President of Sales for Virco, says, “Virco has been a proud sponsor of the Pinnacle Awards for more than three decades, and we continue to be inspired year after year by the recipients’ ingenuity and resourcefulness. We are proud of the accomplishments of this year’s Pinnacle Award recipients and look forward to recognizing them for their innovative work supporting their schools and communities.”
All Pinnacle honorees will be recognized at ASBO International’s 2024 Annual Conference & Expo in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition, Howard-Suamico School District will receive $10,000 in furniture from Virco, Inc., and the Pinnacle of Achievement Award winners will each receive $5,000 in school furniture from Virco, Inc.
For more information about ASBO International’s Pinnacle Awards, visit asbointl.org/Pinnacle.
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About ASBO International
The Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) provides programs, resources, services, and a global network to school business professionals who are the finance and operations decision makers in school systems. Our members manage school budgeting, purchasing, facility operations and maintenance, human resources, technology, transportation, food service, healthcare, and other areas of education administration and operations. ASBO International promotes the highest standards of school business management, professional growth, and the effective use of educational resources.
About Virco
Virco Inc., is America’s leading furniture and equipment manufacturer and supplier for the K–12 market. Active in ASBO International for over 60 years, Virco is proud to honor outstanding practices and new ideas in the school business profession.