|
After 50 years in Friendswood ISD, Myrlene Kennedy has done it all
By Melissa Gaskill
 Name any program or event that has happened in Friendswood ISD in the past 50 years and chances are Myrlene Kennedy had something to do with it. Kennedy started teaching in the school district near Houston in 1959 and went on to serve as assistant principal and principal at Friendswood High School. Today she is the district's assistant superintendent for student affairs.
But those titles don’t even begin to cover the countless roles Kennedy has served in Friendswood ISD. Kennedy's first gig at Friendswood ISD was teaching science and coaching girls' sports.
"I wanted to coach and not many schools then had girls’ athletics," she recalls. When Kennedy interviewed for that teaching position back in 1959, Friendswood ISD employed 12 teachers who worked in one school building with an enrollment of about 250 students. Now the district boasts seven campuses with a student population of almost 6,000.
Over the years, Kennedy has taught sixth and seventh grade science, as well as physical education for fourth through 12th grades. She has coached girls' basketball, tennis and volleyball. She has supervised the high school yearbook and newspaper, sponsored the junior and senior high cheerleaders, worked with the pep squad and the high school's first debate team. Kennedy took Friendswood ISD's yearbook staff, debate teams and one-act plays to state and national UIL competitions.
But that's not all.
In 1959, Kennedy planned Friendswood High School's first homecoming, honoring the senior class from 1939. She organized concessions for home football and basketball games for most of the 1960s, back when everything sold was homemade.
During Kennedy's nine years of coaching, Friendswood ISD won nine district championships and only lost one district game.
"That was quite an accomplishment for such a small school," she says. "I don’t think I realized that until later. But I just happened to come along when we had some outstanding talent. We worked hard and I demanded a lot out of the players, but they took the challenge."
When the high school band and choir director suggested staging a first-ever musical in 1969, a long-standing tradition was born. Kennedy has worked on all 41 Friendswood High School productions since the inaugural year; she says many former students return to take part in the festivities. Last year's production, "Brigadoon" -- which happened to be the very first Friendswood High School musical -- included three students whose parents also attended school in Friendswood ISD and performed in earlier productions.
Friendswood High School Principal Mark Griffon, who was a student at FHS when Kennedy was the principal, also participated in the high school musicals as a teenager.
"You always knew where you stood with Dr. Kennedy," says Griffon of his former principal. "She'd tell you exactly what she wanted to happen, and she was honest, fair and consistent. Her philosophy is to get students involved in whatever activity interests them.
"Through the years she has created a tradition of excellence; the bar is high and you are going to do the best you can," he says. "She lives and models that, and it is alive and well here because of her."
Kennedy's years at the high school included 25 as assistant principal and 10 as principal. The school achieved the state's "exemplary" ranking eight of those 10 years. Student SAT scores increased during her tenure, as did the number of National Merit scholars and students in Advanced Placement classes. Kennedy spearheaded the school's transition from block scheduling to a seven-period day to give teachers a team-planning period, and she changed the class rank formula to encourage students to take AP classes.
Her innovative thinking and many successes earned her a spot as one of three state finalists for Principal of the Year during the 2007-2008 school year. That same year, Sam Houston State University's College of Education named Kennedy a Distinguished Educator of the Year, and Friendswood High School recognized Kennedy as an honorary alum.
"When I came, I never intended to stay long," she muses. "But something always kept me here in Friendswood. I tell kids when they graduate, no matter where they go they're still ours and not to forget where they came from. I tell teachers to enjoy it because it will go by before you know it."
MELISSA GASKILL is an Austin-based freelance writer.
|
