We're back to share another bonus episode of our podcast, CCISD to the Fullest. Today’s episode is our time spent with Principal Sharon Lopez of Clear Brook High School. Dr. Lopez talked to us about what becoming a principal looked like for her, what she is grateful for, and some advice for others to live CCISD to the Fullest.
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Speaker 1
On.
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Speaker 2
Hey, Clear Creek ISD. It’s Dava West again. Here to share another bonus episode of our podcast CCSID to the Fullest. Today's episode is our time spent with Principal Sharon Lopez of Clear Brook High School. Sharon talked to us about what becoming a principal looked like for her, what she is grateful for, and some advice for others, to living CCISD to the fullest.
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Speaker 3
But all right, we are going to get started. Welcome, Dr. Lopez. It's nice to have you here with us. So we're going to start off with a simple question. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
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Speaker 1
First of all, just thank you for having me. What an honor to be here to talk to you today. Just to tell you a little bit about myself. I grew up playing sports my whole life. Like that was just something that my parents put me in. And I just feel so blessed to have that opportunity to grow in my leadership skills.
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Speaker 1
And I feel like that's a big extracurricular. Activities are huge for our students and that was a huge part of my life. And one of the reasons that I am the person that I am today with those leadership skills that I learned being in athletics and so grew up, went to I did go to private school from kindergarten to eighth grade, and then my parents put me in public school in high school.
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Speaker 1
So that was a big part of my journey is being put in a ninth grade into a huge public school and being just very terrified had a lot of anxiety about going to such a large school, coming from a smaller school. And so that that part of my journey really helped solidify. I want kids to feel comfortable when they come to school because in high school I never felt completely comfortable because of the change from a small school to a really large public school.
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Speaker 1
But playing sports did help with that and being part of the athletic teams and having that family atmosphere, being part of volleyball and softball and ended up playing college athletics at Sam Houston and played softball there and just loved it and loved the athletic atmosphere you're in. That's what kind of landed myself into getting into education.
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Speaker 3
Great. What position did you play?
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Speaker 1
Pitcher, First, and third. Okay. So they couldn't take me out of the game because I could hit the ball myself.
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Speaker 2
So do you mind sharing where the the your pre-K, I mean, your kindergarten through high school experience was What part of was it in Louisiana? Texas.
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Speaker 1
Oh, Texas. I went to well, I went to kindergarten to eighth grade. I went to school at St Pius in Pasadena, and Dr. Silva's mother, Ms. Nasser was actually my kindergarten teacher. Connections. Connections, Yes. It took us a while to figure that out. But she was an amazing teacher, so. And when I was high school, high school was at North Shore High School.
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Speaker 1
Yes, Big, Big six A high school. Great football. They weren't that great of football when I was there. But they got they got really good towards the end of my high school.
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Speaker 2
Yes. So I can only imagine going from small to big. That was a big step.
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Speaker 1
Yes, it was a big step. And lots of nerves about going to such a large school and not knowing as many people because I didn't go to all the I didn't go to a surrounding school there. A lot of my friends from private school went to other private schools or other they went to other high schools because we didn't have a feeder school per say to that school.
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Speaker 2
So moving. So if you can think back, moving from such a small school to a big, big school, you said that the extracurriculars kind of made it a little bit easier. Was that because you had some connections then within the school? Do you remember?
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Speaker 1
It just made it easier because I got to know students faster. You know, being part of volleyball, you start actually start volleyball before school starts. So I already had those built in friendships. And so that's one thing that I truly believe. The more kids we can get involved into extracurricular activities, the better off that they're going to be.
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Speaker 1
And they're going to feel assimilated and they're going to feel that family atmosphere in school, because that is definitely what helped me, is having those other ladies being just built in friends and built in for family. Being part of that volleyball and softball program at North Shore High School.
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Speaker 3
So what brought you to CCISD?
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Speaker 1
Oh, it was quite a journey, bringing me to CCISD. So I actually taught a year at Waller and I taught at Brazos Wood, but and also coached I coached along the way as well. And then I was at Pearland for six years as well, and I became while I was at Pearland, I became an assistant principal and my principal at Pearland, Dr. Staley moved to Clear Brook.
