After serving 12 years on the Garland ISD Board of Trustees, Larry Glick remains determined that Garland, Sachse and Rowlett kids get the best education possible.
“I love what I’m doing and I know that we [GISD Board of Trustees] are making a difference,” he said.
Glick added that the district had reached a high level a few years ago, then regressed a little. He acknowledged that test scores are not where they could be.
“We have the possibility of getting back where we were, which is one of the reasons we spent a lot of effort finding who we thought was the best superintendent in the country, and we got him in Dr. Ricardo Lopez,” Glick said. “Everything he has done so far has made me believe that it was the right decision and that we are on the right course. Any slippage has stopped and we are on the upward trend where we should be.”
Glick said that the board has to concentrate on what is the best education for every student.
“Once we stop thinking about that, we defeat the purpose of being here,” he said. “We as a board are on the same page and we need to make sure we stay there. That page is academic achievement.”
According to Glick, one of the weaknesses is test scores at the middle school level. All is well up to fifth grade and then scores improve at end of course testing for high school kids. He added that the district is working on that gap.
The trustee is happy with the progress of the 2014 bond package. He said that there are four major projects left to be completed. They are the North Garland High School band hall, South Garland High School band hall, Coyle Middle School band hall and the natatorium.
“Everything else is slowly wrapping up and should be finished by end of summer,” Glick said. “Those four will be going on for a good while.”
He is especially proud of the Gilbreath Reed Career and Technical Center, which was built with 2014 bond money.
“We had isolated pockets of tech that were really good but the problem was that if you wanted to be in that program, you had to go to that high school,” Glick said. “Parents are glad now that kids can go to any high school and still be in tech programs.”
He is excited about programs that continue to be added and said that there is room for expansion of the center. There are currently several new programs under consideration.
“As long as we stay on the cutting edge, our kids will get out and go to work and be on the same level as industry and that makes it easy to get the job,” Glick said.
He’s very proud that every student can find something at the center that interests them and that they can graduate with the right skills or some type of certificate that leads them to the next level, whatever that might be for them.
Glick acknowledged that GISD needs more programs for special needs students and said that the district is working on that. He steps up to help on a personal level by sponsoring classrooms for Morgan’s Wonderland trips. He has also helped with the purchase of letter jackets for the Special Olympics kids and has paid for doctor visits for students’ medical releases to participate.
“I remember when I was in school, a donor stepped up to be sure that I and a few others on our track team got letter jackets. That inspires me to do it for others now.”