District officials use diversified experience to manage growth

District officials use diversified experience to manage growth

Monday, 07 August 2006

Grace Barber Jordan, President, LISD School Board

Grace Barber Jordan is dedicated to helping her community provide learning opportunities for everyone. A former employee of the Texas A&M Board of Regents, she has been a member of the Leander ISD School Board since 2001, serving as vice president for two years before taking on her current role as president.

Besides her dedication to education for all children as a school board member, she also works as a Learning Center instructor for the Literacy Council of Williamson County, tutoring students preparing to take their GED and teaching English as a Second Language and Basic Literacy.

Q. When and what made you decide to run for the school board?

A. Before my daughter entered kindergarten, I knew that I wanted to be
involved with the school in some way. Because I had worked for a board and with an administration on the college level, I felt that my skills and talents would be useful there. I casually mentioned to a friend that I would like to run for the school board and be able to play a part in the shaping of my children’s district – someday. My friend asked, why not today?

Q. What is the biggest challenge facing the district?

A. LISD has more than 24,000 students. Our district’s fast growth is the equivalent of one full classroom of students being added every other school day. The board never stops planning for children. We study demographic reports and plan accordingly. LISD is fortunate to have involved parents who understand the need to keep ahead of the growth and are willing to be a part of the process.

Q. How does this board plan to make a difference to the district?

A. In my opinion, the most important job of a school board member is the governance of the district, developing policy that provides the best education, development and future for each child in our district. Our board always asks, “What is best for the child?” That guides all our decisions.

Q. What would you tell others in the community who are considering running for a spot on the school board?

A. I would tell them that they need to be a good listener, a student of human nature, school finance, school law and the legislature.

Q. Who was your favorite teacher and why?

A. Barbara Davis, my sixth grade Language Arts teacher. Mrs. Davis believed in me and I always tried to do my best work for her. When I was tested in reading, she realized that I had been in a reading group that was too easy and put me in a more difficult group. That opened up a whole new world for me. Being challenged was so much better than being bored.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in English, Texas A&M University.
• State and community involvement: Master Trustee for the Texas Association of School Boards, member of the School Board Advocacy Network, past president of Friends of the Cedar Park Public Library.
• Family: Husband, Michael, two daughters attending LISD elementary schools.
• Contact information: grace.jordan@leanderisd.org

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Tom Glenn, Superintendent, Leander Independent School District

Tom Glenn began his career more than 30 years ago teaching fourth grade in College Station.

For the past 27 years, he has served Leander Independent School District in various administrative positions, including director of Community Education, personnel director, principal and deputy superintendent.

He has been Superintendent of LISD for 19 years.

Q. When and what made you decide to become a superintendent?

A. Soon after I got out of college, as I was teaching elementary school, I decided that I wanted to work in administration. In the early 1980s after I became an elementary principal, I realized I could have an impact on more students as a superintendent. I became superintendent of Leander ISD in 1987, moving up from deputy superintendent.

Q. What are the biggest challenges the district faces right now?

A. Growth is certainly a prime focus but more important is the need to retain a laser focus on academics. We must be certain that we keep pace with the heightened requirements of the State and the similar growing expectations of our community. Our chief challenge is to make sure that these State and community expectations are met.

Q. How is the district managing the community’s growth and its future growth?

A. When I became superintendent, well over half of the students were educated each day in portable classrooms. Community support of five bond issues in the past dozen years have allowed us to keep pace overall, but some campuses do still have portables for the relief of short-term overcrowding. The bond issue passed in May will allow us to be more aggressive in purchasing sites for future LISD schools.

Q. What are the biggest challenges public schools in Texas face right now?

A. The largest challenges facing our state’s public education system revolve around the need for fair and equitable funding, and a corresponding need to relieve the burden on local taxpayers of public school funding without the loss of local control. Time will tell if the new school finance changes are an answer to the first issue, but we are already seeing a loss of local control. Mandates on the use of the high school funding allotment, teacher pay and school starting dates are just a few examples where the new school finance bill came with “strings attached.” Through local school boards, Texans have traditionally had a voice in the major education decisions impacting their children. The erosion of this local control should concern us all.

Q. Who was your favorite teacher and why?

A. The person that had the single greatest impact on me was Mrs. Morris, our librarian at my elementary school. My father was the principal, so I waited on him in the library while he completed his duties each day. Mrs. Morris ingrained in me a love of literature that has lasted to this day. She proved that lots of people besides the teacher can impact the future of a child. She was a sterling example of what a mentor can do for an impressionable youngster, and I’m eternally grateful for her guidance and inspiration.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, Master’s in Educational Administration, Texas A&M University. Superintendent’s Certification, Southwest Texas State University.
• Family: Wife, Dee Ann, two kids, John Glenn (30) and Courtney Brown (27). John’s twins are less than a year old.
• Contact information: 434-5053 or tom.glenn@leanderisd.org