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Speaker 1
Okay. And she, she loves Clear Creek ISD And she, she grew up in Clear Creek ISD And went to Clear Creek and worked at Clear Brook before. And when she became the principal at Clear Brook, she sold me on how great the district was, and I knew it was a large district. So there was a lot of opportunity and so I interviewed for an AP position to work at Clear Brook and got that position and just never looked back.
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Speaker 1
I mean, just I that's one of the best decisions I've made in my employing, you know, my journey here. And I'm just excited to be in such an innovative and progressive district that loves kids and wants to build on those relationships and and just continue to get better.
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Speaker 2
All right. So we know that you're an amazing principal and you've been in associate principal and an assistant principal. What did you teach and what sports did you coach?
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Speaker 1
So I taught CTE classes. I taught a lot of different CTE classes all the way from keyboarding to web mastering, and ended up teaching a technology class at Pearland High School. That was the last class that I taught. It was kind of a class where you survey a lot of different technology jobs and the kids got to do all kind of projects instead of just really interesting class.
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Speaker 1
And so technology is definitely one of my loves and I really believe in that. And the power of technology and making education innovative and fun for kids.
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Speaker 2
And so what did you coach?
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Speaker 1
I coached volleyball and softball. I ended up my last two coaching years was at I was the head volleyball coach at Brazos Wood High School.
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Speaker 2
And I so I have known Dr. Lopez for a while. Were you weren't you a member of one of those state champion softball teams from Pearland?
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Speaker 1
No, but I was an AP. I'd become an AP at Pearland. When the team went to State, and I actually had the opportunity to graduate students in Austin at the state softball tournament. And so that was that is definitely a fun time that we had and got got to graduate those those seniors because they couldn't participate in the regular graduation that year.
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Speaker 1
And so it was just an honor and really fun because those kids were actually part of the freshman team that I actually coached. And so it was full circle for me and just a great opportunity to high.
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Speaker 2
Honor, to honor that group.
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Speaker 1
Yeah, absolutely.
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Speaker 3
That's great. So we know that you've been a teacher, a coach now, you were a principal. What's one of your favorite things about being a principal?
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Speaker 1
My favorite thing about being a principal is being able to go to all the different activities and just seeing the many successes that we have at Clear Brook High School, there's so many different pockets of excellence. And being a principal, you, you know, you are able to expose yourself to all those pockets and you're just asking the teachers for what?
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Speaker 1
What are we doing great, and what are some things we need to work on? And just being able to see all of that and the pride that students see and the pride that teachers see in those awesome activities that they're doing just and just. It's just fun to celebrate that with the kids and fun to celebrate that with the adults.
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Speaker 1
You put so much work into it and the kids put a lot of work into it too, and just having conversations and seeing those successes is my favorite thing.
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Speaker 3
Amazing. So life outside to some extent of the hallways really special.
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Speaker 1
Absolutely.
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Speaker 2
And so what is your favorite part about being a principal? So I know you've been a principal. You are the principal at Clear Brook. You've also been a principal at SEABROOK Intermediate. Correct. So what's a favorite what's your favorite part about being a principal?
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Speaker 1
Just being around the kids every day and talking to kids and asking them like, Well, one of the favorite favorite things I do every Friday is staying in the cafeteria during lunch and we have core value popcorn Friday. And so the teachers hand out core value coupons to any students that are exhibiting core values. And when they come up to get their popcorn, I specifically ask them, you know, what did you do to earn this?
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Speaker 1
What core value did you follow? And just that pride that they have for telling me what they did. It seems, you know, sometimes we think that some of that stuff, like popcorn and candy and given little rewards, is elementary, but no, our kids love it. They they love the attention that they get when they do something right. And, you know, it's so great to talk about core values because that is what we live by.
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Speaker 1
And it's important that they know that we noticed the great things that they're doing on campus. And so having those individual comfort conversations on a weekly basis is a highlight of my week every Friday. And just talking to kids about the good things that they're doing on campus and and acknowledging that and rewarding it.
