Baylor grads honored among the best in Texas public education
What kind of educators does Baylor’s School of Education produce? Why, the best in Texas, that’s all. In 2015 alone, Baylor graduates have been named:
* Texas’ Superintendent of the Year — Dr. Michael McFarland, BBA ’93, EDD ’05, became the second Baylor grad in four years to win this honor. McFarland has led Lancaster ISD in south Dallas since 2010, an area where 90+% of the student population is economically disadvantaged. Under his guidance, Lancaster ISD’s graduation rate has topped 95%.
* Texas’ top elementary principal (H-E-B) — Aaron Pena, BSEd ’97 (pictured), received this honor at the 2015 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards earlier this month. Pena has served as an educator for nearly 20 years, including the last four leading Woodway Elementary School in Midway ISD, a Waco suburban district, where he has helped bring a renewed focus on science (including a state champion robotics team).
* Texas’ top elementary principal (TEPSA) — Diane Gough, BSEd ’81, was named Texas’ 2015 National Distinguished Principal by the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association. As principal at Hewitt Elementary School (just outside Waco), Gough is known as “the wise one” who often sets trends for the district, from a kindness initiative to a program encouraging dads’ involvement at school.
* Texas’ elementary teacher of the year — Whitney Crews, BSEd ’96, a sixth-grade social studies and science teacher, has been at E.J. Moss Intermediate in Lindale ISD (90 miles east of Dallas) for 17 of her 18 years in education. She credits her success with students to a willingness to try new ideas, no matter how crazy they may seem. [Read what Crews’ daughter wrote about her mother’s honor for the Lindale High School newspaper.]
Sic ’em, Baylor educators!
You might also like:
* School of Ed dean wins Texas lifetime achievement award (Nov. 2014)
* Local public school partnership led by Baylor receives statewide honor (April 2014)
* Noted alum honored for extraordinary contributions to higher education in Texas (Feb. 2013)