Dr. Lane Ledbetter was raised by Dragons. The son of former athletic director, coach and hall of famer Bob Ledbetter and his wife Sue, Dr. Ledbetter grew up roaming the hallways of the 3A Carroll High School, watching his dad coach practices and attending Friday night football games. He never imagined years later he would be back leading the charge as its superintendent.
When former superintendent Dr. David Faltys announced his retirement last year after serving the district for 15 years, Dr. Ledbetter knew it was time for him to come back home.
“I’m sitting in the building right now where I went to high school in the mid-'80s,” Dr. Ledbetter expresses. “It’s been so surreal in so many ways. I literally have not been in this building for several years.”
LEDBETTER LEADERSHIP
Born in Irving, Dr. Ledbetter and his family moved around to several Texas cities, from Frisco to Mineral Wells, before finally settling for good in Southlake.
“It was a small town,” Dr. Ledbetter recalls. “Everything revolved around the two or three campuses that were here. You had to go to Keller or Grapevine to get groceries or fast food. You had to drive down a little country road just to get to school.”
With his dad coaching and his mom teaching, Dr. Ledbetter remembered seeing the impact his parents had on his friends and how they’ve built lasting relationships through their classes. Bob and Sue didn’t realize it at the time, but they were building the foundation of Dr. Ledbetter's interest in education.
“It just kind of instilled a desire in me to go into a profession where you can truly make an impact,” Dr. Ledbetter expresses. “That’s why I got into education.”
As a Dragon, Dr. Ledbetter loved sports as much as his father and played on every team he could, including football, basketball, baseball and track. He was even part of the football team that won a state championship in 1988. He excelled even more so in his academics, being named valedictorian his senior year.
“He was always such a shy child,” Sue recalls. “He didn’t want to get in front of people and talk. But when he gave his valedictorian speech, he just went right up there and delivered it perfectly. Sitting back there listening to him, I couldn’t believe that was my child. I was so proud of him.”
After graduating from Carroll High School, Dr. Ledbetter set his sights on Baylor University with aspirations of becoming a coach and teacher, just like his parents.
SUPERINTENDENT ASPIRATIONS
After graduating with his bachelor’s degree in 1993, Dr. Ledbetter taught at Lake Travis ISD for a semester before he moved back to the Metroplex the following year. After teaching at Grapevine-Colleyville ISD for two years, Dr. Ledbetter started his master’s degree at the University of North Texas and returned to Carroll ISD to teach and coach in 1996.
It was during his time at Southlake where Dr. Ledbetter met his future wife, Penny.
“He was coaching baseball at the time,” Penny recalls. “We would always sit in the stands and watch his kids play. The profound thing is some of the kids that were on his team back then, they’re now raising their own families and bringing them out to the games today. It all came full circle.”
As he continued teaching, coaching and studying for his master’s, Dr. Ledbetter began thinking about getting his doctorate to pursue more ambitious opportunities. His first introduction to his future career path was working behind the scenes at the main office of Carroll High School where he helped the assistant principal with daily administrative tasks such as recording attendance and implementing the code of conduct. It was a lot of routine work, but it gave him his first real-life insights into education administration.
“I don’t know if I necessarily had aspirations to be a superintendent when I started teaching,” Dr. Ledbetter says. “I think those started evolving once I got into it, growing professionally and seeing what I could do.”
His first administration job was as an assistant principal at Birdville ISD in 1999. He rose quickly through the ranks during his 13-year stint there, later becoming a middle school and high school principal, virtual education administrator and eventually the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
Dr. Ledbetter loved the experience, but he was missing some of the student interaction.
“It’s hard because you’re taking yourself another step away from the kids,” he says. “As a teacher, your day-to-day is always with the kids. As a principal, it’s a different environment. You’re going from planning lessons, practices and teaching to managing a campus. You become that visionary — the planner, the big picture, looking toward the future, setting goals and moving the campus in a specific direction. It’s a very different world.”
Now retired and away from the kids himself, Bob understood just what his son was going through.
“He truly missed coaching,” Bob says. “He missed being around all of his kids. But now he was in a position where he could do a lot more for them.”
After finishing his time at Birdville, Dr. Ledbetter and his family moved to Graham ISD in 2012 where he began his first role as superintendent of schools. After serving in that role for three years, Dr. Ledbetter became the superintendent for Midlothian ISD, where he experienced some of his greatest successes. Not only did voters approve of a massive $268 million bond program — the largest in the district’s history — but also they grew the district by 3-5%, built new campuses and rolled out an ambitious technology initiative.
“The thing I’m most proud of with Midlothian was managing the growth,” Dr. Ledbetter says. “We built some innovative facilities, a lot of collaborative spaces, makerspaces, furniture, really tried to create collaborative environments inside our buildings. I was really excited that we integrated a lot of technology with smart boards and wonder workshops. I’m really proud of what we accomplished in Midlothian.”
According to Niche, Midlothian ISD has grown to more than 9,300 students in the district with a student-teacher ratio of 16:1. It has a graduation rate of 91%, ranks in the top 17% for best school districts in Texas, is among the top 34% safest school districts and even ranks among the top 5.16% nationally for best school districts for athletes.
