For the second year in a row, the Dawson County Board of Education was named an Exemplary Board by the Georgia School Board Association (GSBA).

The board of education has met or exceeded the criteria set for by GSBA for 2016 to be honored as an exemplary school board and the announcement came on Dec. 7.

"I am grateful to work with a governance team that comes together to make decisions that benefit the children of Dawson County," said Superintendent Damon Gibbs. "Their commitment to this community is the gold standard for boards of education across the state."

The GSBA seeks to advance student learning and achievement by recognizing good school board governance that supports and promotes educational community cultures.

The recognition program showcases best practices in school governance and leadership.

The GSBA was one of the first of such associations in the United States to develop a program with standards for the local board of education. The program was established in 1998.

Georgia superintendents and board members developed the GSBA Governance Team Recognition Program using the state board of education's standards for effective governance in order to recognize exemplary leadership.

The program is a three-year, three-tiered program and it replaced the GSBA's Standards for Local Boards of Education and the Board of Distinction program, according to the GSBA web site. The three tiers are quality board, distinguished board and exemplary board.

Thirty-nine school boards of the 180 school districts in the state of Georgia attained the exemplary school board status for 2016.

Members of the Dawson County Board of Education include: Chairperson Elaine Wilson, Vice Chairperson Doris Cook, Karen Armstrong, Roger Slaton and William Wade.

To learn more about the program as well as criteria for the awards, visit http://gsba.com/board-development/awards-recognition/.