A Conversation With
Tammy Edwards
Principal, Ridge Point High School, Fort Bend ISD, Texas
THE BREAKTHROUGH COACH:
Can you tell us about your background and what led you into administration?
TAMMY EDWARDS:
I began my educational career as a teacher and coach in Crosby ISD, then moved into Goose Creek CISD here in Texas. The superintendent mentored me and urged me to go into administration. I’ve now been an administrator for 14 years. I went from assistant principal to principal of the middle school. While earning my superintendent’s certification, I met an assistant superintendent from Fort Bend ISD, who recruited me to open their newest high school and I’ve been the principal at Ridge Point High ever since – serving over 2,100 students.
THE BREAKTHROUGH COACH:
What challenges did you face when you first became a principal?
TAMMY EDWARDS:
I felt chained to my computer – working nights and weekends, but never feeling as though I was getting ahead. I was always scrambling right up until the start of a meeting. My calendar and e-mail were killing me, but I just didn’t know it.
THE BREAKTHROUGH COACH:
When did you begin working with TBC?
TAMMY EDWARDS:
Our superintendent brought TBC to Goose Creek 8 years ago when I was principal at the middle school there, and it was a lifesaver. I brought TBC’s Management Methodology™ to Ridge Point when I moved here.
THE BREAKTHROUGH COACH:
How did TBC’s methodology affect your work?
TAMMY EDWARDS:
Once I started to implement it, I felt as if I could breathe. I found time I never realized I had. I could get into the classrooms regularly and see the results of my coaching – what was working and what needed to be changed. I learned to calendar a plan, then work the plan.
THE BREAKTHROUGH COACH:
What challenges did you encounter as you began to implement TBC’s Management Methodology™?
TAMMY EDWARDS:
At first, there was some annoyance among my staff because I no longer seemed to have an open-door policy. However, people began to realize that, in fact, I was readily available for them once talk-time and meetings were calendared. They came to appreciate that they had 100% of my focus for the full time they were with me.
THE BREAKTHROUGH COACH:
What made you decide to use TBC’s Customized Coaching services? How has it helped you?
TAMMY EDWARDS:
I brought my new secretary to TBC’s Foundations Course immediately after I started in Fort Bend. After the first year, I wanted to take things to the next level so I hired TBC coach, Tom Rooney. Tom was really more like my business partner than an “instructor”. I had to answer to him as I implemented more levels of the methodology, and he helped me confront the real facts of what I was – and wasn’t – doing. He didn’t tell me what to do or set goals for me – he helped me meet the goals I set for myself. We worked together all of last year. Things went so well that now I’d like to coach others. TBC’s Management Methodology™ is really impactful, but you have to commit to it. Tom has given me the confidence to know that as my career advances, I will be able to successfully manage the job responsibilities by using the skills I’ve acquired with the TBC’s coaching.
THE BREAKTHROUGH COACH:
How have things changed? How do you measure your success?
TAMMY EDWARDS:
I have more work/life balance now. I leave work each day feeling that I have completed what I set out to do, with nothing hanging over my head. Meetings have agendas out in advance and materials ready to go, and I’m coaching more teachers than ever before. Most importantly, our school’s test scores have increased every year for all students. Surveys of the full school community – parents, staff and students – tell us that overall satisfaction levels at Ridge Point High School are among the highest in the district!