|
In the Spotlight
Tough. In a word, that’s how LaTonya Goffney describes her childhood. Born to a 15-year-old mother and an unknown father, Goffney at age 10 moved in with her poor, hardworking grandma.
Goffney was a top student all the way through 12th grade. She was the first in her family to attempt college — most hadn’t finished high school. To fund her higher education, Goffney earned a scholarship and worked a full-time job at a prison while attending Sam Houston State University. “I entered education to make a difference. My life could have easily gone another way if it had not been for caring teachers,” Goffney says. “The power of education can change futures no matter where you come from. I’m an example. My path was ordained.” Goffney’s first teaching assignment was in an eighth grade language arts classroom at Lincoln Junior High in Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD. She was hired to teach writing at a time when there was a major push in the district to raise the writing scores of African-American students. By the end of her first year, Goffney had been promoted to department chair. Within three years, the assistant principal position opened and she was chosen to fill it. “At every step, there was turmoil — there was no system for discipline, and the school suffered from low expectations — but we were able to overcome,” Goffney says. She served as assistant principal at Lincoln Junior High for two years before being promoted to principal of Coldspring Intermediate School in 2004. For three years, Goffney tirelessly worked to turn the failing intermediate school into a Texas Education Agency “recognized” campus before returning to Lincoln Junior High as principal for another year. Finally, after a competitive interview process, she was selected to serve as superintendent in 2008. “I had no intention of becoming a superintendent. I was getting my doctorate because I was trying to find ways to increase student achievement,” Goffney says. “One of my mentors told me to get my résumé together and apply for the position because I had nothing to lose. I didn’t seek the position. It’s almost like the position sought me. And here I am.” Goffney tells her story with true humility. As she sees it, to whom much is given much is required. She carries a burden to make a difference because she’s seen too many young people — who share some of the same struggles that she has overcome — give up on their future. Over and again, Goffney will tell you she simply wants to make a difference. When she talks about “no child left behind,” she really means it. Goffney teaches kids to find motivation in their struggles. “I didn’t know who my father was, but I always wanted to be on the honor roll because I thought my father might read the paper and write me a letter,” she says. “I was a great athlete because I thought maybe he would hear about it. “Not having mother and father relationships has haunted me my whole life. But I did have a grandmother who worked awfully hard to provide for me. She taught me a work ethic that’s comparable to none,” Goffney says.
When she’s not working to change the lives of students, Goffney enjoys reading. But even her personal life is filled with activities that aim to help people. Her husband is a minister and sings in a quartet group, so Goffney travels with him and does her fair share of church work. Her daughter, Joslyn, is active in gymnastics and various other extracurricular activities that keep both of their schedules full. “As a campus principal, I challenged students not to think about where they came from or even where they are, but where they can be with an education. I’m able to speak to kids, but I also try to empower leaders and teachers to look at a student’s potential,” Goffney says. “When you are failing kids or when you are not teaching, you are eliminating their choices after high school. More than anything, I’m an advocate for children.”
JENNIFER LECLAIRE also has written for The New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor.
|
“As things were rocking along in my personal life, the one constant I had was school,” recalls Goffney, superintendent of Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD, near Houston. “My teachers always told me I was smart, so I became a teacher pleaser. I wanted to be like my teachers when I grew up.”