Department of Education Bestows Top Leadership Award on Principal

NOTE: This article was originally published in October of 2008, but has been updated to reflect Brown's second recognition ceremony in January 2009 at the Texas Education Agency.

Not only was HISD’s Lora Peck Elementary School named a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School, but Peck Principal Carlotta Brown has also received a top leadership award from the U.S. Department of Education.

Peck Principal Carlotta Brown (center) was one of only five campus administrators across the nation to receive the Terrel H. Bell Award for School Leadership in 2008 from the U.S. Department of Education. Brown was recognized by the Texas Education Agency for her and her school's achievement in January 2009 by (from L–R): State Board of Education Member Lawrence Allen, Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott, Central Regional Superintendent Adriana Tamez, and HISD Superintendent of Schools Abelardo Saavedra.

Brown received the award on October 21, 2008, at the No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools award ceremony in Washington, D.C. She was honored again by officials from the Texas Education Agency in Austin on January 26, 2009. 

This award, the Terrel H. Bell Award for School Leadership, is given in memory of former Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell to principals who have shown strong leadership in their schools.

The Bell Award recognizes today’s outstanding school leaders and the vital role that school leaders play in overcoming difficult circumstances. Brown is one of only five principals in the nation to receive this honor.

Brown was selected for the award because she has made a difference in her school by achieving dramatic increases in student outcomes. Brown has led her school from an 'Academically Acceptable' rating to a 'Recognized' rating for the state of Texas in less than three years. The award selection panel stated that Brown has inspired both her students and teachers to high levels of achievement, requiring the staff to go beyond what is expected to reach every child. She is sensitive to the needs of all her students and actively guides her staff in the use of strategies that have not only closed achievement gaps but also improved the levels of achievement for all students. She has also trained her staff to use data to recognize which students need targeted interventions and has helped the teachers develop frameworks for delivery of the interventions. Under her leadership, parents and teachers have formed a partnership to foster student success.

“I am so elated, honored, and humbled to be receiving the prestigious Terrel Bell Award,” said Brown. “It means so much to me that I am leading not only my students, teachers, and staff towards sustained success at Peck as their instructional leader, but also showing them by example that through hard work, determination, perseverance, and teamwork you can achieve and make a positive difference in your life and in the lives of others.”

Best known for his issuance of the 1983 report, A Nation at Risk, which galvanized a spirit of educational reform that continues today, Terrel Bell was an early advocate of technology in the schools and supported the Title IX Act through appointing women to key professional roles.

Based on information provided in her nomination by school staff and the school’s Blue Ribbon application, as well as a personal interview with HISD Superintendent of Schools Abelardo Saavedra, the selection panel determined that Brown was deserving of the Bell Award.