Griggs Primary School Principal Tonya Porter-Brisker Receives AISD’s Leadership Matters Award

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Principal Tonya Porter-Brisker

Superintendent Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney presented Principal Tonya Porter-Brisker with the district’s Leadership Matters Award. Dr. Goffney will award one or more recipients each month during the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) meeting this month. The award was delivered to Griggs Primary School, where Principal Porter-Brisker leads. She opened the award live during the ILT meeting when she was announced as the winner for October’s month. 

The Leadership Matters Award aligns with Aldine ISD’s Leadership Definition launched this past summer. Recipients of the award demonstrate the qualities of Connect, Inspire, and Impact. Aldine ISD has Leader Patrols on duty looking for exemplars and campus leaders who go above and beyond.

Principal Porter-Brisker received the Leadership Matters Award for Connect. She is a hands-on leader who leads the work and is right there working with her staff because she knows the impact it will have on students. She carefully tracks each student’s engagement and when she sees a trend in low attendance or submission of work. Porter-Brisker herself visits homes to drop off technology devices, deliver supplies, or even lends an ear to families to hear the struggles they are facing. She surprises her students with prizes and delivers them herself to show her families just how important they are to the school community and how much they are missed. She has had countless drive-thru events to provide resources for families, offer support using online resources, and provide extra academic support to students in a more personalized way. Her entire staff has described her as “very hands-on,” but if you ask her, she will give you the reason as to why it is important to lead with a heart.

The School Assistant Superintendents submit a summary outlining each role-specific behavior the nominated campus leader exemplified during the month. The Executive Director of Leadership and the Chief of Schools review the summaries and determine the nominee based on alignment with the Leadership Definition rubric of each indicator’s role-specific behaviors.

Leadership development is critical in Aldine as it focuses on building capacity throughout the organization to maximize efficiency and ultimately achieve goals outlined in the district’s 5-Year Strategic Plan.