Claibourne Smith, Delaware State Board Member, Receives National Honor.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Claibourne Smith, a member of the Delaware State Board of Education, is being awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE). The national award is given annually to a state board of education member in recognition of outstanding service to public education.

"Claibourne Smith is a tireless, passionate, and enormously effective advocate on behalf of Delaware's schoolchildren. His work on the state board of education has helped improve Delaware's public schools and his involvement and influence on national education issues has benefited the state education system. Clay exemplifies personal and professional dedication to improving public education. We honor him for the positive difference he has made to the lives of thousands of young people," said Brenda Welburn, NASBE Executive Director.

Dr. Claibourne Smith was appointed to the Delaware State Board of Education in 1993, and reappointed in 1999. He has been a long-time advocate for policies to close the achievement gap among all students and a driving force for the establishment of teacher accountability in Delaware, which is now piloting an instrument to evaluate educators using student and school achievement data.

Smith was chairman of the 2002 NASBE task force that formulated state policy recommendations to address the changing demographics of America's student population. He also participated in a national year-long study of ways in which state boards could better establish accountability and alignment of teacher preparation programs. Smith is currently completing a second two-year term on NASBE's board of directors.

Dr. Smith is a member of the Delaware State Commission on Higher Education, on the board of directors of the Wilmington Urban League, and is Chairman of Delaware State University's Board of Trustees. Claibourne Smith is a retired vice-president of the DuPont Company and holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Oregon.

The award is being presented at NASBE's national conference in Louisville, Kentucky on October 13.

NASBE, www.nasbe.org, represents America's state and territorial boards of education. Our principal objectives are to strengthen state leadership in education policymaking; advocate equality of access to educational opportunity; promote excellence in the education of all students; and assure responsible lay governance of education.