Current GISD board of trustees secretary, Linda Griffin, is seeking re-election to the board’s place 3 seat.
Griffin is pleased with the success of the current board and feels that there are numerous accomplishments to be celebrated.
“As a district and as a board, we have made great strides in academic programs and improving academic performance,” she said. “I’m proud of the fact that we have nationally recognized campuses, Blue Ribbon schools and districtwide successful AVID programs.”
Griffin also mentioned the variety of Garland ISD magnets, the gifted and talented program, math, science and technology opportunities, career and technical programs and classical centers as additional sources of pride for the district.
“We have been able to include a number of career and technical programs – cosmetology, welding, medical assistant, automotive program and more,” she said. “All of these benefit our kids and give them many options.”
Griffin gives the teachers and campus administrators credit for GISD’s success.
“I’m most proud of our teachers and campus administrators because as we’ve had to adjust to changes at the state and federal levels, they have stepped up to make us accountable,” she said. “GISD teachers are outstanding.”
The district must continue to provide professional development opportunities and needs to look at more career advancement for the staff that have dedicated themselves to Garland ISD and have helped it grow and become the great district that it is.
“Without top-quality teachers and administrators at our campuses, we would not have been able to have the success we enjoy in our college readiness and preparation programs, our dual credit programs and the program that allows students to earn an associate degree as they earn their high school diplomas,” Griffin said. “Our teachers are doing a great job of keeping up with the trends and changes and that’s what makes Garland ISD a great district.”
Griffin explained that she is focusing on three target areas in her bid for re-election: Students, parents/community and teachers/staff.
For the students, she feels that the early childhood programs should be expanded to provide a seamless transition from early childhood to elementary school to, middle school, high school and then college.
Additionally, the students must be prepared to compete globally and that will require improvements in the language and bilingual programs. Griffin also advocates expansion of the exchange program.
She feels that improvement is needed in parental and community engagement and that the district must find a creative way to involve parents.
“We must not stop until we find a way to engage all parents,” Griffin said. “Research shows that parental involvement increases student performance.”
She added that the community expects fiscal, safety and academic accountability from the district and said that she is committed to financial transparency, the safety of GISD students and staff and academic excellence.
Griffin said that she has no problem with asking questions so that she has the necessary information to make decisions.
“When I vote, I study my material, I research, I ask questions. I think everyone will agree that in the meetings, I am the one asking questions,” she said.
This candidate is aware of the low morale among the staff and has seen that evidenced in recent survey responses.
“We have implemented new programs and processes and changed many procedures too quickly without assessing the risk. I think constant newness is big part of the low morale,” Griffin said. “The new programs and processes require training which consumes the teachers’ and administrators’ personal time.”
She acknowledged that new things are good but said that the number of changes and speed with which they have been implemented has caused discomfort for the staff.
“At some point, we have to just stop and reassess what we have done,” Griffin said.
She believes strongly in transparency in every aspect of Garland ISD business. Additionally, she is committed to addressing problems and complaints but as a board member, she doesn’t always know about them. Griffin encourages people to let her know about problems and said that she will take them to the board to be addressed.
Griffin’s motto is “Always Benefiting Children.
“In all of my decisions, I make sure that I understand what the outcome will be for the children because they come first,” she said.