I interviewed Dr. Carrol A. Thomas, Superintendent of Beaumont ISD. Dr. Thomas is committed to students learning with success, parental involvement, communicating the district’s shared vision to the community, teachers teaching with the best curriculum resources, providing ongoing staff development, energizing all district personnel to grow, develop, and evolve into their career goals. It was a pleasure to interview with such an inspiring and knowledgeable Superintendent.
Q. What is your definition of leadership?
Response: Leadership is “Working with other individuals to get the job done.” Appointing personnel to the right job description helps to get things done. Everybody knows what’s expected and stays in their lane. He states as Superintendent, communicating the shared vision of the district, being honest and candid are essential to the outcome of a successful leadership team. He shared that he team works with a nine member Executive Cabinet on a daily basis. This collaborative effort ensures that everyone is moving in the same direction and focused on the common goals of the district’s mission statement and shared vision.
Q. What are the positive aspects of being in a leadership position, like Superintendent?
Response: Dr. Thomas shared that accomplishing goals set out to become a district of excellence is a positive aspect. Evaluating the data and celebrating growth in student performance, building positive relationships within the school district and community, serving a community that embraces change and sees improvement every day. Always maintaining focus on the end results, “Close the learning gaps to guarantee ALL students are successful.” He is really focused on student performanceQ. What are the attributes of a good Superintendent?
Response: Maintain a positive attitude during times of hardship because it is the right thing to do. He reflected on being supportive in encouraging individuals to be risk takers. Sometimes as Superintendent, one maybe faced with situations that challenge you to take risk. Always provide the facts and communicate what is going on in the district with all stakeholders. He felt that district staff should be well-informed of the philosophy of the Superintendent. I was impressed with his view on the use of power. He stated that power is best used when you don’t have to enforce it. The power play over people will only cause them to do what you make them do. Use power to motivate and provide encouragement to others. He believes in strong work ethics. Work hard and do the best job possible to accomplish the goal before you.
Q. What does ethical leadership look like?
Response: He described ethical leadership as building a system of trust and confidence. Ethical leadership is a standard of excellence in behavior. As stated before just do the right things by analyzing the situation to make sound decisions. When collaborating with others be honest in criticism and candid in a descent manner. Adhere to the policy and procedures. Everyone wants to do a great job. Communicate the expectations so that all understand the desired outcome.
Q. How does the Superintendent accomplish such a wide ranging strategic planning?
Response: We are a public entity and everyone shares in the vision that impacts the accountability system. Student Performance is a high priority for Dr. Thomas. To provide opportunity for the struggling learner to be successful a Re-teach Policy was put in place to provide an additional opportunity for teachers to provide instruction in a differentiated way. He talked about how every department from the central office staff, transportation, maintenance, and nutrition just to name a few visit campuses to view the teaching and learning process. He wants everyone to be aware of what programs are being implemented in the schools and how their job roles impact the learning process. With the end in mind everyone is focused on student performance.
The interview was lengthy and Dr. Thomas provided a wealth of information. Throughout the interview he made reference to these thoughts that I feel will be helpful to me as I plan and develop an effective internship: Be a knowledgeable student, be able to make good decisions, be honest and truthful, use common sense (doing the right things) communicate and collaborate with all stakeholders
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