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Speaker 2
And that kind of. So I'm kind of remembering back when you were saying your high school having to go to that new high school that you were trying to make those connections. And sports was a great way to to start building that friendship. Is that kind of like when you're a principal, you're also still trying to build those relationships by buy this popcorn Friday.
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Speaker 2
Absolutely. Core value popcorn Friday.
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Speaker 1
Absolutely. Yes. We're always trying to build relationships as a principal. You know, kids feel do feel intimidated talking to the principal or the AP. And we don't want them to feel like that at Clear Brook. So we go out of our way to talk to kids or in the hallways every passing period. We have a principals forum. I have a group of students that I'm constantly talking to and asking for feedback about how can we continue to make clear, Brook, the best it can be.
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Speaker 1
And so that's important to me, giving students a voice and making sure that they feel heard, but also putting those expectations in place and making sure that they feel challenged and that we're we're pushing them as well.
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Speaker 3
Yeah. So we know your role as a high school principal is definitely beyond just the title. So tell us more about some of the roles that you play on campus outside of your title.
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Speaker 1
Well, I guess I mean, the title the title is so much. There's a whole laundry list of things that we do. Do you mean like off campus or do you?
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Speaker 3
I mean, both. That could be, you know, outside of the school day or in your your personal life as well?
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Speaker 1
I mean, of course, my passion, as I said, is extracurricular activities. So I often go to those events and, you know, like the softball coach knows that I know a lot about it. So she does come to me a lot. And we we talk softball a lot. So talking shop about softball or even any of the athletics is is one of my passions.
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Speaker 1
And so something that I do outside of school for my daughter's softball team is also help. I'm a second coach on her softball team and that's something that I have passion that I have. And, you know, they know that I know the sport. And so I love, you know, leading kids and helping them be successful. And it's it's so much more than what's on the field.
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Speaker 1
It's so much more than that. And so we are always talking to the kids about being leaders, being positive and what are the things that you can control, you know, on the field that is going to make a difference? Not only is it going to make a difference on the field, but off the field. You know, your attitude, your effort, you know, how much you how you how much you talk on the field and have that energy.
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Speaker 1
So energy's an important thing that we're teaching them. And, you know, it's just it's something that I do on the side that that's outside of the principal realm. But it's, it's so impactful for me and it helps me stay connected to kids and in a different way. And it gives me a little bit of a balance, something to do outside of work that's not so focused on the principal shift.
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Speaker 2
But also in that like I've watched principals, you're an instructional leader, you are the face of your school, maybe like a PR for your school. You might also happen to be moving, let's see a waterfall in an office and having having maintenance issues. So there's a lot more that you're having to find.
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Speaker 1
This is like my my job. My role is basically, you know, jack of all trades. I tell the team, you know, my AP team is keeping up with discipline and doing the day to day stuff. Sometimes I feel like I'm just trying to keep 100 balls in the air, which may involve taking care of maintenance issues. It may involved being an instructional meeting and meeting with instructional coaches and really digging into data and and talking about how they're moving kids forward and working on interventions and such like that.
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Speaker 1
Like the job never stops. And there's, you know, definitely you know, being in classrooms is important to me and making sure that, you know, teachers are have the support they need to be the best they can be in the classroom as well. And then just supporting my assistant principals with discipline and keeping the keep us safe is is probably one of the most important things I do is is working on that safety aspect and constantly working with the SLOs and working with my team to make sure and that's safety is, is super important.
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Speaker 1
And so when you have 2400 students and 200 plus staff members on campus, that's the most important thing that I do at Clear Brook. And working with all our levels on that because the students and the teachers are super important with safety as well. And they have to know that if they report something, it's going to be handled.
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Speaker 2
So it sounds like you've had a journey, a teacher, a coach, assistant principal, a principal. If we had a young, a first year teacher or we'll go with third year now that they maybe know a few things about being in the school, what advice would you give them to if they want to be a campus principal one day?
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Speaker 2
Like what little things did you learn along the way that you could give to this third year teacher who wants to be the next Clear Brook Principal?
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Speaker 1
I would say really work on their craft, like be the best they can be in the classroom and find other leadership opportunities on the campus. You know, if there's different groups or different organizations that they feel that they would be good at leading, you know, take a step forward to to lead, I would say, you know, just keep putting one foot in front of the other as far as like, you know, start your master's degree, see if the district has any leadership opportunities.
