TGS Seeks Head-of-School Candidates

The Southern Teachers Agency is helping The Galloway School identify candidates to lead the Friendswood school. From a job listing for the TGS Head-of-School position issued by the Southern Teachers Agency, an education placement firm:

Candidates should be successful private school leaders, preferably in Christian environments. They should be particularly adept at developing staff talents and delegating responsibility. Most of all, he or she must be an excellent communicator who listens attentively and enjoys speaking and praying with people over matters of importance to the school community.

This gives us confidence that The Galloway School is returning to the Christian values James and Marie Galloway envisioned for the school when it was created. If there is any remaining doubt, note how the school describes its own guiding principles:

[TGS'] founding mission is to equip students with the Truth of God’s Word while developing their character, intellect, and potential to explore, create, challenge, and lead.

TGS Watch interprets the return to the founding values of The Galloway School to mean that misconduct will no longer be tolerated or even condoned by the administration and board. TGS Watch applauds the new vision of The Galloway School which is actually the school's founding vision.

We certainly hope that the Board receives a great response and has many moral Christian candidates to choose from. TGS Watch doesn't know if the Board is considering current interim Head-of-School Debbie Stroud for the permanent position -- a position Ms. Stroud is certainly qualified for -- but it is clear that the TGS Board intends to conduct a professional and robust search as it selects a new leader to take The Galloway School to its full potential.

TGS Embraces the Vision of James and Marie Galloway

James Galloway was an extremely generous individual, and his wife Marie continues to be a generous person.  The Galloways have always valued education.  Through hard work and commitment to each other, the Galloways built a successful life together.  Even though they had no children of their own, their commitment to education led them to help educate the children of others.  Because Mr. Galloway was a 1929 graduate of Texas A&M, he was a lifelong supporter of the school.  In 2003, Mrs. Galloway endowed a scholarship at Texas A&M in memory of her husband.  The scholarship is dedicated to assist graduate students studying chemistry.  Even so, Mr. and Mrs. Galloway were far more generous in supporting the education of others. Together, they established The Galloway School in southeast Houston, although Mr. Galloway passed away a year before his vision became reality.  Mrs. Galloway remained committed to their joint vision of seeing The Galloway School become the premier school in the region for advanced academics.

For many years, The Galloway School failed to meet its potential due to poor leadership at the Board and administration level.  But there have been significant positive changes at the school recently.  Turnover at the Board level led to the appointment of a new majority committed to see The Galloway School exceed even the lofty goals established by Mr. and Mrs. Galloway.  The former Head-of-School was released and her policies that limited growth at The Galloway School are changing.  Rather than catering to the needs of the school administration and a select number of faculty, the focus of the school shifted to the students.  The academic and technological needs of the students became more important, as did their physical safety.  TGS Watch believes that interim Head-of-School Debbie Stroud is willing and able to do the hard work to bring The Galloway School to its full potential.

There is still a lot of work ahead for Mrs. Stroud and the new Board.  They are committed to hiring highly qualified teachers and getting the school accredited by a more prestigious organization than the Texas Alliance of Accredited Private Schools (TAAPS).  TGS Watch suggests seeking accreditation from the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS), but we are sure that the Board will give a lot of thoughtful consideration to deciding which accrediting organization it should upgrade to.

There is no question that there is a lot of credit to go around as The Galloway School becomes a world class institution.  TGS Watch attributes most of the credit for the improvements to the new Board members.  Mrs. Stroud, the interim Head-of-School, seems fully in alignment in reinstating the vision of Mr. and Mrs. Galloway and discarding the failed practices of the past.

The Galloway Family is undoubtedly excited about the positive changes happening at The Galloway School.  Parents have high expectations for those they entrust to educate their children, and we believe that the current leadership is committed to exceeding those high expectations.  All of us feel the Owl Pride radiating from The Galloway School.  But James and Marie Galloway are certainly the proudest of us all.

The Galloway School Protects Children

Past administrators and past boards at The Galloway School have taken a cavalier attitude toward the physical safety of the school's children and staff. In fact, The Galloway School expelled the TGS Watch children because their parents demanded the school take student safety more seriously. One of many concerns we brought to the school was the use of background checks on employees. In a June 15, 2011 email to the author of TGS Watch, former principal Bonnie Cerace claimed that The Galloway School indeed performed background checks on employees, a claim we later determined was false¹.  Background checks began in 2012, one of the positive outcomes of the sexual harassment lawsuit against The Galloway School.

In response to a volatile situation² at The Galloway School, the new administration and new board have begun to implement even more effective security measures.  The Galloway School now has an armed security officer³.  TGS Watch believes this individual is licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE).  Many area schools including Clear Creek ISD and Friendswood ISD have armed guards on campus.  The U.S. Department of Education reports the results of a survey of school security chiefs.  Fourteen of the 15 school security chiefs reported the use of armed security on campus.  Only one reported using unarmed security with "additional support, as needed, from their City Police Department."

Americans today have no problem using armed security at banks to protect something as inconsequential as their money.  TGS Watch is pleased that The Galloway School will protect something far more valuable -- its students -- with armed security, too.


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¹ Former TGS principal Bonnie Cerace has an adversarial relationship with the truth.

² The link at this text describes the volatile situation at The Galloway School. According to the Friendswood Journal, threats have been made to persons associated with The Galloway School after former Head of School Bonnie Cerace was terminated.

³ The Galloway School has hired armed security in the past. This was shortly after Bonnie Cerace feverishly imagined a "terroristic threat" that she reported to the Friendswood Police Department. Initially, Ms. Cerace denied making that telephone call to the Friendswood Police Department. She later changed her story when confronted with records from the Friendswood Police Department.

Bonnie Cerace Fired from The Galloway School

Sources tell TGS Watch today that Bonnie Cerace has been fired from The Galloway School in Friendswood, Texas.




As the physical safety of children is a top priority for any school, we strongly encourage the leadership at The Galloway School to change the locks on the school immediately. Perhaps the school's administration should contact the Friendswood Police Department to report that Ms. Cerace has been fired and she is known to be volatile.  Recall that the Irving Police Department charged Ms. Cerace with Assault with a Deadly Weapon for allegedly pointing a gun at a man and threatening to kill him.  A TGS Watch commenter reported that the fact that a child or children were present did not deter Ms. Cerace from committing such a gravely reckless act.

Just as this blog anticipated, Debbie Stroud, the assistant principal and interim Head of School, has personal integrity.  TGS Watch doesn't know who The Galloway School will ultimately appoint to replace Ms. Cerace, but we all wish Ms. Stroud the best as she navigates the school during this tumultuous time.

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 *** UPDATE *** 

A loyal reader provides new information -- a Dallas County court record related to Ms. Cerace's case. It indicates the Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon charge was no-billed by a grand jury.  TGS Watch has no further information regarding the final disposition of this case.