Paul Uranga
from Culberson County-Allamoore ISD was
among a group of school board members gathering in El Paso April 10-12 to continue
learning the latest on 21st century challenges to leadership and the
implications of those trends for educators. Session theme for this, the fourth of
five training sessions of Leadership TASB (LTASB), was “Where Leadership
Happens through Embracing the Differences.â€
Trustees began activities Thursday with keynote
speaker Kelly McDonald, CEO of McDonald Marketing, Dallas. McDonald’s remarks,
“Changing Demographics Changing Texas,†challenged the trustees with making
sense with the 2010 federal census and seeing the demographic numbers as
indications of a shift in what traditionally has been seen as the all-American
family. The LTASB class ended the first day of the session with a tour of
Canutillo ISD and dinner provided by students of that district.
Friday’s LTASB session began with presentations
of group research projects followed by a discussion on board governance at El
Paso ISD. Leading the discussion was Donald R. “Dee†Margo, president of the
EPISD appointed board of managers. In his remarks, Margo addressed the current
situation of board governance in El Paso and directed the class members to
recognize signs when the traditional pattern of elected board governance
appears to be off track.
Activities ended Saturday with a presentation
by Derek Greenfield, director of Educational Equity and Inclusion/Title IX
coordinator and assistant professor of sociology at Alcorn State University.
Greenfield’s remarks, “From Diversity to Inclusion,†highlighted techniques and
strategies public schools can employ to better include all children and all
families in the educational enterprise.
Selected by TASB, the group of 31 trustees is
participating in a yearlong education leadership study program. The LTASB class
of 2014 represents Texas school districts of all sizes, with student
populations of 240 to more than 201,000, and reflects the range of property
wealth. Participants who complete all required elements of the study will
graduate in June with a unique designation recognized by TASB. LTASB is
sponsored in part by H-E-B.
Each session has a specific theme that builds
on the previous session and features state and nationally recognized experts in
the fields of leadership development and education. Teams also work on extended
learning assignments between meetings throughout the year. Created in 1993,
Leadership TASB has almost 700 graduates to date.
TASB is a nonprofit association established
in 1949 to serve local school districts. School board members are the largest
group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent
serve more than 5 million students.
