Richard Sena, trustee from Boerne ISD, joined 33 other school board members from across Texas April 11-13 in Tyler for the fourth session of the Leadership TASB (LTASB) class of 2019. Selected by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), the group is participating in a yearlong education leadership study program. These trustees represent school districts of all sizes, with student populations of 114 to 215,408, and reflect a similar range of property wealth.
Participants who complete all required elements of the study will graduate earning Master Trustee status. This is the highest designation recognized by TASB.
The session theme was Where Leadership Happens with an Eye on the Future, and trustees started with a visit to Bullard ISD. The LTASB class toured the district’s career and technology education facilities; and, in addition, they learned how the district is implementing a pilot accountability system. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) authorized 20 Texas school districts to pilot a local and individualized version of school district accountability to be used along with what is required by TEA. In addition to Bullard ISD, the LTASB class visited Tyler and toured the Wayne D. Boshears Center for Exceptional Programs. The Boshears Center services students who have unique challenges due to severe and profound disabilities. Also, at Tyler ISD, the class toured the district’s career and technology education campus that serves the district’s high school junior and senior students, which allows them to explore career paths and earn certificates and licensures before graduating high school.
Speakers for the LTASB session were Kori Hamilton Biagas and Amy Lynch. Biagas, founder of Just Educators, addressed social and educational inequity and the impact of implicit and explicit bias on organizational culture and climate. Lynch, founder of Generational Edge, spoke on generational differences and how awareness of the differences enables organizations to be better prepared to make strategic decisions that are more innovative and more often the best fit.
The final session of the five-part series of Leadership TASB is scheduled for Fort Worth, June 20-22. Each session has a unique theme that builds on the previous session and features nationally recognized experts in the fields of leadership development and education. Teams also work throughout the year on extended learning assignments between meetings. Created in 1993, Leadership TASB has more than 800 graduates to date.
TASB is a voluntary, nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local Texas school boards. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 5.34 million public school students.
