By Raymond Linex, Corsicana ISD Executive Director of Communications
Corsicana ISD’s banner year continued Saturday, when its Board of Trustees was named Outstanding Board of the Year at txEDCON2023. The Texas Association of School Administrators recognition is the highest a Texas School Board can receive.
The honor comes just a few months after being named the Region 12 Board of the Year, and six months after being named the H-E-B Excellence in Excellence Small District of the Year.
“This Board is committed to children,” said the five-person selection committee, per a TASA press release Saturday. “They are focused on changing student lives in very real, visible ways that impact their futures. It’s not just about graduating kids but about preparing citizens of their community to be successful.”
The committee was impressed by the Board’s focus on the whole child as well as the trustees’ commitment to their community and advocacy for students on the local, state and federal levels, the release went on to state.
The Corsicana Board of Trustees is comprised of seven members: Dr. Seth Brown (President), Leah Blackard (Vice President), Barbara Kelley (Secretary), Cathy Branch, Jamie Roman, Kamar Chambers, and Brad Farmer. Each is elected to at-large positions for three-year terms, representing the entire community. Fourteen-year Superintendent Dr. Diane Frost works closely with the Board to lead CISD.
The Corsicana ISD Board of Trustees, left to right, Jamie Roman, Vice President Leah Blackard, Kamar Chambers, Superintendent Dr. Diane Frost, President Dr. Seth Brown, Secretary Barbara Kelley, Brad Farmer, and Cathy Branch, after winning the Texas Association of School Administrators Outstanding Board of the Year in Dallas Saturday.
“For Corsicana, this is a community award,” said Dr. Seth Brown, CISD Board President, at Saturday’s General Assembly after the announcement. “We can’t thank everyone back home enough for the job and commitment they have given CISD. … Thank you to the previous Boards that set the groundwork for today and to the future boards that will carry on this legacy. Thank you to Dr. Frost for believing in us and guiding us.
“We are truly a Team of Eight.”
Brown spoke on behalf of the Board at the state-wide convention held at Dallas’ Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Sponsored by TASA and the Texas Association of School Boards, it serves as the largest annual gathering of top-level public education leaders in Texas.
Corsicana ISD was one of five finalists, sharing the stage with Crowley, Montgomery, Texas City, and Ysleta ISDs before the announcement of the overall winner.
The TASA committee called the Corsicana Board “innovative, creative and forward-thinking,” and said that they “embody the concept of the Team of Eight” in its release,
“When we talk about a School Board that we want other Boards to emulate and look up to, this Board absolutely shined,” said the committee. “You can tell that they have worked together for many years. They demonstrate what an effective Board can do over time if they are allowed to work together with the superintendent and with the community on behalf of students.”
Frost’s tenure is both a testament of her leadership, and the product of cohesive Boards throughout her tenure that she was able to mesh with and move forward with while agreeing upon common goals.
“From my beginning here, Corsicana has been blessed with a group of caring individuals who have had our students as the center of attention and focus,” Dr. Frost said. “That focus leads to hiring, developing, and nurturing a great staff of teachers, professionals, and paraprofessionals. They give of their time, make the difficult decisions, and come together as a cohesive group to make the school district in community they call home one of the best in Texas.”