Dr. Brandon Hubbard

Chilton ISD

Dr. Brandon Hubbard has served as superintendent of Chilton ISD since 2016 and as an educator for 17 years. His previous positions include principal, assistant principal and teacher in Chilton and Waco ISD. 

Under Hubbard's leadership, Chilton ISD has a culture of continuous improvement, creativity and innovation. He challenges every staff member to "Go Beyond" demographic and statistical limits in pursuit of excellence. The CISD leader uses student data to develop staff and student support. During the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 academic years, psychometric analyses predicted that Chilton ISD would perform at the 'D' level based upon student demographics. Hubbard used this prediction as a rallying cry for the staff and students. In each of those academic years, the school reached a 'B' rating. Hubbard and his team are confident that they will achieve an 'A' rating through systematic instructional practices.

Hubbard leads with the philosophy that "Challenge + Support = Growth." He believes that challenging students and faculty without relational support is futile and leads to irreparable frustration. Likewise, too much support without meaningful challenge leads to stifled growth and prevents organizational accountability. Therefore, he strives for a balance between a culture of high expectations and support structures for all to be successful.

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Krystle Moos
Midway ISD

Krystle Moos has been teaching for 12 years, currently serving as a chemistry teacher at Midway High School. She also serves as a professional learning community leader and as a science fair & science UIL coach. Before joining the Midway Panthers in 2012, she was a teacher for Waco ISD.

The daughter of a science educator, Moos began her life with a passion for uncovering the science in the world around her. She brings this passion into the classroom through hands-on lab experiments and lessons while building students' confidence in working through complex concepts. Inspired by her growth mindset, Moos emphasizes learning as a life-long process to master the most difficult topics. The high school teacher encourages student growth through productive struggle and uses this principle to guide her chemistry lessons. She creates and uses a positive environment to build relationships with students, help them celebrate small successes, and feel the support necessary to work through assignments. Knowing that students have different learning styles, she provides multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning, emphasizing understanding processes rather than only having correct answers.   

Through these instruction practices, she sees students gain a deeper understanding of the content, motivation increase to solve problems--driving an increase in assessment scores, student engagement, and excitement. Much to the credit of Moos, enrollment in AP Chemistry has tripled over four years, with ongoing student-to-student mentorship that extends after high school. AP chemistry is now more diverse than ever before while maintaining AP exam scores above the global and Texas average. 

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James Cook
Killeen ISD
 
James Cook has been teaching for six years—all in Killeen ISD, serving as a fifth-grade math teacher at Cedar Valley Elementary for the last five and previously as a Title I teaching aide. Before becoming a teacher, he served 22 years in the United States Army with his last position as Senior Instructor/Platoon SGT/Operations Sergeant. 

Cook believes in building relationships that foster trust - allowing students to become free-thinking individuals capable of researching facts and making informed decisions while finding their purpose. He vows each day to make a positive impact on someone. 

After teaching all core subjects, Cook saw a growing need for delivering math content that students can use outside the classroom. In addition to traditional lessons, he developed and uses a system that teaches financial literacy, budgeting, borrowing, and contract litigation. Knowing the lifelong value that financial literacy provides, Cook's program pays students for attendance, good citizenship, peer tutoring and leadership or volunteer tasks. The students pay rent for school supplies, internet access and hardware. His students can use their savings to purchase specialty items like supplies and healthy snacks; however, they have to pay fines for misbehavior, being late, or not returning items by deadlines. The students learn how to manage a balanced budget and consequences like bank fines for mismanaging money or unpaid bills. His students quickly learn how their earning potential goes far beyond a salary. 

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