Meet Your Region Superintendent: Debbie Brockett demonstrates a dedication to improving the lives of our children
Under the leadership reorganization announced by Superintendent Dr. Jesus F. Jara, three region superintendents will supervise all CCSD schools. In this issue of the newsletter, we profile Debbie Brockett, one of the new region superintendents. Debbie Brockett, in her words, “took the long route” to a career in education. Brockett’s journey began in Northern Nevada, where she grew up in Gardnerville. In her junior year of high school, she moved to Alamo in Lincoln County, graduating from Pahranagat Valley High School. After spending four years as a dental assistant and working in office management, in 1991 Brockett moved to Las Vegas, hoping to become a dental hygienist. As a full-time student at UNLV, she also was working as a live-in group home parent along with her husband Craig, who now works as a CCSD administrator. The Brocketts provided full-time parenting to nine boys, who were in state custody because they had been abused or abandoned by their parents. “This included everything any parent would do,” she says. Brockett and her husband cooked, cleaned, attended school meetings, helped with homework, and provided emotional and physical care. “It was from my experience in the group home, that I realized my calling was working with children, so I changed my major,” she says. She graduated from UNLV with her degree in education/special education, and started as a special education teacher in the Clark County School District. From 1995 to 1998, she taught at Dell H. Robison Middle School and Duane D. Keller Middle School. Then, from 1998 to 2000, she was a special education facilitator at Las Vegas High School, ultimately being named dean of students, serving until she became assistant principal of the high school. She was promoted to principal of Charles Silvestri Junior High School in 2005. Just two years later, after increasing student achievement there, Brockett was appointed principal of Las Vegas High School in 2007. At Las Vegas High School, Brockett has increased and maintained high achievement. In 2016, Brockett’s success at Las Vegas High School resulted in her being selected by the superintendent to be CCSD’s first franchise principal of secondary schools, when she also became the principal of Keller Middle School, a feeder school for Las Vegas High School. The franchise school program was started to take the successful practices of an existing school that served an at-risk population and replicate that success at another school, with one principal shared between both schools. When her franchise schools were launched, Brockett said that in addition to the positives from the administrative overlay between the two schools, they would work to better align elective classes at both schools, which would help students with academics and better align their eventual career pathways. Along with citing her success as a franchise principal, Dr. Jara noted that Brockett, a member of the CCSD Nevada Evaluation Performance Framework (NEPF) Task Force, has been “intimately involved in transforming our evaluation system for both principals and teachers.” In terms of leadership, Brockett says collaboration is essential, and that structures need to be in place that allow for the voices of all stakeholders. Furthermore, school leadership needs to have “a high impact on student learning by shaping a positive culture for all students and staff, and developing conditions for high-quality teaching.” Brockett also believes school leaders should continuously focus on student achievement and data to help drive improvement for all students. “School leadership is a calling that requires endless commitment to the entire school community,” Brockett says. Leadership and awards Among her many accomplishments, Brockett is a member of the CCSD NEPF Task Force, a past president of the Nevada Association of School Administrators, and was one of five recipients of The Public Education Foundation’s Best In Class Award for School Leadership, which was presented during the 2016 Heart of Education Awards. Did you know? Brockett has three children, including two grandchildren. Of her children, one is a special education teacher in Washoe County, another is a home inspector, and the third is a junior at the University of Nevada, Reno. What does she do in her spare time? “As a principal, my spare time was spent at the different school activities, and they became my favorite hobbies. I do, however, enjoy CrossFit, reading, traveling and watching sporting events, including, of course, the Vegas Golden Knights.”