Richard White is alive and well!

Greetings!

At DISD School Board meetings, one of the first items of order is to recognize any dignitaries present. In that spirit, I would like the first posting of my blog to recognize the founding principal of one of the greatest high schools in America.

During the break at the DISD School Board briefing last Thursday, I heard a voice nearby introducing "Richard White". I perked up - the Richard White? The Richard White who convinced high school students that math, physics, and electromagnetic microscopes are glorious things? The Richard White who took the Science and Engineering Magnet from a half-day program to an independent high school that is nationally recognized? The same Richard White who promised prospective parents wonderful things about AP's and college prospects - and delivered?  (That was one of many things he excelled at - he could clearly define a goal, and he could clearly achieve it.)

Wow, Richard White!  I recalled a conversation I overheard amongst SEM teachers a couple of years ago. When Richard White started at SEM, it was a half-day program. Some of the kids couldn't pass the TASS (the beta version of TAKS) not because they couldn't do math, but because they couldn't read. I heard stories of reading circles, hours and hours of extra tutoring, lots of creative thinking solutions to bring kids up to grade level in reading and writing - at a math school! Richard White encouraged, hounded, badgered and nagged his staff and the kids to keep working, to not give up.

He was known for routinely "going to bat" for his school downtown at Ross Avenue, unrelenting as a bulldog. He recruited teachers that had industry experience. He was counter-cultural before it was cool. He and his team built a culture at SEM where a passion for physics can germinate and bloom. They proved Dallas students can do as well - or better - in AP classes as students anywhere in the US. The friendly competition between SEM and TAG for AP credits created so much success, they raised the bar for all the high schools district wide.

I caught up with Richard White as he was leaving the Dallas School Board meeting room. You know, I think he remembers every kid who ever walked through those SEM doors when he was there. He remembered my eldest daughter and asked where she ended up going to college. He remembered my second daughter, who didn't even go to SEM. She hates math, but came very close to applying to SEM simply because Richard White asked her to!

Thank you, Richard White, for all your work for DISD and the children of Dallas. My family has been profoundly blessed by it. Thanks to you and stubbornly tenacious educators like you who fight relentlessly to create and protect effective programs.