When All You Can Do After 10 Years Is Blog...

(Photo from Amanda Brim)

There are costs to living the #Nolana21 lifestyle in McAllen (see my FB page if you don't understand the hashtag). Most of that cost centers around my children, especially my eldest. She will graduate in June, and I've missed a lot of lasts: the last Halloween, the last influenza episode, perhaps the last tennis match she plays. I've missed soccer games and choir concerts with the other two, but I maintain hope there will be more to come.
But there is another cost that cuts like a scalpel tonight.
I received a text from my wife, DeAnn. This is all it said:

Hope your day went well!!
I'm finally getting my ten yr bowl from pisd!

I texted back: When?

Then I saw my Facebook feed...tonight, my beloved will be recognized for teaching, remediating, intervening, administrating, and leading at the Pflugerville Independent School District--for ten years. A local artist makes bowls honoring the occasion, and DeAnn Henley has earned one for the first time. She spent decades being schlepped around by an ambitious husband, moving every three years or so. This marked a sea change...or at least a respite.

She wasn't hired, at first. She was insistent that she would work at the same school her daughter and son attended. Those principals didn't seem interested. She volunteered as a parent during the first week of school. Suddenly, these same principals found themselves with too many kindergarteners in September. They saw how she handled masses of children adroitly. My son's kindergarten teacher was impressed and pushed for her hire. She began her PISD career with the kids the other teachers decided to "assign" to her. You can imagine how...eventful...that was. Note that whenever a principal left one elementary school to take over another, they made it a point to bring Mrs. Henley with them.

In the decade that transpired, DeAnn Henley became a leader. It's always been natural for her, but she has never been one to stand in front of others demanding attention. Instead, she drives meaningful change from within. She took a union local from 16 members to over 500 members, making the Pflugerville Educators Association a powerful force in the district and the Texas State Teachers Association. Her work has led to documentaries at the National Education Association: check the 59 second mark on this one:

DeAnn's work in challenging schools would become fodder for a movie--if she worked at a charter school. This is the person that brought Response to Intervention to the district before it was cool--before AIR even hosted the website.

She makes out-of-control kids focus, struggling students learn, troubled parents calm, struggling teachers better, and more "official" leaders look good.

Tonight, for ten years of helping others achieve their status in life, she will receive a token of appreciation. Luckily, she really likes these bowls! She has a collection, in fact.

She didn't even tell her husband. Probably because she knew I'd show up from 350 miles away. Perhaps she never thought the recognition was worth mentioning.

That's the kind of educator--and person--she is:  understated...and incredibly effective.

Congratulations, DeAnn!