Dr. Lee Wright Elected to Serve as Board Member of Great Expectations®
Tomball ISD Assistant Superintendent of Strategic Innovation Dr. Lee Wright was recently elected to serve as a new member of the Great Expectations® Board of Directors, announced by GE President and CEO, Dr. Linda Dzialo.
Tomball ISD has embraced Great Expectations® (GE) since it implemented the character education program back in 2015 as Dr. Wright played a pivotal role in that implementation as a campus Principal. Great Expectations® (GE) is a professional development program that provides teachers and administrators with the skills needed to create harmony and excitement within the school atmosphere, elements that are basic for inspiring students to pursue academic excellence. With a focus on human quality of teaching and learning, GE provides renewal and inspiration for teachers who may have lost their way and forgotten why they became teachers in the beginning.
"We are very proud that Dr. Wright has been selected to serve on the Great Expectations® Board of Directors," said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora. "He not only was a huge supporter from the beginning as we implemented GE® into Tomball ISD but has continued to be a true advocate for this wonderful program over the years. He understands the positive impact Great Expectations® has on our academic achievement and campus culture, and we are thankful for his leadership."
It was shortly after OIS implemented GE®, led by Dr. Wright, that the campus was recognized as a GE® Progressive School in its first year and then a GE® Model School in Spring 2017, just the second year of GE® engagement.
“Dr. Salazar-Zamora introduced me and several other principals to Great Expectations® in the Spring of 2015,” said Dr. Wright. “The opportunity to open Oakcrest Intermediate in the Fall of 2015 as a GE school was incredibly exciting. We were able to enthusiastically immerse ourselves in a culture of respect and academic excellence, as GE® promotes. The teachers collaborated to develop resources to share and our Call to Excellence assembly each morning set the tone for high expectations and high support.”
After four successful years leading OIS as campus Principal, Dr. Wright accepted a District leadership position where he was charged with overseeing the District implementation of Great Expectations®.
“Dr. Wright envisioned the power of opening Oakcrest Intermediate with the entire staff and faculty trained in GE® as a rare opportunity to begin their journey with the same language, goals, vision, and sense of purpose,” said Dzialo. “After moving to district leadership, Dr. Wright kept his focus on the implementation of Great Expectations® to additional Tomball ISD schools. He encouraged principals and educators to reach for full implementation of the GE® 17 instructional, evidence-based Practices.”
Dr. Wright not only regularly communicates with GE® leadership, he coordinates the GE® Summer Institute in Tomball, supports GE® campuses across Tomball ISD each year by attending all GE® Model School celebrations, coordinates professional GE® learning opportunities for teachers, and hosts guests who want to see Great Expectations® in action.
Since 2015, all 11 Tomball ISD elementary schools and all three intermediate campuses are currently GE® schools with 11 of those 14 campuses recognized as GE® Model Schools.
“For me to be nominated and to join the Great Expectations® Board of Directors is one of the great honors of my career,” said Dr. Wright. “GE® aligns to my core values as a leader, promotes tenets that empower educators to transform learning, and provides a consistent system of positive support that equip students to achieve success.”
“Dr. Wright is a true champion for Great Expectations® and for Tomball ISD,” Dzialo said.
Source: Tomball ISD
