The mission of the Georgia School Boards Association is to ensure excellence in the governance of local school systems by providing leadership, advocacy and services, and by representing the collective resolve of Georgia’s elected boards of education.

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information@gsba.com

Event Registration

Georgia School Boards Association hosts a variety of workshops, trainings, conferences and virtual events to help school board members reach their required training hours each year. State law and state board rules require school board members to obtain board governance training each year. All GSBA training is approved by the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE).

Important GA DOE Deadlines:

Board Training Deadline

June 30, 2023

Annual Training Report

Due by September 30, 2023. GSBA does not need a copy of this document

FY24 Annual Training Plan

September 30, 2023 GSBA does not need a copy of this document. (Training year runs July 1 – June 30)

Training Credits

Workshops

Spring 2023:

Board Chair

$275 | 6 credit hours

February 2, 2023

Tift County Schools

506 W 12th St, Tifton, GA  31794

Registration is now closed for this workshop

New Board Member Orientation

$350 | 12 credit hours

February 14 – 15, 2023

Bibb County Schools Professional Learning Center

2007 Riverside Drive, Macon, GA 31204

Registration is now closed for this workshop

Board Chair

$275 | 6 credit hours

March 7, 2023

Forsyth County Schools, Room 380

1120 Dahlonega Highway, Cumming, GA 30040

Registration is now closed for this workshop

Good Boardsmanship for New Board Members

New Workshop for 2023!

$185 | 4 credit hours

April 11, 2023

Houston County Board of Education Annex

1600 Macon Road, Perry, GA 31069

View Agenda

Registration is now closed for this workshop

GCSBA Attorneys Only Workshop

$275

May 19, 2023

Bell Jones Courtroom, Mercer University School of Law

1021 Georgia Avenue

Macon, GA 31207

View 2023 GCSBA Attorneys Only Workshop Agenda

GSBA Summer Pre-Conference Workshops

Policy

$275 | 6 credit hours

June 8, 2023 | Savannah, Ga

Hyatt Regency Hotel

Board + Superintendent Relationships and Accountability

$275 | 6 credit hours

June 8, 2023 | Savannah, Ga

Hyatt Regency Hotel

Support Staff

$200 | No credit

June 8, 2023 | Savannah, Ga

Hyatt Regency Hotel

GSBA/GSSA Pre-Conference Workshops

Legal Issues

 Board Members: $275 | 6 credit hours

Attorneys: $350 | 6 credit hours

November 30, 2022 | Atlanta, Ga

Renaissance Waverly Hotel

School Finance

$275 | 6 credit hours

November 30, 2022 | Atlanta, Ga

Renaissance Waverly Hotel

Communications

$275 | 6 credit hours

November 30, 2022 | Atlanta, Ga

Renaissance Waverly Hotel

GSBA Conferences

For more information, visit our conferences page.

Summer Conference

June 9 – 10, 2023
Hyatt Regency, Savannah, GA

Annual Conference

November 30 – December 1, 2023
Renaissance Waverly Hotel, Atlanta, GA

School Board U Online Training Courses

For more information, visit our School Board U page.

Board Ethics

2 Hours | $100

Board member behavior is extremely important as the Governance Team is modeling how they want students, staff and parents to behave. The State of Georgia has a specific Code of Ethics that each school board must adopt as part of its own policy manual. This course will provide an overview of the ethics and tips on insuring school boards abide by the policy.

Board Meeting Minutes: 8 Things You Should Never Miss

1 Hours | $50

This course will provide knowledge and perspective related to the minutes related to school board meetings. As meeting minutes are a record of what the school board discussed and voted upon at their meeting, it becomes critical that those involved in reading, understanding as well as taking and recording the details related to best practices regarding board minutes.

Bridging the Engagement Gap: Building Community Support & Involvement in Your District

1 Hours | $50

This course focus is on how school boards, superintendents and others in the school community can build support from the public. Topics include: community engagement best practices, being proactive, utilizing feedback from stakeholders as well as building partnerships with business and others.

