Editor’s note: Of archives and achievements
By:
Susan Swigart
Two years, lots of meetings, seemingly endless hours of cataloging and more than a little sneeze-inducing dust. That’s what it’s taken to properly fete CSBA on its 75th anniversary this past year. It’s been a labor of love and a fulfilling experience for all involved.
This issue of California Schools, the publication of a special 75th anniversary commemorative book and the festivities scheduled for the upcoming annual conference in San Francisco mark the culmination of this extensive examination of the association’s past.
As you can imagine, there was quite a lot of research to be done; reviewing and digesting 75 years of history and the accomplishments of an organization of this size and scope was no small undertaking.
CSBA staff jumped in with both feet (actually, hands) to comb through boxes of crumbling documents, photos, old minutes, conference programs, newsletters and other archived items that filled an entire office.
Our team of intrepid amateur historians grew more excited with every new find. Among the treasures were minutes from the inaugural meeting of the California School Trustees Association on Sept. 8, 1931; a personal letter from President John F. Kennedy to CSBA President Kenneth Saysette asking for help addressing “the grave civil rights problem,” dated six months before Kennedy’s assassination; and a portrait of CSBA leaders en route to the 1961 National School Boards Association’s annual conference in Philadelphia (female delegates were resplendent in high heels, white gloves, hats and furs).
Throughout the decades, although fashions and political realities have changed (sometimes radically), CSBA’s focus on crucial educational issues has never wavered.
In this issue of California Schools magazine, we’ve tried to give you a sense of the association’s evolution, trials and triumphs by letting our former presidents and executive directors tell the story.
Scott P. Plotkin talks candidly about the transition from CSBA president in 1992 to executive director almost a decade later. Davis Campbell outlines how the association became a major player in state and national educational policy deliberations.
Maureen DiMarco describes her experience presiding over what must have been the most unusual Delegate Assembly in CSBA history, Dr. Kerry Clegg tells how the association coped with the promise that wasn’t, and David Pollock talks about the importance of expecting the unexpected.
In many ways the history of the association also tells the story of public education in California and the nation. As you’ll see in the feature on the urgent need to fix the No Child Left Behind Act that’s also included in this anniversary issue, CSBA continues to lead state and national education reform efforts.
When you think about it, we’re really 75 years young—not old. The passion that inspired a handful of school board members to sit down together in 1931 for what became the first meeting of the California School Trustees Association is still evident in the dedication and energy that characterizes school governance teams all over California today.