Name: Dr. Bryan T. Taulton

Title: Superintendent of Schools

Organisation: Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD

Dr. Bryan T. Taulton was unanimously appointed as Superintendent of the Coldspring-Oakhurst Consolidated Independent School District on Thursday, May 27, 2021. Before being chosen to lead COCISD, he served as the superintendent of Goodrich ISD for three years, bringing to the district a laser focus on heightening student achievement, strengthening school-community relations and engagement, maintaining open lines of communication with all school community members, and renovating and modernizing district facilities to preserve its rich history and reinforce its infrastructure for the future.

As a data-driven instructional leader with in-depth knowledge of school reform strategies, Dr. Taulton wholeheartedly believes that the most important work in any education organization must be centered around what happens in the classroom as time is the most valuable resource, and obtaining a high-quality education is the great equalizer for humanity.

Thus, campuses must have dynamic principals who are sound instructional leaders and students must have access to the best teachers, every day, to ensure that they acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in subsequent grades, courses, and post-secondary settings.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, at a very young age, Bryan developed an unwavering desire for educational merit which has been a driving force in his professional practice and success as an educator. As a servant leader, his educational leadership philosophy and daily objective center upon being overtly immersed in doing whatever it takes to help both students and teachers excel in the classroom.

As a true lifelong learner who is extremely passionate about enriching and shaping the lives of students through education, Dr. Taulton is committed to having a profound impact on the school community in which he is entrusted to lead by fulfilling his mission to lay the foundation and lead the charge to educate and inspire students to achieve academic excellence, having them understand that acquiring a proper education opens the door to endless possibilities.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Educational Leadership!

I hope Dr. Bryan's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as an Educational Leader?

What I have found to be the most challenging as an educational leader is adapting to sometimes ever-changing educational policies, regulations, accountability measures, and unfunded mandates. Moreover, meeting the individual, academic, social, and emotional needs of all students with limited funding and resources poses dire challenges and compromises the quality of education that local education agencies provide.

2. How did you become an Educational Leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I became an educational leader because of my unwavering passion for academic excellence, commitment to lifelong learning, assertiveness, and developing and honing my leadership skills. I wholeheartedly believe that education is the great equalizer for humanity as it opens the door to endless possibilities. Growing up as an adolescent, I was always passionate about education which propelled me to excel in grade school and post-secondary settings, allowing me to earn my doctorate at just 31 years of age. Moreover, my passion for education carried me well through adulthood enabling me to live out my mission to serve students, staff, families, and communities as a teacher, campus leader, and now as superintendent of schools. It’s all about having a profound impact and positive influence on others.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I structure my workdays very meticulously to maximize time: Wakeup/Reflection Time: 4:00 A.M. Workout: 5: 00 A.M. - 6:15 A.M. -Light Breakfast Workday: 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. -Healthy Dinner Sleep: 11:00 P.M.

4. What's a recent lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of as an Educational Leader?

Model Professionalism, Ethics, and Integrity: Model professionalism in all you do, maintain your emotional temperament and poise at all times, lead ethically and with integrity as others are always paying close attention to how you respond in moments of crisis and adverse situations.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your journey as an Educational Leader so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted you?

Sean Covey's The Four Disciplines of Execution provides a powerful framework for achieving organizational and personal goals. The book emphasizes execution over strategy, helping individuals and teams translate their goals into actionable results. The four Disciplines of Execution provide a clear, actionable approach to overcoming the common challenges of execution, aligning efforts across teams, and achieving meaningful results. Its structured yet adaptable framework makes it widely applicable for businesses, teams, and individuals like me who aim to create high-performance organizations.

As a servant and results-driven leader laser-focused on improving student outcomes, The Four Disciplines of Execution impacted my approach to student goal setting and progress monitoring, action steps to attain goals, and accountability measures to drive results and create a high-performance district culture.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young educator who aspires to be an Educational Leader, what would you say to them?

Serve wholeheartedly as it is all about impacting students' lives.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as an Educational Leader, so far?

A few years ago, I was honored by my students with a song during National Principal’s Month https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvADZ-Z7sl4