Kilgore College trustee Jon Rowe greets newly-hired Gladewater ISD superintendent Rae Ann Patty at last week’s GISD board meeting. Photo by James Draper
The Gladewater ISD School Board’s special meeting Nov. 7 lasted the better part of 45 seconds as trustees unanimously approved Rae Ann Patty’s contract to become the district’s Superintendent of Schools.
Sporting GISD’s signature orange, “I want to thank all of you for coming. It means a lot to my family and me for you to be here,” Patty told the crowd in the administration building on the Broadway School grounds. “We’re excited to be here and cannot wait to get started, to get to know everybody and to continue the excellence that you guys have already begun.
“That’s all we want to do – to continue to get better and better and to provide the best for our kids. That’s what it’s all about: the kiddoes.”
Patty and her husband, Toby, will be relocating to Gladewater from Waskom – where she most recently served as the WISD superintendent – and were welcomed by a healthy crowd of well-wishers at last week’s reception. The audience and trustees also offered their thanks to outgoing interim school chief Mike Morrison, who will continue to serve through the transition to Patty’s official first day, Dec. 2.
There’s still a lot of work, preparation and research ahead before Patty takes the reins early next month.
“We’re just gonna have to get in there, look around, see what all they’ve got going,” Patty said Monday. While she’s familiarizing herself with the ins and outs of the district the next few weeks, “I know they have some places where they want to improve in curriculum and instruction and do things a little differently. I’m about to start digging into the data and see what’s going on and see where we go.”
This week, Patty will be working with the school’s instructional teams and meeting with department leaders to get the lay of the land.
“I’m a very collaborative leader. I want to be able to get in and collaborate with the school board. Being a team of eight is very important to me. Their support has been phenomenal to this point,” she noted. “We seem to be on the same page about a lot of things as far as wanting to coach and mentor and grow people in Gladewater – wanting them to move the district in good directions.
“Gladewater’s already moving in a good direction, but anywhere you go there’s always going to be places to improve and do a little better.”
A key goal will be to ensure a strong, viable, aligned curriculum is providing high-quality instructional material to teachers.
“That makes their jobs easier when they get into the classroom,” Patty added. “That’s one of the first things I want to evaluate. People spend a lot of time on their own planning. We want to make sure they’re providing students with rich, qualified instructional materials.
“My philosophy is that good teaching is good teaching. If you provide high-quality instruction in your classroom, the other things such as state assessments are going to take care of themselves.
Among a lot of upcoming meetings on her schedule, Patty also said she’s eager to dig into activities such as Ag, Athletics, Band, Choir and other Fine Arts opportunities at GISD.
“I’m a big proponent of all the extracurricular activities,” she said. Older students want their time at school to be filled with friends and fun. “I was that student who went to school to play basketball and be with my friends. Getting an education was not my priority when I was in school. It was all the other things that got me to school that allowed me to receive a good education.”
That said, “I want to make sure that we’re providing everything we can for our kids to be able to have a well-rounded education. What do (teachers) need from me to support them to make that the best experience for children as well?”
Those programs may be rolling in a good direction already, Patty added. They may not need any particular enhancement, but she wants to make sure everything’s shored up.
“I just want to make sure that for every group of kids that are interested that we have something they can be involved in so they can receive the best well-rounded education.”
It’s important for the superintendent to get out in the community, Patty said, and to learn what locals want for their school. She’s already had a chance to take part in theater arts activities and the Gladewater Band’s recent send-off to marching competition.
“From what I have seen in the community and the people I have talked to, Gladewater has some very rich traditions. We want to make sure we honor those rich traditions and continue those.”
Likewise, what are Gladewater ISD parents’ hopes for their children?
“The only way to know that is to get out there and participate,” Patty said. “I want to know, because what parents want for their children makes a difference as well.
“Kids want to have fun, and parents want things to be educational and have fun. I want to make sure that we’re meeting the needs for everyone.”
Once all of those key elements are covered, Patty says she’ll be ready to mesh GISD’s momentum with her personal strengths and aspirations.
“For me, it’s about being very collaborative and mentoring and helping people.”
– By James Draper