Jack D. Johnson - Founder of the Dragon Nation
BybrTracy L. Southers, APR
Southlake Style's Community Impact Award Winner - 2012
Visionary.brDisciplined. Dynamic. Honest. Fair.These are highly sought-after qualities in a leader,brbut rarely are they all found in one individual. Southlake is incrediblybrfortunate to have been served by one for 30 years. Described by these samebrattributes from people who know him professionally and personally, Jack D.brJohnson is as legendary as the Dragon Nation he founded. As the firstbrsuperintendent of Carroll Independent School District (CISD), a position hebrheld for 28 years and by far the longest tenure in the district's history, hebris credited with molding Carroll ISD into the nationally recognized district itbris today. Johnson spent nearly his entire career at Carroll ISD and has abrfar-reaching list of accomplishments to show for it, which makes him undeniablybrworthy of being this year's recipient of Southlake Style’s Community ImpactbrAward.
Southlakebrand Carroll ISD: Humble Beginnings
Today, it is hard to imagine Carroll ISD as anythingbrbut an athletic powerhouse, academic model of excellence, and state-of-the-artbrdistrict. However, when Johnson joined the CarrolI Common School District inbr1957 as a teacher-principal, this was not the case. Under the direction of thebrTarrant County superintendent were six teachers (including Johnson) and onebrbuilding to teach grades 1-8 in the rural community of approximately 200;brstudents attended high school in Grapevine. When residents voted to separatebrfrom Tarrant County and become an independent district in 1959, Johnson wasbrnamed superintendent, although he continued to wear many hats: teacher,brprincipal, coach, part time custodian, lunchroom supervisor, and bus driver.
When asked why he decided to come to Southlake frombrClarendon, Texas, where he taught and coached basketball for one year,brJohnson simply says, “Because they offered me a job.” Prior to that, he taught for three years inbrhis hometown of Westminster, Texas, and served two years in the Army during thebrKorean War.
A far cry from modern-day Southlake, the area wasbrcomprised of farmland and dirt roads, and the school had no air conditioning orbrindoor restrooms (these were located in a separate building outside). But as one of the few public buildings inbrSouthlake, it was the center of the community. brA gymnasium/auditorium added in 1958 provided a place to watchbrbasketball games, hold PTA meetings, and stage student theater productions.
UnderbrJohnson's guidance, the fledgling district grew quickly by adding the ninthbrgrade in 1959 and the remaining three high school grades beginning three yearsbrlater in the fall of 1962. According tobrJohnson, the beloved dragon mascot was born in 1964 when it was sketched bybrstudent Tony Eubanks, who is now an internationally-acclaimed painter of westernbrart.
A first significant feather in his cap came in 1965,brwhen Carroll ISD became an accredited twelve-grade system by the TexasbrEducation Agency. The same year includedbrthe district's first homecoming and graduating class of 24 students. By 1969, Southlake's population had increasedbrto approximately 2,000 and school enrollment was more than 600.
From the beginning, Johnson's philosophy was, "Better schools make better communities." Little did anyone know he was just getting started.
Demanding andbrDelivering Excellence
By all accounts, and there arebrmany, Johnson's greatest passion was Carroll ISD. Even his wife of 57 years,brModean, admitted that while he had many loves in his life, Carroll ISD wasbrfirst (as told by Jane Cousins, friend and former principal at JohnsonbrElementary). In return the students, teachers, parents and community willinglybrprovided whatever he needed to succeed.
"When Mr. Johnson asked youbrto do something, you just did it because you knew it was the right thing and itbrwould be remembered," said current Director of Facilities ChaunceybrWillingham, who Johnson hired as a teacher-coach in 1975.
These sentiments arebrechoed by Susan Anders, a teacher at Carroll ISD since 1971.
"He had verybrhigh expectations and demanded excellence of himself, teachers and students.brYou didn't want to disappoint him. He would tell us every year duringbrconvocation, 'If you are not going to give 100 percent, then call in and we'llbrget you a sub!'"
Johnson is well known for settingbrthe bar high, but he is also remembered for recognizing achievement. Sendingbrcongratulatory notes to students who had appeared in the newspaper for abrschool-related event became a trademark.
Kathy (Kovarnik)brRandall, a teacher at Johnson Elementary and 1982 graduate of Carroll ISD,brstill has the handwritten card and newspaper clipping Johnson sent to her forbrwinning second place in a regional typing contest.
"My parents andbrI were so proud that he took the time to send this to me. He fostered thebrstandard of excellence way back then, but he did it in a quiet, supportive way.brAs a student, you were not afraid of him."
Whether it was band, football, rodeobror drill team, Johnson was indeed supportive -- he rarely missed an event --brand competitive. He greatly enhanced the extracurricular activities andbrimproved the athletic programs, but expected a return on investment in the formbrof wins. Coaches and students responded by consistently earning district,brregional and state titles.
"He wanted ourbrschool system to be the best in the state, regardless of our size. He wouldbralways tell us, 'We're not competing for second place,'" says Willingham.
Despite hisbrencouragement of student participation in athletics and extracurricularbractivities, Johnson made it clear that education was the priority.
