Bret A. Champion, Ed.D.
Dr. Bret A. Champion became Leander ISD’s Superintendent of Schools on February 1, 2008. He is a former Leander ISD teacher, assistant principal and principal, and most recently served as Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services. Dr. Champion is in his 17th year with Leander ISD.
Champion was a member of the second corps of the "Teach For America" program – which recruits and trains teachers to serve in low-income communities. Dr. Champion’s first teaching positions were in inner-city schools in Houston, Texas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He received his Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) from the University of Texas, his Masters in Education (M.Ed.) from Texas State University, and his BA in English Literature from the University of Houston.
Dr. Champion’s wife, Marcee, is an adjunct professor at Austin Community College. Their sons, Alan and Nicholas, attend Leander ISD schools.
|
|
Superintendent's Column
Week of: February 1, 2010
Demonstrating LISD’s Ethical Principles
In Leander ISD, we believe in teaching the whole child and educating students who exhibit knowledge, skills and character. In fact, several years ago, we adopted our 10 Ethical Principles which emphasize honesty, caring, pursuing excellence, loyalty, civic duty, fairness, integrity, accountability, promise-keeping and respect for others, as a way to centralize our district’s efforts to ensure our students were developing valuable character traits. These foundations for ethical behavior permeate the LISD culture and are often demonstrated in powerful ways. Today, I would like to tell you about some recent events that have captured what demonstrating the 10 Ethical Principles means in LISD.
One of LISD’s annual examples of the Ethical Principle Pursuit of Excellence occurs the first week of February during our district’s Continuous Improvement Conference. This two-day event (and additional campus staff development day) brings the entire district together to learn best practices so that we may continuously improve as a whole system. The conference allows for teachers and staff to collaborate with their peers both horizontally and vertically and discover different teaching strategies they can bring into their classrooms or departments. This year there are hundreds of topics offered with titles ranging from Be Well: Parenting for Healthier Living, to Using Maps and Globes in Your Classroom, to The Dual Language Approach in a Balanced Literacy Classroom, to Collaborating through World-Video Conferencing and Distance Learning (just to name a few!). While most of our students are enjoying a reprieve from the new semester, LISD’s Continuous Improvement Conference sends a powerful message—never stop learning!
During LISD’s Continuous Improvement Conference, the district also modeled the Ethical Principal Integrity and kicked-off its 2010 wellness initiative because the health and well-being of the LISD family is a top priority. This year the conference incorporated a few healthy changes including wellness-related sessions, a walking trail, blood pressure stations and healthier dining options. And just days later, LISD will participate in the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign and wear red on February 5 to raise awareness about the threat of heart disease.
Another recent event rallied LISD to join together to show integrity. After receiving numerous requests from campuses wanting to help Haiti after it was leveled by a massive earthquake a few weeks ago, the district centralized a relief and assistance campaign and donated more than $6,800 to the relief agency, Save the Children®. I applaud the entire LISD community for joining together and, in some small way, providing hope for a nation reeling from heart-wrenching devastation.
And finally, I recently witnessed an example the Ethical Principle Honesty that resonated with me. I attended LISD’s annual Geography Bee a few weeks ago and marveled at the knowledge of the students competing that evening. The rules of the competition were such that if a student missed two questions, they were eliminated. As the number of eligible contestants grew smaller with each successive round, one student spoke up and stated that he had missed two questions when the judges believed he had missed only one. The student persisted that he had been eliminated, and the judges realized their error. I am very proud of this student because he did what was right, and although he did not win the competition, he exemplified honesty in way that won esteem from the other contestants and audience members alike.
Indeed, the LISD community is constantly raising the bar and demonstrating how LISD incorporates the 10 Ethical Principles into our thoughts and, most importantly, into our actions. The key to our success lies in the fact that the 10 Ethical Principles are supported by our teachers, staff, principals, administrators and students. And so, I’d like to thank everyone who plays a part in demonstrating the 10 Ethical Principles every day. You all are one more reason I am proud to be part of LISD!
Have a great week!
|
