Award Honors Arbuckle And Sets Standard For Leadership

Retiring Executive Director Margaret Arbuckle poses
with school board member Rebecca Buffington.

Guilford Education Alliance announced this week the creation of the Margaret Bourdeaux Arbuckle Award in honor of our retiring Executive Director Margaret Arbuckle. This annual award will go to a community member who exemplifies the qualities Margaret is best known for, a passion for education, leadership for the greater good and a tireless work ethic.

This award seeks to honor Margaret’s influential work as a community leader, not just for her eight-year tenure with Guilford Education Alliance but also as a Guilford County commissioner, Associate Director of the Center for Youth, Family and Community Partnerships at UNCG and an indefatigable advocate for children. Margaret has dedicated her life to advocating for children and human dignity and in the doing set an amazing example for generations to come.

“If we strive to live up to the standards Margaret Arbuckle has set, if we work to see her vision through and with a little luck on our side, Margaret’s impact will be felt in Guilford County long after our youngest children have families of their own,” said Nathan Duggins, Alliance Board Chair.

The Margaret Bourdeaux Arbuckle Award was unveiled Wednesday night during a reception held in her honor at the O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro. The inaugural recipient of the award will be announced at Guilford Education Alliance's annual Education Summit in the fall. The award will include a cash prize of a yet-to-be determined amount, however nearly $10,000 has been collected so far. Donations can be made through Guilford Education Alliance.

Margaret will continue to lead the Education Alliance through June and, while there is certainly no replacing Margaret, our board is meeting with wonderful leaders cut from the same cloth with a desire to lead our organization into a new era.

Those challenges will be great. The very foundation of public education is being eroded, with efforts at the state level to create a voucher system that would use public money to pay for private schools, plans that would create an entirely separate education system for charter schools with nearly no accountability to tax payers, and massive job cuts that will result in fewer teachers and crowded classes. And there's still an achievement gap to close, safety concerns to address and planning for the needs of tomorrow.

The next executive director of Guilford Education Alliance will be taking on a challenge but they will not do it alone because, as Margaret has said, we must all work together if we hope to have a brighter future.