Two Texas legislators honored with Bell Leadership Awards

I commend the Texas Association of School Administrators for presenting two Texas teachers with an award for excellence in leadership. I worked for Secreatary of Education Terrell Bell in Washington, D.C., and appreciate TASA's honoring two educators with Terrel H. Bell Award.

Carlotta Brown, principal of Lora Peck Elementary in the Houston Independent School District, and Diane Parks, principal of Taylor Ray Elementary in the Lamar CISD, recently received the Terrel H. Bell Leadership Award from the Texas Association of School Administrators.

The award is named for Terrel H. Bell, a Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan who worked as a bus driver, teacher, principal and superintendent of schools before being named to the president's cabinet. The award recognizes outstanding educators who overcome difficult circumstances.

Brown followed her mother's footsteps to become a first-grade teacher in Houston and rose to become principal of Peck Elementary, which moved her school from an Academically Acceptable accountability rating to a Recognized rating in less than three years. Parks, who has served as principal at two schools in Lamar CISD, used data to determine which students needed targeted interventions and 100 percent of those students met the standards in math and writing and 99 percent met the standards in reading and science on the 2007 TAKS test.

Congratulations to these dedicated educators! - Peggy M. Venable