Superintendent's Welcome & Educational Philosophy

Welcome to the Comfort ISD website.  My name is John Chapman, and I am proud to be the superintendent at Comfort ISD.  I would like to take this opportunity to share a little about my philosophy of education.  I believe that three major factors have to exist in order for a good district to be a great district.  Community/Parent Involvement, communication, and accountability are three powerful attributes of a great district.

When parents or guardians are involved in their children's lives, whether it's educationally, church or sports related, majority of children seem to excel.  Our students have more issues to overcome than ever before so we owe them our support.  Community members can also have a positive influence on our youth.  Showing support by attending extracurricular events, volunteering to be a peer reader or just taking the time to say hello to a youngster are some of the few examples that make community involvement such an importance within the school system. 

Another phase of my philosophy is communication.  In order to have a successful school district, all shareholders have to have common knowledge of goals and objectives.  I believe in having a strong effective administration where loyalty and the presentation of a united front is paramount for success.  A strong administration mixed with highly qualified teachers is not successful without a strong communication base.  The left hand has to know what the right hand is doing so everyone will be on the same page, so to speak.  When the coffee shop talk turns to school business, it would benefit the school district if the information was accurate and correct.  In order for that to happen, community members need to know first hand information from the actual sources rather than second hand information from inaccurate sources. 

Accountability is a strong word, but perhaps the most important.  When you are talking about the future citizens and possible leaders of our civic, state, and national organizations, accountability is a necessity.  I believe that accountability should be viewed positively rather than negatively.  Accountability within the school system begins with the taxpayers.  The taxpayers elect members of the community to represent them, which comprises the governing body of the school district, in other words, the School Board.  Comfort ISD has the privilege of having seven members that are continuously striving to make the school district better and educating themselves on the issues at hand.  As the school board members are held accountable by the community, the superintendent is held accountable by the school board.  The accountability cycle keeps the district within compliance and running smoothly. 

As I contemplate the three aspects of my philosophy, I remind myself why community/parent involvement, communication, and accountability are so important.  They benefit the future of our children.  The bottom line is that in order for children to learn more effectively, more efficiently, and more enthusiastically, we have to come together as parents, community members, school leaders, and teachers to do the best job we can for the children.  For as the saying goes: "The children are the leaders of tomorrow."

John E. Chapman, Superintendent

Comfort ISD