The first semester has certainly flown by quickly!  And what a positive and productive first semester it has been - as usual, our students and staff have done a superb job in their academic as well as extracurricular endeavors.

Because this is the season when we give thanks for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon us, I wanted to write an article that expressed how thankful I am for one of the greatest blessings in my life – the opportunity to work within the Lubbock-Cooper ISD for the past 17 ½ years.  In reading over some of the bulletins and articles that I have sent out to the staff during my tenure at LCISD, I found one that I wrote many years ago that did a pretty good job of describing why I love my job so much.  I wrote this Superintendent’s Bulletin 13 years ago (October, 1996), but my feelings today are exactly as they were way back then.  I wrote this article shortly after returning from a three day weekend (Friday had been a “bad weather” day).  I would like to share it with you at this time:

Superintendent's Bulletin October 31, 1996

Have you ever been thinking about something and then all of a sudden you heard or saw something that was directly related to what you were thinking about?  It happened to me on the way to work this past Monday morning.  I was thinking about an article I had read in a magazine recently about people’s feelings toward their jobs, and how some people absolutely hate going to work everyday.  I was thinking how lucky I am because I love going to work everyday, even on this cold rainy Monday morning following a three day weekend. 

I could do other things.  I have done other things,  and I even took a $10,000 per year salary cut when, at the age of 30, I decided to do something I had always had the desire to do – TEACH.  I miss teaching now, but I know that I can still have a positive impact in the lives of students in my role as Superintendent.  I know that I can have a positive impact by providing teachers and instructional aides with the resources and the support they need to accomplish their educational mission.  I can ensure that an educational climate exists at Lubbock-Cooper that values teamwork, collaboration and shared decision-making.  I can have a positive impact in the lives of our students by working closely with the Board of Trustees to adopt programs designed to enhance the academic effectiveness of this district. 

These were my thoughts as I turned south off of FM 1585 onto the access road leading to Hwy. 87.  As I approached the onramp to Hwy. 87, I noticed a little girl standing alone by a trailer house waiting for her school bus in the cold, dark drizzle.  As I entered the ramp onto 87, I turned once more and glanced at this little girl standing there waiting for her bus.  I couldn’t help but smile as I turned to finish the drive to Cooper and my job.  I smiled because I know what I do for a living and what you do for a living will make a difference in the life of that little girl and hundreds like her throughout the years.  That’s a pretty good reason to go to work on a cold, rainy Monday morning following a three day weekend, don’t you think?

On behalf of the Lubbock-Cooper Board of Trustees, administration and staff, I would like to wish the Cooper Community a very Merry Christmas and joyful holiday season.

Pat Henderson