I told a friend some time ago that one of my biggest fears is not remaining relevant. I have always seen myself as someone constantly seeking innovative ways. I felt I did this as a campus principal: communicate early and often in out-of-the-box ways, try new methods to engage students both inside and outside the classroom, and keep students at the center of all we do. As a school superintendent, this approach is no different. I guess my thinking is that I never want to be status quo. Even while challenging the status quo, I can hear my mentor Troy Mooney saying, “sustainability matters.” Even as you innovate and step outside the box, you must undertake initiatives that are sustainable, often for the long haul. I also know that while I love to innovate and think outside the box, I can sometimes be all over the place. I’ve learned that I must have direction. One thing our board and leadership team decided was that we needed a strategic plan in our district, as well as profiles of a learner, leader, and educator. This involved defining our mission and vision, as well as determining what we wanted our students to know or who we wanted them to be by the time they graduated from Hempstead ISD. We also needed input to do this. What I love about the strategic plan is that it still allows me to innovate and think outside the box, but now I have this plan to test against it to ensure that it aligns with what we say we must do in our district.

The strategic planning process has been great for Hempstead ISD. The process and the document have been beneficial, but what has been even greater is our implementation plan. Our wonderful Assistant Superintendent leads the effort to ensure everything we say we are going to do, we are doing. It is so awesome to watch all of our campuses and various action teams work bi-weekly or monthly to discuss their strategies and actions, and it’s even more awesome to see it taking shape. Everyone knows their roles and executes them, with accountability measures in place to ensure that these plans are carried out at a high level.

I had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Ruth Simmons, the former President of Prairie View A&M University and Brown University. Our conversation was deep and robust, but the greatest lesson she taught me was that all leaders of organizations need to take time to dream and to do so uninterrupted. She told me, “Herbert, your board hired you to have vision and to dream; you must take time to do that. No one else in the organization is paid to dream and set vision. You must schedule time in your calendar to do that.” I will say I am not where Dr. Simmons is with dreaming – she schedules an entire day to do that – but I have remained faithful to reading and spending time thinking like a visionary when I take breaks and find quality time to do it. As I mentioned earlier, as we work to transform Hempstead ISD, we cannot do it with the status quo. In a previous blog, I wrote about our need to improve student outcomes. I have been super impressed with our Teaching and Learning team and how they have transformed instruction in Hempstead ISD. It again goes back to our mission, vision, and our objectives in our strategic plan. The main focus is, “Our students will find joy in learning.” I know it sounds cliché, but I really want our students to love learning and always be eager to learn.

I know I’ve said a lot, but what I have learned in this job is to always have a plan, follow through on the plan, keep the board informed, and never stop innovating while keeping the focus on our students. And let me be clear, with all of that, we must ensure that our teachers have the time and support to execute all the things we are trying to do. Our students must behave in a manner that allows for teachers to teach at a high level. If they don’t, there will be consequences. And we will always receive them back with a smile.

Just a few of my scattered thoughts