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.

Week of: August 30, 2010 LISD

Feedback Loops Encourage Community Input

Leander ISD’s reputation for excellent schools continues to bring new families into our district. In fact, LISD is still among the fastest growing school districts in Texas, and we now have almost 32,000 students enrolled in our 37 campuses. Our community is probably aware that, along with the reputation for providing a high quality education, LISD periodically goes through the growing pains associated with our rapid growth. Rezoning our attendance boundaries is one of those necessary processes that we must undergo every few years to accommodate our new residents and new schools.

Rezoning can have an impact upon the entire district. Knowing this, LISD strives to ensure our community has an opportunity to be involved and give feedback throughout the attendance zoning process. The volunteers who serve on our attendance zoning advisory committees are at the heart of this process. For the last two weeks, LISD has been seeking volunteers for two committees to assist in developing recommendations for high school and middle school attendance boundaries for the 2011-2012 and subsequent school years.

The attendance boundary rezoning process relies heavily on participation and honest feedback from the LISD community. This year, the committees will work together for several weeks to develop balanced and high-quality scenarios for our students. From there, these recommendations will be presented at community meetings for additional input from citizens. This important part of the process affords our community an opportunity to see and give input on the committees’ recommendations before they are presented to the Board of Trustees. The committees may or may not reconvene as a result of input received at the community meetings. The final decision is voted on by the Board.

You may remember that we went through this process in 2008, but as our demographer annually reminds us, our community is well known for great schools and is a nice place to live, and so our population will continue to rise. We are expected to double in size over the next 10-15 years. In fact, LISD is scheduled to open one elementary and one middle school in the fall of 2011, and we are constantly monitoring the need for future schools. We believe that our attendance rezoning process will ease the transitions of our growth. I would like to thank everyone who has volunteered to serve on an attendance zoning committee and everyone who has participated in previous rezoning committees. Your input is very much appreciated and helps shape the success of our district.

While LISD is working very closely with the community on rezoning our attendance boundaries, we are also improving how our citizens can participate in the process of naming new district facilities, including the schools that will open next year. In the coming weeks, LISD will be launching an online submission form, which community members and LISD staff can use to suggest names for new schools. Citizens will also have the option to call (512) 570-0000 and request a nomination packet. In addition, the district will hold two community meetings to garner name suggestions. Please watch the Web site (www.leanderisd.org) for the times and dates.

LISD’s policy states that new buildings will be named after historical or geographical sites or communities; deceased, significant individuals; local, state or national historical events and places; significant state or national figures; or a person who has made a significant contribution to education in LISD. If the nominated name is an individual, each name nominated shall fulfill the following criteria: the nominee shall be widely respected, regardless of any partisan affiliation; the nominee shall be a person of character who embodies a wholesome image that would be expected to stand the test of time; and the nominee shall have a background of service to people of our district, Texas, and/or the United States. New schools and facilities will be named by a vote of the Board of Trustees, which will consider the nominations from community members and district employees.

Feedback from our community is very important to LISD as we work to improve processes that impact our students. Stay tuned for more communications about both of these processes as they develop.

Have a great week!