Our August Issue traditionally focuses on buildings and facilities. Our cover story by Contributing Editor Glenn Cook, “Building for the Future,” examines the variety of ways that districts are dealing with building renovations and repairs. He focuses on Baltimore City Public Schools, which just completed work on the first phase of the 21st Century School Buildings Program, a $1.1 billion joint city/state partnership that resulted in 28 new or significantly renovated schools. The program earned a 2024 Silver Magna Award.

Please consider applying for a Magna Award. We will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Magna Awards in 2025 and we’d love to feature your district programs. Click here for more information about the Magna Awards.

Also in this issue, our State Association Member Spotlight showcases our members and their initiatives and efforts for their school board members. We are featuring the Association of Alaska School Boards with an article by association staff members Lori Grassgreen, Lisa “X’unyéil” Worl, Emily Ferry, and Lakrisha “Chookán” Brady.

Here at NSBA, we are busy preparing for our Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) annual conference in Las Vegas, Oct. 28 to 30.

I’m very excited to announce that the chief executive officer of AmeriCorps, Michael D. Smith, will be our keynote speaker. Smith has dedicated his career to social justice by reducing barriers and expanding opportunities for children and families in underserved communities like those where he grew up. Two U.S. Presidents have called on Smith to lead such efforts. He first served as special assistant to the president and senior director of cabinet affairs in the Obama White House, where he designed and led the My Brother’s Keeper initiative and federal task force. He went on to continue that work as executive director of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and director of Youth Opportunity Programs at the Obama Foundation. In 2021, he was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as CEO of AmeriCorps — the federal agency for service and volunteering. At AmeriCorps, Smith has sharpened the agency’s focus on equity, investing in what works, and uniting communities through the power of service.

Also at the conference, we will present the winners of the Benjamin Elijah Mays Award and the CUBE Annual Award for Urban School Board Excellence, which you will be able to read about in upcoming issues of ASBJ.

CUBE has convened school board members from across the nation for the past 56 years to network and share the continually evolving strategies they are using to address the unique educational challenges that exist in our nation's urban centers. Content is curated specifically to provide you with the tools and support you need to effect change as an empowered, impactful urban school board member. Visit https://nsba.org/Events/CUBE-2024-Annual-Conference for information and to register.

Join us for NSBA’s 2025 Annual Conference in Atlanta, April 4-6. Early registration for CUBE and National Connection district registration opens Aug. 28. General registration opens Sept. 4. Click here for more information.