Beaumont Independent School District
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Superintendent
Dr. Carrol A. Thomas
Superintendent of Schools
Beaumont Independent School District
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Dr. Carrol A. Thomas
Dr. Carrol A. Thomas, author of "T-Notes: Nuggets of Wisdom for Educators," is a highly sought-after educational leader who is renowned for his work in inspiring those in communities and government to achieve the best for those who depend on public education. He excites youth to learn, teachers to teach, staff persons to support and administrators to lead. Thomas is charismatic, intelligent and committed to the educational development of children.
Thomas has served as Superintendent of Schools for the Beaumont Independent School District since July 11, 1996. The BISD Board of Trustees that unanimously hired him expressed confidence that Thomas is committed to quality education and will focus on the tasks at hand.
Thomas came to Beaumont from North Forest Independent School District in Houston, Texas, where his work earned him the Superintendent of the Year for Region 4, and he was one of three finalists for the award of Superintendent of the Year in the State of Texas. Under Thomas' leadership, North Forest I.S.D. was the first and only school district to move from "Accredited Warned", the lowest level the State places on a district, to "Fully Accredited" in one year.
When Thomas came to BISD, the district was one of the lowest performing districts in the state. BISD is now ranked among the top school districts in Texas for improving student performance. The district has gone from only one campus receiving state recognition in 1996, to over one-third of the 32 sites receiving either recognized or exemplary status in recent years. The district also had 12 campuses to receive the prestigious Successful School Award granted by the Texas Education Agency. In addition, the District's Headstart Program received the Program of Excellence Award from the Texas Headstart Association for 100 percent compliance. Also, Odom Academy, serving grades 6-8, and one of the District's magnet schools, was selected as one of Texas Nominees for Blue Ribbon Schools by the United States Department of Education. Several of the schools in the district have received other recognition and honors, including being listed by Texas Monthly as a top 20 school.
Shortly after Thomas arrived in Beaumont, Texas, he began the design of a new Student Assignment Plan, one that ended years of turmoil over integration in Beaumont. The entire community accepted the plan and it was endorsed by the local Chamber of Commerce, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), as well as many other organizations. The plan, which gives students a choice of schools to attend, was selected by The Coalition for Public Schools In Texas as one of the top three in the state for "Expanding School Choice." Thomas was requested to present the plan to his colleagues across the state at a Texas Education Agency conference.
Enrollment is stable and both staff and student attendance rates have improved drastically; discipline problems have steadily declined and morale has improved throughout the District and community, as seen by a reduction of complaints by staff and patrons.
In addition to Thomas' duties as superintendent of schools, he finds time for civic and community involvement. He is a member of numerous professional and civic organizations and has received nearly every honor bestowed upon an educator in Texas—including Educator of the Month for the Texas School Business Magazine. Thomas was also cited by the Texas Legislature for outstanding leadership as a superintendent, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals recognized him as one of the nation's top administrators. In 1998, Thomas was honored as one of 11 Exemplary Texas Superintendents by the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Texas-Austin. This group of superintendents were recognized because of their outstanding success in increasing student achievement as found by the University of Texas Dana Center study.
Thomas earned a bachelor of science degree from Texas A&I, his superintendent's certificate from Texas Tech and his doctorate from Texas Southern University.
He is married to Linda, an elementary school principal, father of two daughters, Carol Lynn and Gracie Elizabeth. Both living in Southeast Texas, Carol Lynn is a dentist and Gracie Elizabeth is assistant principal while working on her doctorate.
As school superintendents, we've seen data empower us to make better decisions. The Northside Independent School District has employed data to drive a culture of improvement over the last seven years. We can make broad, sweeping adjustments or very specific course corrections based on variables we're able to assess. For instance, our data showed that we needed to improve our math and science scores. We determined how best to address that issue through data gathering, analysis and developing a plan of action. Now that we're implementing that plan and monitoring its effectiveness, we're evaluating variables like how English as a Second Language (ESL) students fare in math and science at different grade levels and how their grasp of the English language affects their performance. We continually assess, plan, implement and adjust to meet our district's needs.
In the Beaumont Independent School District, we use performance management data to make decisions with confidence. The data allows us to combine the art and science of teaching: We apply a scientific approach to complement the art of teaching and personal connection with the students. And we've found the truth is in the numbers. When we compared performance campus to campus, it gave us a realistic — and very eye-opening — perspective. In fact, some of the schools that should be performing better weren't, and some of the things we thought were issues really weren't, and vice versa. Data-driven decision making has changed our jobs as superintendents because it allows us to work smarter and focus on student success.
The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation announced a $10 million commitment to help build a Texas Student Data System that will improve the way student data is collected, managed and reported statewide. We are fortunate to be a part of a state education system that puts so much emphasis on collecting data, and the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) holds a rich repository of facts and figures. But as frequent users of PEIMS, we know that it's laborious, time-consuming and often requires the comparison of several disparate data sources to build a cohesive picture of a district or a classroom. Even more challenging is to empower teachers with comprehensive, individual student records for a full snapshot of how students are progressing and where they need help.
But it's not just about having the data — districts must adopt a culture of data-driven decision making. Performance management may be met with resistance at first. So we've found that the training to show principals and teachers the application of these processes, tools and dashboards is imperative to help them embrace the idea of a performance-management culture.
And finally, we must remember that while the collection of this data is important, behind every number, there is a student. The Texas Student Data System will no doubt help our state close the achievement gap and may even help us compete for federal funding. But we see the real value in equipping our teachers with the information they need to help each and every student striving to learn in our classrooms and build a brighter future.