Building Community Engagement

1 Hours | $50

When schools, parents, families, and communities work together to support learning, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and enroll in higher level programs. To ensure that the students of today are ready for the careers of tomorrow, families, schools, and community groups need to work together to promote engagement that is systemic, sustained, and integrated into school improvement efforts.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: 3-Part Course

3 Hours | $150

DEI 101: Foundational Principles of Educational Equity
This will include: The “why” this topic is important to Board governance; Terminology/definitions; An introduction to biases we all have that can affect the Board’s decision-making process; and an introduction to micro-aggressions which can impact an organization’s climate and relationships.

DEI 102: The Intersection of Educational Equity, Inclusion & Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Picking up from the DEI 101 recording which ends with bias/micro-aggressions, this session will introduce the principles of whole-child supports in a school setting and their educational equity and inclusion implications. Student success is not just academic, it is impacted by relationships with the adults in the system. The Board can support positive building and district climate by having a basic understanding of these principles and how they affect a district’s attendance, discipline, academic achievement, and other areas where disparities are present.

DEI 103: How to Govern Effectively Using an Educational Equity Lens
This session will cover the Board’s policy, resource allocation, and community leadership/engagement roles in promoting and supporting equity throughout their system.

Educational Equity 101

1 Hour | $50

The growing importance of education equity is based on the premise that an individual’s level of education directly correlates to future quality of life. Therefore, an academic system that practices educational equity is a strong foundation of a society that is fair and thriving. However, inequity in education is challenging to avoid, and can be broken down into inequity due to socioeconomic standing, race, gender or disability.

Essential Guide to High Performing Boards

1 Hour | $50

This course will focus on the characteristics of high performing school boards. Topics will include roles & responsibilities, culture and best practices related to strategic planning and evaluations.

Governance Team Self-Assessment

1 Hour | $50

This course focuses on best practices related to school boards and superintendents “the Governance Team” doing a self-assessment. How does a group assess themselves as one governing body. Topics include: planning for and implementing a well thought out self-assessment instrument and process.

Making the Grade: Examining the Role of the Board in Improving Student Achievement

1 Hour | $50

This course focuses on the board’s role in improving student achievement. Topics covered include: characteristics of a highly effective board, roles & responsibilities, board member professional development, as well as, superintendent evaluation.

Open Meetings and Open Records for Board Members

2 Hours | $100

Georgia law has a specific manner in which school districts need to comply with related to Open Records/Open Meetings. This course will describe the specifics that belong and focus on what board members and superintendents should do to comply with these laws.

Parliamentary Procedure

2 Hours | $100

A school board member is the place where Governance Teams (the Superintendent and the school board) conduct their business. They are open to the public and as such, how the meetings are run and how board members conduct themselves is extremely important. This course will provide system best practices in running an effective school board meeting.

Strategic Improvement Planning

1 Hour | $50

This course focuses on best practices in strategic planning. The course will provide information on the superintendent and board’s role in developing the plan, as well as the role of the various stakeholders that make up the planning team and the action teams. Gathering and utilizing stakeholder feedback is very critical to this process. Another focus of this course is when the plan is completed, it is critical the board and superintendent ensure that it is implemented.

The Changing Role of Today's Governance Team

1 Hour | $50

This course will focus on the changing role of today’s leadership team. Topics will include: changes in the way we educate today’s young people, teaching skills students need, raising expectations, and focusing on the government learning environment in which today’s students are growing up.

The Neuroscience of Effective Decision-Making

1 Hour | $50

Leadership strategies for managing ambiguity, conflict, and uncertainty. Board members will explore the science behind making effective decisions in the course of their role on the Governance Team.

The Super Six: Top Questions School Board Members Should be Asking Their Superintendent

1 Hour | $50

This course is an overview of major focus areas of school boards. The topics include: high-performing governance teams, strategic planning, accountability, building community support, and aligning budget and resources.