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May 2010
“I believe when you have the right people doing the right things, everyone’s strengths shine,” says Pringle, who began his career in 1971 as a classroom teacher and will retire in August as the executive director of the Region 13 Education Service Center. ESC Region 13 supports teachers and administrators in 60 school districts in 17 counties, including 18 charter schools, 19 private schools and eight institutions of higher education. “We’ve built a team of people who know a lot about school financing, human resources, facilities, curriculum and other areas,” Pringle says. “That allows me to do what I may do best as a leader — work on relationships and model the way for our 350 employees.” His vision for Region 13 has been to set the standard for excellence in educational service through leadership, responsiveness to client needs, and quality products that improve student performance. “I’m most proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish here as a team of people who work hard together,” says Pringle, who admits hard work is not the ultimate definition of a successful team. “I think laughter in any organization is extremely important, because it signals happy employees. “It is important to the leadership team and to me that our team members are relaxed, spontaneous, and enjoy the workplace and with whom they work,” he continues. Three times each year, ESC Region 13 employees gather for Center Connection, an event that recognizes team successes and employee excellence. It’s also about having fun. The Center Connection programs sometimes include employee parades, karaoke, game show spin-offs — and even an animal act or two, Pringle says. “Center Connections are events that no one wants to miss,” he says. “If Center Connections sound like a strange way to spend time together, that’s OK. We are an informal and fun organization of people who really like each other.” According to Pringle, good leaders in public education must possess team-building skills. He says when he passes the torch in August, he will advise his successor to give people a chance to take risks, to hold people accountable, to set big goals and to avoid hiring people who think exactly alike. “We have been able to recruit people here that bring different skills to the job. People are free to speak out; it’s OK to disagree,” says Pringle. “We still walk away respecting each other and each other’s opinions.” Pringle knows well what it takes to lead. His career path includes serving as a principal and assistant superintendent at Gonzales ISD, a superintendent at Poth ISD, an associate commissioner for the Texas Education Agency, and an associate executive director at the Texas Association of School Administrators. In many of these capacities, Pringle faced the same challenge: funding limitations. At Region 13, Pringle and his team have met this challenge through collaboration. “We look for the most efficient ways that we can provide services, and sometimes that involves consolidating our efforts with other service centers,” Pringle says. “For example, we have a big curriculum consortium that involves almost every one of our service centers across the state. We have been able to combine our resources to make that a very attractive, productive and successful product.” Pringle says he would like to be remembered as a leader who cared about his staff and who really knew his employees, their children and their interests. More than anything, though, Pringle says, “the most important thing to me in life is to be a good dad.” Pringle is married to Carol Crozier, a retired art teacher who is currently supervising student teachers at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. They have five sons, ages 26 to 36, and four grandchildren. In his retirement, Pringle wants to continue to contribute to Texas public education in some way. “I’m hoping to teach some graduate school courses and write a book. Any book I write will be very thin,” Pringle quips. “I feel good about where Region 13 is right now. Every organization needs a new set of eyes, some new approaches, different skills from time to time. This is the best job I’ve ever had.” JENNIFER LECLAIRE has written for The New York Times, the Associated Press and The Christian Science Monitor. |
When you talk to Pat Pringle, two themes often weave their way into the conversation: effective leadership and relationship building — both of which comprise the foundation for his 39-year career in education.