MONTGOMERY, Ala. – On Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. in Birmingham, the Alabama Association of School Boards will present its highest honor to Alabama State Board of Education member Charles E. Elliott, M.D.
Elliott has earned the prestigious Champion for Children Award for his tireless efforts to improve public K-12 education. The award is only given when outstanding service merits it and will be presented to Elliott on the final day of the AASB Annual Convention at Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel. Elliott, who did not seek re-election, has served on the state board since January 2011 and rolls off the board January 2015. He represents Alabama’s sixth district on the state board, which includes Morgan, Marshall, Cullman, Blount, St. Clair, Calhoun, Cherokee and southern DeKalb counties.
“Thank you for this great honor,” said Elliott. “My hope is that I have glorified God by caring for His children. I am most grateful for the opportunities I have had to serve Alabama’s students and their families and our dedicated teachers and administrators.”
Elliott has said he believes every student in Alabama should have the opportunity to receive an excellent education. AASB President Katy Smith Campbell of the Macon County school board said, “AASB thanks Charles for his extraordinary service on behalf of public K-12 education. He has gone beyond the call of duty to ensure high expectations for our students are maintained.”
AASB Executive Director Sally Howell said Elliott has been a staunch supporter of the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards for mathematics and English language arts first adopted by the state board in November 2010.
“When it would have been expedient to simply give in,” Howell said, “Charles, who was state board vice president at the time, stood steadfastly by the more rigorous standards for mathematics and English language arts. Attempts within the Alabama Legislature to pause or repeal the standards were just unacceptable to him and other state policymakers who know we must prepare our students for success in college and careers. Due in part to his efforts, the standards remain intact.”
Campbell said the association took note of his work, while vice president of the state board, to restructure state board meeting agendas around the pillars of Plan 2020, the state’s strategic plan to improve outcomes for students. She said his actions as an education leader show he understands the value of school board work, staying focused on student achievement and operating within the confines of good governance. He would call for legislators to support the priorities outlined in the state board’s proposed education budgets and often took time in the boardroom and as a speaker across the state to praise the progress and achievements of the state’s teachers and students.
Elliott was elected to three terms on the Decatur City Board of Education – serving from 1996 until 2008. He led the Decatur school board as its president from 2000 to 2007.
A career anesthesiologist, he was involved in key issues relating to children’s health and public education. As a Decatur school board member, he took steps to improve student health and improve students’ reading skills. He organized clinics to educate coaches and P.E. teachers in area school systems about head injuries, heat exhaustion and other health risks for student athletes. He also was instrumental in establishing the Decatur schools’ comprehensive first aid program and C.P.R. training. Elliott has worked since 1985 at Anesthesia Services of Decatur and has medical staff privileges at Decatur Morgan Hospital.
Elliott has been quite active in AASB, as well. He quickly advanced through all four levels of the AASB School Board Member Academy, a school for school board members, to ultimately earn the Master School Board Member status and the Masters Honor Roll distinction. He served on AASB’s Executive and Resolutions committees. From 2004 until 2008, he represented AASB District 8 on the association’s Board of Directors. District 8 is one of nine geographic districts and includes Colbert, Cullman, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan, Tuscumbia and Winston county school boards and the Athens, Cullman, Decatur, Florence, Haleyville, Hartselle, Muscle Shoals, Russellville and Sheffield city school boards.
Elliott has participated in overseas medical missions with his church, Beltline Church of Christ, and is a past president of the Morgan County Medical Society. A graduate of Bradshaw High School in Florence and a Decatur resident, Elliott has a bachelor’s degree and medical degree from the University of Alabama. Elliott left the University of Alabama School of Medicine with the School of Primary Medical Care’s Internal Medicine Award.
Elliott is the recipient of the 2008 John A. Caddell Community Service Award from the Decatur General Hospital Foundation; 2009 Ethylene Banks Citizen of the Year Award from the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce; and the 2013 Bill Miller Friend of Education Award from the Alabama Association of Elementary School Administrators.
A doting grandfather to young Elizabeth, Elliott has a wife of 36 years, Sherry, and has two adult children, Lindsay and Charles B.
More than 500 school board members and other education leaders are expected to attend the Dec. 3-6 AASB Annual Convention and Orientation. Orientation courses will be taught Dec. 3 and 4 for new school board members and veterans in need of a refresher. Convention opens on Dec. 4, which is also when the association has its annual business meeting, the Delegate Assembly. The 2014 theme, Liberating Genius, is also the title of education technology expert Angela Maiers’ Dec. 6 general session address. Keynote speeches will be delivered Dec. 5 by character development expert Bill Ballenger on Break the Grey and 2013-14 Florida Superintendent of the Year Alberto Carvalho on the Miami Miracle.
The Alabama Association of School Boards represents all of the state’s public local school boards. Since 1949, AASB has served education leaders and the interests of local decision making in public education. The association’s mission is to develop excellent school board leaders through quality training, advocacy and services. The AASB School Board Member Academy was founded in 1986. School board members who complete the core courses and the academy’s four levels can continue their training to earn the Master School Board Member distinction and ultimately attain Masters Honor Roll recognition. Visit www.AlabamaSchoolBoard.org.
