Corbin Superintendent Travis Wilder reflected on his first year leading Corbin Independent Schools and shared future goals and his “why” during a capstone presentation to the Corbin Board of Education on April 23.
A capstone presentation is a required end-of-year report where new superintendents reflect on their first year and outline future goals.
“It’s been a long journey,” said Wilder. “It seems like Aug. 1 was just a few days ago.”
Wilder shared when he received the call offering him the position, he was with his family at the pool.
“I have never put a suit on that quickly in my life,” said Wilder.
Wilder said he was assigned mentors Dr. Carrie Ballinger and Scott Hawkins.
“I’m probably one of the luckiest people in the world because I’ve had these two walking alongside me this entire year,” said Wilder.
Wilder expressed gratitude to board members, district staff and his family, including his wife and three daughters, Emma, Addison and Macy for being his “why.”
“I want to represent them to the best of my ability,” said Wilder.
Wilder shared his first year focused on four key areas: creative and critical thinking classrooms, cooperative decision making, collaborative spirit and community involvement.
For Wilder’s professional growth plan (PGP), he chose standard three: cultural leadership out of seven standards.
“One of the most difficult things to do is build culture,” said Wilder. “[A] blessing that we have in Corbin is that we have very strong culture. There’s a lot of pride. There’s a lot of tradition in Corbin… You want to build upon what is already there.”
Wilder shared his 30-60-90 day plan, introduced at the beginning of the year, is about 98 percent complete.
“One of the things that I still want to do is I still want to get a focus group of Corbin graduates that can come back and give us feedback on how we can better serve them as a district now that they’re in post-secondary or in the workforce,” said Wilder.
Looking ahead, Wilder said his priorities include revising the district’s mission and vision, expanding media and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) opportunities, improving facilities and investing in staff.
“Thank you to this board and this Corbin community for trusting me in this capacity,” said Wilder. “I’m thankful to my family [and] everybody that’s here.”
Mentors praised Wilder’s leadership during the presentation.
“I think he has done an absolute wonderful job of blending that tradition and valuing the past while also having great new ideas and moving the district forward,” said Ballinger. “What a wonderful selection the board made.”
“The most important decision you make is who you will hire as your superintendent. You don’t get a do-over. You have to get it right,” said Hawkins. “I certainly believe you got it right… I certainly believe that Travis is going to continue to move Corbin forward and even take it to greater heights.”
Board members echoed the support.
“Just looking at the presentation and just knowing behind the scenes, you’re doing a fabulous job,” said board member Ben Childers. “I’ve been nothing but impressed and I am looking forward to continuing to work with you.”
Wilder closed by thanking everyone for their support.
“It’s a great day to be a Redhound,” said Wilder.