"'I'm hiring youbras a teacher, not a coach. Teaching comes first,' is what he told me when hebroffered me a job," recalls Willingham. "He believed an education wasbrthe most important thing as it would carry the kids further in life."
To this end, Johnsonbrrecruited the best teachers he could find and expanded the curriculum tobrinclude music, art, foreign languages, vocational education, and acceleratedbrprograms. Once again, his efforts were rewarded with consistently above-averagebrscores on standardized tests, and Carroll High School students receiving thebrhighest SAT scores in Northeast Tarrant County in 1983.
"I was thrilledbrwhen I got the chance to come to Carroll. It exemplified everything I wanted tobrbe a part of and put an emphasis on academics, athletics andband," states Cousins, whobrserved as principal at Johnson Elementary for 23 years. "Jack put this mindsetbrinto motion; the tradition started with him."
One of Johnson'sbrgreatest talents was the ability to look ahead. He saw early on the potentialbrof the small community and knew growth was inevitable. More significantly, hebrknew how important a factor the school system would play into the developmentbrof Southlake. For this reason, he championed for citizen approval of a seriesbrof improvements through eight successful bond elections during 1959-1983 thatbrresulted in four new schools; additional classrooms; computer labs; modernizedbrcafeterias and gymnasiums; an athletic stadium with field house and concessionbrstand; lighted baseball field; all-weather track; administration building;brfurniture and equipment; and funds for future site acquisitions.
However, his legacybris best exemplified by the building at 1301 North Carroll Avenue that bears hisbrname: Jack D. Johnson Elementary. School board trustees named the facility forbrJohnson in 1979 as a tribute to his then 22 years of service. Opened in 1981,brit is a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and honors its namesake withbra wall of photographs in the front hallway. Principal Lori Allison reportsbrJohnson continued to visit the school after he retired, including most recentlybrits annual open house and ribbon cutting ceremony for a sun-shade structure inbrMay 2011.
Johnson'sbrcontributions extend well beyond Carroll ISD and Southlake. He believed it wasbrimportant for school administrators and teachers to be involved in thebrcommunity and joined several local organizations. A member of thebrAmerican Association of School Administrators since 1966 and serving as itsbrmembership chairman for the state of Texas, he was also active in manybrprofessional organizations. Realizing the importance of state legislation to education,brhe took a leadership role by serving as vice president and president of thebrTexas Association of School Administrators in the mid-1980s, which took him tobrAustin frequently to address issues such as teacher salaries, educationbrfinancing, and collective bargaining. His most high-profile role came frombrserving as chairman of the Legislative Action Committee and Athletic Committeebrof the often controversial University Interscholastic League (UIL), whichbrgoverns athletic, extracurricular and music contests between public schoolsbrthroughout the state. Johnson went toe-to-toe with H. Ross Perot, who headedbrthe Select Committee on Public Education appointed by former Governor MarkbrWhite in 1983, challenging his accusation that too much money and emphasis wasbrbeing placed on extracurricular activities.
Whether in Southlake,brthe State Capitol or elsewhere, Johnson proudly represented Carroll ISD andbrnever wavered from his beliefs. According to Anders, this is the best advicebrshe ever received from him.
"He told me thebrmost important thing is to set a course and stick to it. If you try to be whatbreveryone wants, you'll be nothing," she says. "The district sloganbrtoday is Protect The Tradition, but Jack Johnsonisthe tradition. He made us proudbrto be a dragon way back then."
Once a Dragon, Always a Dragon
Although Johnson officiallybrretired June 30, 1987, amidst a standing room only ceremony at Johnson Elementary,brhe by no means stopped being a part of Carroll ISD. He could still be spotted at nearly everybrschool function, near or far. The wallsbrof his home office in Southlake are lined with plaques, awards and framedbrphotographs of his years at Carroll ISD. brBut Johnson's love for the students and community can best be seen in thebrseveral large scrapbooks he filled with newspaper articles, photos and otherbrmementos. Kept at Johnson Elementary,brthey are undoubtedly the best historical documentation of the district'sbrbeginning. When asked what he misses thebrmost about his job, Johnson says, “the kids” without hesitation.
Always humble,brJohnson never bragged about his accomplishments, but considered himself luckybrand always gave credit to the students, teachers, school board and community.brAccording to Cousins, he said, "One person is not responsible for the schoolbrdistrict; it is a combination of everyone."
Thankfully, Johnson'sbrcontributions are well recognized by the current leadership at Carroll ISD.
“When you think of those earlybrfoundational years in the Carroll school district, you cannot help but talkbrabout the impact Jack Johnson had on Southlake and the surrounding area,” saysbrCarroll ISD Superintendent David J. Faltys. br“Under his leadership, Carroll became known as one of the top schoolbrdistricts in the state of Texas. Hisbrcommitment to the children of this community is motivation for all of us as webrProtect The Tradition he laid for future generations.”
Looking back over hisbrextraordinary career at Carroll ISD, Johnson smiles and says, "I haven'tbrworked since I left the farm. We were just having fun."
Tracy Southers, APR, is presidentbrof WordPlay, LLC, a public relations agency in Grapevine, Texas. The company's services include consulting,brcopywriting, marketing communications, publicity, social media and specialbrevent planning. For more information,brvisit WordPlay Texas or call 817.756.1233.