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Speaker 1
If they've ever been on CIC. They could also be on the DEIC, which is the district committee. And so just looking for different leadership opportunities and also talk to their principal about their interest in that and the principal and the apps will help them find leadership opportunities if they have an opportunity to do learning walks, being other teachers classrooms, be a department head, anything where they are taking leadership and ownership of things is going to help them grow in their leadership capacity.
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Speaker 2
So some of our other guests and I think it kind of it's interwoven in the things that you're saying, say ask questions like you're around, people ask questions, get to know them. Do you think that's part of the journey of becoming a principal as well?
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Speaker 1
Absolutely. You definitely want to ask questions. You want to, you know, read up and, you know, study and look at different research on on instructional research and then just different research on principal ship and but definitely asking questions because every campus is run a little bit different. And you can learn you can learn about how your campus is run, but you can also ask questions of people outside of the campus, different schools, and learn about how different schools are run because every school is run a little bit different.
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Speaker 2
And it sounds like you have to like when you're listing off all of those things that you have to be responsible for maintenance. So you're going to need to know some maintenance people. You're going to need to know about athletics and extracurricular and all those things tied to that. So it's not necessarily just what's within your school. You kind of have to expand out a little bit and know all the things that impact your school.
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Speaker 2
Correct?
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Speaker 1
Absolutely. You're going to need to know that accountability and, you know, deep, deep instructional knowledge, the list goes on and on.
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Speaker 2
So so you were giving advice. And so now we're going to see what maybe advice you have received in the form of what can you can you tell me three things that you have learned from your student? So we're flipping the table. You've been giving advice. Is that instructional leader now? Is that campus leader? But have you learned anything from your students over the years?
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Speaker 1
Well, I have learned students I've learned that they always have a story like it's so important to when you have the opportunity as a leader. We're all busy and we're trying to check things off the list every day, but take a minute and talk to students and ask them what their story is like, what are what is their passion?
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Speaker 1
What do they want to do when they as they transition from high school to college or the workforce or what is their next step and try to find out what what is their passion like, what helps them get up every day and and what do they love about life? And I think that's so important that we work on building those relationships.
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Speaker 1
You know, this day and age, we're so busy trying to get things done. But we have to pause and get to know our students. And so that's one thing that I've learned as even as you move up and become a principal or your principal, that it's still important to stay in touch with the students and take time to get to know them.
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Speaker 1
I've also learned that kids are resilient. Their kids will bounce back from anything. And so, you know, if they're going through a hard time helping, having a trusted adult is one of the best things that they can have in their life to get through those tough times. And so we've really worked on our advisory program at Clear Brook, and for them to have an extra teacher that is not solely focused on academics, it's a time that you can sit down and chat with the teacher and and really get to know them a little bit in a different way.
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Speaker 1
And then also the students need to be challenged. They don't want to be bored. They want they want to be challenged. They want to they want to be intrigued about what is out there in the world. And, you know, they just they want to think and, you know, a lot of times they might put up a wall and act like they don't want, but they need to be challenged.
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Speaker 1
They need to be they need that that drive to continue to learn and and grow in their in whatever their passion is.
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Speaker 2
And so you mentioned to get to know the students because there is a challenge in that resiliency and bouncing back. So when you are presented with an obstacle, how what kind of strategies, what do you use our advice, what do you could you give to overcoming obstacles?
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Speaker 1
Well, it kind of depends on what type of obstacle. You know, there's a lot of there's a lot of different knowledge that I have about different obstacles. But if it's something I'm not really knowledgeable about, the first thing is to to learn and, you know, find either find a trusted resource or find a book or, you know, some type of source.
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Speaker 1
You know, you can Google it, but make sure your sources are good. So learn about what the what the issue is and then, you know, talk to people that know and get people together to make a plan. And a lot a lot of times people fall back on what they've always done. But it's so important to look at the situation and the way it's presented itself at that time and see.
