Wodiska Finishes Term as State School Board President

Joan Wodiska set five goals when she took over as president of the Virginia School Boards Association in November of 2011.

Wodiska, a member of the Falls Church City Public Schools board, said the VSBA wanted to improve advocacy for public education, develop stronger community relationships, attract more leaders in education to the VSBA and develop stronger communication strategies. Wodiska added a fifth goal, a personal one: end childhood hunger among students throughout Virginia.

Wodiska’s term as president of the VSBA ended Wednesday.

“I’m happy to report that we met or exceeded all five goals,” Wodiska said in a written statement.

Wodiska said farewell to her supporters Wednesday at the Annual VSBA Conference. The association represents all 134-school divisions in the Commonwealth. Now in her third term with the Falls Church school system school board, Wodiska was nominated for the first-ever Bammy Award for School Board Leadership in September. She was appointed chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Local Mandates, Education Committee in 2011.

The outgoing VSBA president launched “Food for Thought,” to engage, educate, and empower school board members to fight childhood hunger and improve the quality of school meals. During Wodiska's time as chair of the FCCPS school board, Food Services Coordinator Richard Kane earned one of the Magna Awards for the school system in 2011. The award was given in part for the school system’s "Access to Healthy Meals" program.

“As school board members, we stand at the helm of this new frontier in public education,” Wodiska said in the statement. “While the rules are unwritten, the future is uncertain, and the resources scarce, as local leaders, we hold the reigns.”