Dr. Holly Ferguson | Superintendent, Prosper ISD

In Simon Sinek’s book, The Infinite Game, he writes about “Existential Flexibility.” This term resonates with me, and I am assuming, many other leaders across the nation. Existential Flexibility is the capacity to initiate an extreme disruption to a business model or strategic course to more effectively advance a “Just Cause.” Our Just Cause in education is our students, staff, parents and community. All of these stakeholders have been longing for Existential Flexibility. The one thing that makes us as strong as we are in education is the uniting of all these stakeholders to impact the most precious resource in our schools: our students.

After the last 19 months, public education is in a state none of us ever dreamed of when we think about our hopes, dreams and aspirations for those we serve. Public education is not in its normal state. It is not a mess, nor is it a disaster. Still, we experienced some rough waters — COVID, a dynamic political environment, the “big freeze,” anxiety, frustration, doubt, mask vs. no mask — that have made for a very challenging situation.

As we prepare for the next school year, we have a chance to do a 180-degree turn to provide those we serve with a calming presence that education has always brought to our world. We have a window of opportunity for rebirth and refocus of what we are here for and why we exist, our Just Cause. That opportunity resides in reconnecting and relationships. It is incumbent on me as superintendent of Prosper ISD to ensure we take advantage of this opportunity.

Here are our areas of focus as we reconnect with our staff and our community.

Connect with New Teachers

Sometimes in education, we send the wrong message that people are lucky to work for us. I adhere to a different perspective. Last year was hard, and we are all mentally and physically tired. Yet, I am energized by the opportunity to connect with the approximately 400 new employees we are hiring to meet our enrollment growth.

I recognize and acknowledge these talented educators could have gone anywhere, and I applaud the fact they chose us and want to be with us. They believe we offer hope for a better place, a better opportunity — why would we not grab that energy and help guide them in the right direction?

This spring, I began meeting with every new teacher to thank them for choosing Prosper ISD and to connect with them. Our time is spent telling the story of Prosper ISD and providing them with a positive narrative about the great things occurring in public education. I want them to be ready to share the story of Prosper ISD before they ever work one day in our district. I want them to know that it will take every one of us to have an impact and make a difference in the most extraordinary way.

New employees need to know Prosper’s core belief: we are grounded by tradition and soaring to new beginnings. As we grow, we must never lose the essence of who we are and how we got to this point.

Existing employees know these things because they have been here, and they have the first-hand experience in the things that make Prosper unique. They understand why we have been recognized as one of the Top 100 places to work for seven years running in DFW.

Existing employees know we are a tradition-rich, forward-thinking institution. For example, we have a college recruiter for athletics to assist our students in navigating the college scholarship systems. There is college scholarship money out there we can get for our students who want to go to college. We go the extra step to assist in many things like this.

We must ensure our newest family members know those things too. Those are foundational pieces of who we are and many reasons we can place quality teachers in front of our students. It is my responsibility to ensure we tell the Prosper ISD story.

Our School Board Connects

In most school districts, school boards serve in traditional roles. They hire and evaluate the superintendent, approve the budget and set the vision and direction for the school district. Then, they pass the baton to the superintendent, who implements board policies and drives the vision and direction throughout the organization.

Indeed, our board fulfills those responsibilities, yet they take a slightly different slant we like to call the “Prosper Promise.” Our board is highly grateful for the high-quality educators who choose to work for Prosper ISD. We are all fortunate to work for a board that cares for its employees and transitions those thoughts into action, what they do for our employees.

Our veteran employees recognize our board’s efforts; however, our newest employees have probably never met our board. How will they know that story if I am not the one conveying that message? As a leader, it is my responsibility to connect our school board to our employees by telling the story of our board’s compassion, dedication and commitment to excellence.

Several specific examples of what our school board does immediately come to mind. When school started last year, our board recognized the financial impact COVID was having on our employees. Our board approved a monetary bonus for all employees to help mitigate that.

As the holidays approached, once again, the school board recognized many Prosper ISD employees might not be able to buy things for their families during the holidays, and again, stepped forward with another financial bonus.

Recognizing the emotional pressures of teaching with COIVD constraints, our board amended our school calendar by changing a February professional development day to one where our employees could take care of their own social-emotional needs.

As the elected representatives of our community, our board chooses to appreciate those high-quality educators who come to PISD. It is an essential connection for our employees to know, but most importantly, our school board never loses sight of the fact that their decisions and the things they do impact our students directly.

Reconnecting with Parents

Unfortunately, in public education, the absence of timely information creates a vacuum that is most often filled with negative narratives. As leaders, we have a responsibility to fill in that narrative with a steady flow of information.

I submit the notion that educators can be our own worst enemy. We are notorious for under-communicating. We tell our staff, students, parents and stakeholders something one time during the year, and we never repeat it. Then we get irritated because they do not remember what we said.

I have certainly been guilty of that, and when I realized it, I thought to myself, “Well, shame on me.” As leaders, we must be like a broken record that keeps playing the same verse repeatedly. We need to have a plan for consistent communication so that people are at the point of going, “I know — I know — I know what you’re going to say. I’ve got it.”

In talking with my executive cabinet recently, I wanted to know their communication plan for engaging with our parents and community. How are you going to communicate with our stakeholders? I wanted to know how they would work that plan from now until May of next year. How are we going to connect with our community, not just once, but throughout the year?

After the disruptive impact of COVID, Prosper ISD’s commitment for the next school year is reconnecting with our students, our parents, our community and, honestly, with each other. This is how we change the narrative and make things better for the 5 million+ public education students in Texas.

One example comes to mind. Prosper ISD just purchased one of the most iconic, historically significant buildings in our town to repurpose into our Family Resource Center, a place where families come together to learn about resources and support for our special needs students and their families.

Instead of just publishing its availability on our website or mentioning it at the beginning of the year, I challenged our Chief of Specialized Programs to commit at least four times a year that there will be events where parents can come into that Resource Center and tour this fantastic facility and connect with her.

But more importantly, during those tours, we can build relationships and help special needs families realize what resources and supports are available. Our families will have an opportunity to meet the chief of that program and her staff. Think about that for just a moment. They are reconnecting with Prosper’s past (the historical building) and repurposing that facility to access resources that hold the promise that our students will have a better tomorrow.

This is one example of why thousands of my colleagues and I in Prosper ISD chose education as our profession and our avocation. It is why our school board members volunteer their time to serve this community.

I get passionate about planning for next year because I am getting ready to be the superintendent, not just a firefighter. We all got into education for kids, and it is exciting to reconnect with our communities and get back to the beginning and ending our day with our Just Cause.

Reconnecting — It’s Our Superpower.

Dr. Holly Ferguson serves the Prosper ISD community as its Superintendent of Schools. She, along with her board and dedicated PISD educators, are committed to their Just Cause: to transform the design of education while continuing a strong commitment to relationships with their students, families and community. She may be reached at HJFerguson@prosper-isd.net.

Follow Power Supers for more inspirational stories from superintendents across the state.