Kenny Bush Receives National Education Award.

Business Editors

BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2003

Kenny Bush, former chairman and current member of the Mississippi Board of Education, is being awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE). The award is annually

"Mississippi has made great strides in improving its education system, and Kenny Bush has been closely involved with these accomplishments. He played a critical role in developing these improvement strategies and also in mustering the support and resources to ensure that these polices benefit all of the students in the state," said Brenda Welburn, NASBE Executive Director.

Under Bush's leadership, the Mississippi Board of Education has established a new statewide assessment and accountability model that holds all stakeholders in the system -- students, teachers, principals, superintendents, school board members -- accountable for student achievement. It has also developed the Mississippi Reading Reform Model and has undertaken the initial planning and development of the Mississippi Math Initiative. Mississippi's new accountability system was one of the first approved by the U.S. Department of Education under the No Child Left Behind Act.

"Kenny Bush has made many meaningful contributions to education in Mississippi. He is an outstanding business leader who is committed to improving public education," said Henry Johnson, Mississippi state superintendent of instruction.

Also during his tenure on the board, Bush played a key role in the state's development of a performance-based accreditation system, uniform curricular frameworks, and persuading the state legislature to fully fund education through the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. The state currently ranks sixth in the nation in the number of instructors becoming "master teachers" by earning National Board Certification.

Bush was appointed to the Mississippi Board of Education in 1997. He was elected vice-chair by his peers in 1999 and chair in 2001. In addition, Bush has served on the Southern Regional Education Board, the Kosciusko City School District Board of Trustees, and the board of directors of the Mississippi School Boards Association. The Mississippi Business Journal selected Bush as one of the "Top 40 Under 40" several years ago.

Kenny Bush is the vice president of human resources and risk management and general counsel for Yates Construction in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

The award is being presented at NASBE's annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

NASBE 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.