TASA’s “Inspiring Leaders” tagline is not just a reminder of TASA’s commitment to leadership development; it describes our members themselves — school leaders who inspire others as they work to prepare future-ready students. Meet Brian Greeney, one of those Inspiring Leaders.
In 2017, after spending 23 years in Klein ISD working as a teacher, coach and an assistant principal, Dr. Brian Greeney made the move to Willis ISD, where he has since served as assistant superintendent of innovation, teaching and learning. In his time in Willis, Greeney has worked to implement the PLC (professional learning community) process in the schools, in an effort to grow student and teacher efficacy. The process has paid off, and two Willis ISD campuses have since been named Model PLC campuses by Solution Tree.
Greeney’s colleagues in Willis see him as a passionate and innovative leader who inspires his colleagues through close working relationships and collaborative team coaching.
“Dr. Greeney’s visionary C&I leadership has transformed our mission, vision, values and goals through constant reflection and improvement for student success,” says Sara Goolsby, Willis ISD’s executive director of secondary education.
Greeney is quick to credit teachers and administrators with leading Willis to success by living out the district’s motto: “One Team, One Purpose.” Despite recent challenges related to COVID-19 and all the headaches the pandemic has brought along with it, Greeney says that staff in Willis has been able to persevere by keeping their sights on the needs of students in the district. “Our staff comes to work every day and stays focused on our students. I have seen other districts that have had struggles with staff around these issues, but in Willis we are focused on the kids, and every day we have with them is a blessing.”
Collaboration is key to the work Greeney does in Willis, and he believes that the biggest impact on teacher growth comes from other teachers.
“We have been intentional about creating a model where we are focused on coaching collaboration rather than individual teachers. This work is not easy, but we have seen the impact especially on student learning with our most high-functioning collaborative teams.”
Greeney credits several of his own mentors with helping him get to where he is now. He says that being a leader will always be tough, but having a group of collaborative colleagues and mentors can be a tremendous help.
“I owe so much to Bill Goudeket, Kelly Schumacher, Ron Webster, Dr. Jim Cain and Dr. Tim Harkrider for the time and wisdom they have always provided me. They taught me about empathy, listening to others, and about being decisive and not letting negativity impact your vision of your organization. Therefore, I feel the best thing I can do is try and do the same for others. Because without great leadership it is impossible to have great organizations.”
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