WENATCHEE — The Moses Lake School Board received one of three School Boards of the Year awards for the North Central Washington Education Service District at a banquet May 11 in Wenatchee. Shanna Golladay of Warden was recognized with the Friends of Children award, along with an Oroville couple.

“These awards are the highest honor given annually by the ESD to educators and community members who have exemplified a lasting commitment to children in North Central Washington,” according to a press release from the ESD. Nominations are made by district superintendents and administrators.

The Moses Lake board shared the 2016 Board of the Year with the school boards from Brewster and the Methow Valley School District. (The Methow Valley district encompasses Twisp and Winthrop.) Golladay shared the Friends of Children award with George and Wilma (Willie) Penner of Oroville.

District superintendent Michelle Price nominated the Moses Lake board, saying they have worked to meet the challenges provided by the district’s growth. “The board has worked tirelessly to engage the community in short and long term solutions” to the issues generated by growth, Price wrote in her nomination letter.

Board members have worked with administrators and the community to find ways to accommodate all students, Price said. “The work has been stressful and thankless but the board continues to look at opportunities to reinvent ourselves” without compromising education or student safety.

The board also supported administrators in their search for effective instructional techniques. Board members have “committed human and financial resources, adopted policy that ensures equity and maintained annual goals that stay the course. The result of their efforts has been a change in our graduation rate from 60.8 percent to 74.4 percent.”

Warden superintendent Dave LaBounty nominated Golladay, praising her for her commitment to Warden kids. Shanna, he said, “is exceptional in championing resources, support, recognition and events for the children of Warden. Ms. Golladay cultivates and nurtures our community, just as a diligent farmer tends to her fields.”

The Friend of Children was first awarded in 1992 and is given to volunteers who have made “extraordinary contributions” to school districts in the North Central Washington ESD, the press release said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.