VIRGINA SECCOMBE RECEIVES FRIEND OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AWARD AT STATE-WIDE EDUCATION CONFERENCE

Virginia Seccombe, former Executive Director of LEARN, the Regional Educational Service Center (RESC) in southeastern Connecticut, was the 2012 winner of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education’s (CABE) Friend of Public Education Award, presented at the organization’s annual conference at the Mystic Marriott on November 16^th.

Virginia served as LEARN’s Executive Director since 1989, up until her recent retirement in 2012. She has served as President of the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA), the national RESC organization and was a member of the AESA Council. She has chaired the AESA national conference, has presented at AESA conferences and served as the Chair of the RESC Directors’ Organization in Connecticut. She has also served as President of two regional Superintendent Associations and served on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.  

Virginia has also served as the liaison for the RESCs to CABE and has been hugely helpful, not only in attending meetings, but also making CABE an active participant with LEARN and individual districts. 

LEARN’s mission is to initiate, support, and provide a wide range of programs and services that expand opportunities and enhance the quality of learning in the educational community. LEARN promotes regional and statewide cooperation and provides a framework for districts to achieve their goals. LEARN currently serves twenty-five towns and communities with a student population of nearly 53,000. LEARN is a public, educational agency governed by a Board of Directors comprised of one elected board of education member from each district. The source of funding is local districts, state contracts and grants, federal grants, and private foundations.

CABE’s President, Lydia Tedone, stated, ""Her leadership has been the driving force behind LEARN's incredible success."

CABE’s Board of Directors has awarded the Friend of Public Education Award ten times since 1997. The Award is given to those men and women who have worked to support public education in Connecticut and are not eligible for other CABE awards.  Past recipients of the award were Theodore Sergi, Pat Luke, John Allison, Tom Mooney, Lori Aronson, Bob Frahm, James Comer, Betty Sternberg, George Coleman and David Nee. 

About CABE: The Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) is a 501c (3) non-profit association whose mission is to assist local and regional boards of education in providing high quality public education for all Connecticut children through effective leadership.