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Speaker 1
You can look at what you've done in the past, but it's important to always look at new such new parts of the situation that may require you to evolve your answer, revise or evolve your answer to the problem, or how you're going to solve the problem. Because if we do what we've always done, then we're never going to grow.
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Speaker 1
So I would just encourage people to always learn from the past, but also grow and continue to evolve and continue to get better at the way you handle things. And at Clear Brook, we collaborate on everything. And so it is definitely important to me and important to my staff that we bring people together. The professional learning community has shifted everything that we do at Brooke and we really give teachers a voice and in the educational process and when there is a problem, we go to teachers to help us solve the problem.
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Speaker 2
These are your resources.
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Speaker 1
To help.
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Speaker 2
Overcome those obstacles.
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Speaker 1
Absolutely.
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Speaker 3
So, Sharon, what is going great in your life right now?
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Speaker 1
I think Clear Brook is going great in my life. I think this is this is a high point. This is this is my dream job. I never even imagined that I would be a high school principal early in my career. But I have some key players that have helped me build my leadership skills and get this far in my career.
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Speaker 1
And so this would be a high point. Of course, my family is a high point. I love my husband and my girls. They're just extremely special to me and just continue to to build up my family. And they're teenagers. Well, once, once, 14 and one is turning 12 tomorrow. So we're we're bridging that teen age.
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Speaker 2
Navigating that new road.
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Speaker 1
It is a challenge with two girls, but we do every day's a new day and just really rely on our faith. We do. We go to church and really have that relationship with with God. And that helps keep us going in the right path and just sit down and talk anytime, any opportunity we can and try to stay off social media.
00;23;31;10 - 00;24;00;05
Speaker 1
So it's difficult. But with teenagers, you know, but that's something we have to work through. So I'm always trying to work on protecting their screen time because that is a huge thing with adolescents in this day and age is really monitoring their screen time and it is difficult as a parent, you know, being an educator and kind of talking about that with parents, I'm like, yes, you have to make sure you're monitoring, make sure you're monitoring.
00;24;00;12 - 00;24;18;00
Speaker 1
But as a parent, it becomes a little bit more difficult right now and then and you become the bad guy and, you know, it's okay. I tell them I told my my kids, I'm like you, you know, that you have to do your homework and you have to take care of your business before you get to do the screen time.
00;24;18;00 - 00;24;29;03
Speaker 1
And we still are going to monitor how much you're on. And they don't like it, but hopefully they'll appreciate it in the end because they're trying to keep them on the right path and make sure they're taking care of their responsibilities first.
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Speaker 3
Right?
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Speaker 2
Teaching those lessons. Absolute mom are, as a teacher, our principal, still teaching those lessons.
00;24;35;09 - 00;24;38;13
Speaker 3
So what could use a little attention in your life right now?
00;24;39;08 - 00;24;59;25
Speaker 1
Probably my health. Just, you know, I do an okay job of of watching what I eat. But, you know, working out is kind of on the back burner. So that's definitely something I'm working towards. I do have I just got a gym membership. So, you know, when you start paying the money, you know, you got to step it up a little bit.
00;24;59;25 - 00;25;20;09
Speaker 1
So that's something in my life that I really you know, of course, being an athlete, I have always been in shape my whole life. And, you know, with with the schedule that I'm pulling right now with principal and home life, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time for working out. So that's definitely an area of my life that I need to work on.
00;25;20;09 - 00;25;30;19
Speaker 2
Well, so speaking of that, and I'm not sure that you're doing this based on what you're saying, but if you need to disconnect or recharge, what do you like to do?
00;25;30;19 - 00;25;55;18
Speaker 1
We like to go on vacation. That's something important that I do with my family and I feel like it's definitely important to look forward to trips and opportunities to get away and break away from life, so to say. So we have we go skiing and the girls and I actually went skiing last spring break and my husband likes to ski too.
00;25;55;18 - 00;26;26;14
Speaker 1
And then we've gone to Disney several times and my husband's from Puerto Rico, and so we've gone to Puerto Rico a few times as well. So we do like to travel a lot and that's something that we look forward to. And my my daughter playing softball. We will travel a little bit for softball, so we try not to do base all of our vacations on softball, because when I was growing up, I didn't have as many opportunities to take vacations, like I'd never gone to Disney until I was an adult.