With Penny also teaching kindergarten in Midlothian ISD, Dr. Ledbetter told her they wouldn’t move again — that they would stay in Midlothian until their school-age kids graduated. There was only one circumstance that would have changed that for Dr. Ledbetter — if the superintendent job at Carroll ISD became open.
COMING BACK TO CARROLL
When Dr. Faltys announced his retirement from the district, Carroll ISD was facing several issues that would have challenged any superintendent. COVID-19 was still at the forefront of many families’ minds, whether it was regarding safety precautions or virtual learning from the Dragon Virtual Academy. But the Cultural Competence Action Plan (CCAP), a five-year draft plan from the District Diversity Council to address racism, also caused a deep rift within the community.
“The community has to come together and work through all this,” Dr. Ledbetter says. “I don’t think it’s impossible to overcome, because this is too great of a community.”
While Sue was excited to see her son apply for the superintendent position, she was also concerned. But those divisions didn’t deter Dr. Ledbetter.
“He’s always liked a challenge,” Sue says. “He likes knowing he can do something to help. That was always his thought about anything.”
Bob was just as enthusiastic about Dr. Ledbetter’s potential return to the district and immediately offered to help him any way he could.
“When Lane called and told me that Dr. Faltys was gonna retire, I said, ‘Lane, what do you want me to do to help you?’” Bob recalls. “He paused for a minute and said, ‘Dad, if you just keep your mouth shut, we’ll be great.’”
Bob says he knew his son was half-joking, but he also understood Dr. Ledbetter wanted to earn the job based on his own ability — not his father’s reputation.
“He didn’t need his dad out here talking for him,” Bob says. “It was his deal, not mine. If he can’t get the job on his own merits, he doesn’t need Bob Ledbetter trying to promote him.”
When Dr. Ledbetter’s name was announced as the lone finalist for the superintendent position out of 45 candidates from 10 states, Sue was overwhelmed.
“I cried and jumped for joy,” she says. “Knowing my son, what he’s all about and how he cares for people and kids, I know he can handle this.”
With 27 years of education experience under his belt and being a Dragon alum himself, CISD board trustee president Michelle Moore says Dr. Ledbetter was the unanimous choice for superintendent.
“He embodies our community’s values and has the experience and desire to lead Carroll ISD to a new level of excellence,” Michelle says. “His personal experience, both as an alumnus and former staff member, will allow Dr. Ledbetter to make an immediate positive impact in Carroll ISD. There was no question that he was the most capable candidate to lead us into the future.”
Place 2 trustee Eric Lannen believes Dr. Ledbetter is everything Carroll ISD could have hoped for in a new superintendent.
“He drank the ‘Dragon Kool-Aid’ long before most of us ever heard of Southlake,” Eric says. “He is a great listener and a collaborative leader. I know he will be very intentional in partnering with our extraordinary Southlake community to move the district forward.”
And while Dr. Ledbetter was eager to move back to Southlake, he says the adjustment wasn’t as easy for his children Luke and Lauren, who got pulled out of Midlothian Heritage High School in the middle of the year. Regardless, Dr. Ledbetter is excited to give his kids the chance to call themselves Dragons — the same chance his dad gave to him.
“His kids grew up hearing about the Carroll Dragons,” Bob says. “He had some great friends and memories here, and he wanted Luke and Lauren to experience the same thing.”
LISTENING AND LEARNING
Dr. Ledbetter’s first few months as CISD superintendent were busy. One of his first priorities was visiting all 11 campuses to introduce himself and assess each school. Dr. Ledbetter is slated to give a summary report on some of his findings during the next board meeting on March 8.
He’s also been getting out in front of the public as much as possible — attending community events, guest speaking at webinars and answering questions through Dragon Chat. And although the district is currently prohibited from speaking or working on CCAP, that hasn’t stopped Dr. Ledbetter from proactively working to bring the community together. In his first board meeting, he addressed divisions in the community, stating the problems would not be solved in the courtroom or on social media. Rather, they would be solved by sitting down and having conversations.
“I think it's important that we create a listening culture in Carroll ISD and the community of Southlake, so we value all perspectives and opinions,” Dr. Ledbetter says during a Southlake Foundation livestream. “My philosophy has always been you have to listen to understand — and I’ve been doing that a lot lately.”
Carroll ISD is worth fighting for to Dr. Ledbetter.
“There are incredible people here. It’s an amazing place, and I have no doubt that this district will overcome that division, and we will work together,” Dr. Ledbetter says. “No situation is going to be perfect, but if I can have a small part in helping move the community forward, then why wouldn’t I want to be a part of that? People keep asking me why I applied for this job. I ask them, ‘Why wouldn’t I?’”
But Dr. Ledbetter knows he can't do it by himself. It’s going to take every parent, student and elected official to resolve these issues. That also speaks to his superintendent career. He says all of his successes were never just his own — they were also his district’s. Dr. Ledbetter knows Dragons are strongest when they come together.