Marshall ISD Board Trustees Bettye Fisher and Lee Lewis attended the annual Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Summer Leadership Institute (SLI) to learn and grow alongside trustees and trustees of the whole state.
More than 3,000 new and veteran education leaders have had the opportunity to attend SLI in San Antonio or Fort Worth to strengthen their governance, leadership, and teamwork skills to better serve their communities and improve student achievement.
Robyn Benincasa, Thursday’s keynote, shared stories of her experience as an adventure runner around the world and the lessons of leadership and teamwork learned in dealing with physical and mental challenges. strenuous. She participated in several seasons on the reality show Eco-Challenge: The Expedition Race, where her team won the 2000 competition in Borneo. Since then, she has written a book, won several Guinness World Records and founded a non-profit organization that helps women who have faced medical issues achieve their athletic dreams.
On Friday morning, Adolph Brown captivated attendees with his unique life story and his ability to overcome difficult circumstances and tackle stereotypes head-on. He offered concrete strategies for participants to support and improve their schools. Brown drew on more than 30 years of experience as an educator, researcher, author, businessman and psychologist to illustrate how to reach every student and build stronger schools.
In his closing speech, Ravi Hutheesing spoke about his journey as a rock star, aviator, cultural diplomat and education leader. His experiences served as an example of how to pivot and succeed in an ever-changing world.
Each year, the Institute provides new board members with key information after the May elections, offers practical advice to newly elected directors and provides experienced directors with innovative practices and emerging trends. This year’s learning tracks included sessions on District Culture, Engagement and Advocacy, Fiscal Accountability, Policy and Law, Student Success, and Teamwork. Participants received continuing education credits.
TASB is a non-profit association established in 1949 to serve local public school boards. Texas school board members are the largest group of public elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 5.3 million public school students.