00;26;26;28 - 00;26;42;26
Speaker 1
But I did have vacations that were based on softball. So I told my daughter, I said, But we're not going to have every vacation around softball. We're going to do some vacations where you get to check out a little bit because, you know, the softball vacations are more about her. There's still work and there's still work. And that's right.
00;26;44;08 - 00;26;58;24
Speaker 2
So when you think about your time in CCISD has there been a moment that has left a permanent, permanent footprint on your life, like something that really is a part of who you are changed, who you are?
00;27;00;13 - 00;27;27;24
Speaker 1
I think when I moved to SEABROOK, when I moved to SEABROOK and some of the students heard that I was moving and then and yeah, I think it's just the kids that have reached out to me when I moved schools and said, you know, you've had it, you've made an impact. Thank you for what you did. And, you know, some of those students were more difficult students that ended up they were in my office on a regular basis.
00;27;27;24 - 00;27;55;06
Speaker 1
And so when those students reach out and say thank you for what you've done and, you know, I graduated, I made it, and I'm going to, you know, go do I'm going to go to college or I'm going to go to work and thank you for everything you've done. That's that's what's made a huge impact. In fact, one student that spent a lot of time in my office as an assistant principal when she heard that I got the head principal job at Clear Brook she called me and said, congratulations.
00;27;55;06 - 00;28;17;20
Speaker 1
And she, you know, these difficult students that even though they were difficult and they were going they were probably going through something in their life that, you know, we didn't have all the knowledge about. But they come back and when they after they graduate, they realize the work that we put in. And that means a lot to me.
00;28;17;20 - 00;28;24;01
Speaker 1
And it it really has impacted my life. And it just you always had to fuel your why and that's fuel for my why.
00;28;24;16 - 00;28;33;00
Speaker 3
Love it so this podcast is about living CCISD to the fullest. So what does that mean to you?
00;28;34;02 - 00;28;56;06
Speaker 1
To me, it just means giving back to the kids every day and being a servant leader, you know, truly being there for the kids and letting them know that. I mean, I told the kids this morning on on the announcements, you guys remember that you're the reason that we're here. And I want the kids to know that. I want the kids to know that they are the reason we're here.
00;28;56;06 - 00;29;24;15
Speaker 1
And and yes, we're going to push them and we're going to have high expectations. But that's why we're here. And and we want to do what's best for them and we want them to thrive. And so that's what living CCISD is all about, is is being a servant leader and and making sure that we are continuing to grow if we stay the same and we're we don't get better at our craft, then there's no reason to do what we're doing.
00;29;25;07 - 00;29;32;25
Speaker 2
You And so what advice do you have for others to help them live? CCISD to the fullest.
00;29;34;04 - 00;29;54;28
Speaker 1
I think is staying positive. You're going to have ups and downs. You're going to have days that you're like, well, what am I doing? And and one foot in front of the other. If you have a bad day, go find somebody that is you that's always positive and can help you get out of that and put one step in front of the other.
00;29;55;06 - 00;30;14;25
Speaker 1
We all have a checklist. It's a mile long and I think just taking those baby steps to keep moving forward and ask for help when you need help, ask for help. We're all one big team and we will, you know, we're going to put in the work that to help you get through that if you're going through a hard time.
00;30;15;02 - 00;30;39;05
Speaker 1
And so living CCISD is all about being collaborative and working together to be the best we can be. And so I truly believe that. And I truly believe that we're here for the kids and we're here to help each other get through whatever we need to get through. And hopefully you have better, more good days then than bad.
00;30;39;05 - 00;30;46;05
Speaker 1
But every once in a while you may stumble, but get your head back up and keep taking one step forward. Oh.
00;30;48;15 - 00;31;06;24
Speaker 3
Great advice. And definitely an amazing group of people that we get to be a part of and rely on. So well. That concludes our time with you today. We just want to say thank you so much for sharing your story and being a part of CCISD to the fullest. Thank you for being the.
00;31;06;25 - 00;31;12;16
Speaker 1
Angel for having me so blessed by.