Leigh Ann Glaze, Superintendent of San Saba ISD, is the recipient of a scholarship to attend the Lamar University Superintendent Academy, an advanced leadership training program on Lamar University’s Beaumont campus. According to its Executive Director, Dr. Bob Thompson, participation in the Academy is by invitation only. The twenty-six superintendents in the 2010-2011 class were chosen from a list of approximately seventy nominees from Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. To be selected is an honor not only to the superintendent Thompson said, but also to his or her board and district. Without the support of forward-looking boards, no superintendent could have achieved the level of success and recognition necessary to be selected to the Academy.

At the Academy, Mrs. Glaze will review the latest technology for enhancing student learning, participate in advanced leadership training from some of the nation’s foremost trainers of company executives, and get training in the Decision Support Center, a high tech laboratory for improving the speed and quality of management decision making. Mrs. Glaze will also have an opportunity to visit other school districts to review practices that have helped make those districts successful.

Thompson says the knowledge superintendents glean from work in the Academy is immediately applicable to any district, regardless of size or location. To assist districts in incorporating these management concepts, the Academy will host a three day Visioning session in the spring for Academy superintendents and their boards where they will be led through joint leadership training and planning activities. They will also meet with boards and superintendents from similar sized districts to share ideas for increasing student achievement and developing a vision for the future.

The year-long Academy is designed to provide the most professional growth opportunities with the least amount of time away from the district.

Mrs. Glaze is in beginning her 16th year with San Saba ISD and her 4th year as Superintendent.