Associate Superintendent Margie Duffey celebrates 44 years in education

Four – yes, four! – area superintendents shared the stage at the Don Coleman Coliseum on Nov. 14 to honor the upcoming retirement of Associate Superintendent Margie Duffey during a late-afternoon celebration of her 44 years in Texas education as a classroom teacher, principal and top-level administrator in Spring Branch and Spring ISDs.

Superintendent Duncan F. Klussmann, Ed.D., and three former Spring ISD Superintendents – Drs. Gordon Anderson, Michael Hinojosa, and John Folks – all spoke from the heart about how Margie had served as “the mother of us all” for four decades.

She retires officially next month. Her celebration of years was held at the coliseum to accommodate well wishers and highlight her service to the Athletics Department and SBISD’s 40-plus campuses. Among other gifts, the schools and departments across SBISD presented the retiring leader with a signed, homemade quilt that includes the symbol of each campus and department.

Dr. Klussmann was joined at the special event by retired Spring ISD Superintendents Gordon Anderson and John Folks, and by former Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, who today leads Alabama’s Cobb County Schools. Gordon Anderson was Spring ISD Superintendent from 1980 to 1997 and guided the district to state and national recognitions.

Dr. John Folks was Northside ISD Superintendent for 10 years, in addition to Spring ISD leader, and his honors included the Texas Superintendent of the Year recognition from the Texas Association of School Boards. He now lectures at UT-San Antonio.

After serving in Spring ISD, Dr. Michael Hinojosa led the Dallas Independent School District. He was named Superintendent of the Year by both the Texas Association of School Boards and by the University of Texas at Austin. He is a past president of the Texas Association of School Administrators.

Margie Duffey joined SBISD’s Senior Staff team eight years ago as an Associate Superintendent for Administration and Personnel. Earlier, she served numerous years in Spring ISD as Associate Superintendent for Administration, Interim Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent and other management roles.

Known as Margie Cain during her extensive Spring ISD career, Associate Superintendent Duffey was the first principal at L.E. Smith Elementary School on Cypresswood Drive. Several themes echoed through video presentations and speeches at Don Coleman: her calm personality, her attention to policy and detail, and her support for district principals or other administrators. “Margie, we will always honor you,” one tribute stated.

“I’m pretty overwhelmed at this point,” Margie said at the event after hearing from those who served with her. “I thought maybe that this would be punch and cookies on the concourse. Not too many people get second chances. I did in 2005 when I married Jack Duffey and then joined SBISD. . . I came here and it was like being home. I’m speechless and grateful.”

“Margie, you are the most incredible and hard working person that I have ever known,” stated Superintendent Klussmann as the celebration ended.

Musical selections were presented by the combined Landrum Middle School and KIPP Courage Choirs and by the Memorial Middle School Band.

Career Highlights:
Associate Superintendent Margie Duffey

4th grade teacher, St. Jerome's Catholic School in Spring Branch (1 year)
6th grade teacher, Lamar Consolidated ISD (3 years)
Reading Specialist, Alief Middle School, Alief ISD (6 years)
Assistant Principal, Wunsche Middle School (1 year)
Principal, Winship Elementary (5 years)
Principal, Smith Elementary School (3 years)
Associate Superintendent, Interim Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent, Spring ISD (16 years) Associate Superintendent, Spring Branch ISD (9 years)

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SBEF Announces 2014 Gala Honorees

Three community leaders will be recognized for their efforts to support education at the Legacies of Spring Branch Gala on Feb. 21, 2014. Katherine and Lane Dawson, Gala co-chairs, and Jennie Baker, Distinguished Alumni and Honoree chair, announced the honorees today.

Doug Foshee will receive the Spring Branch Independent School District Distinguished Alumni Award. Barry Abrams will be honored with the Spring Branch Education Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Andrea White will accept the Susan & Larry Kellner Champion for Education Award.

“We are thrilled to recognize community leaders who have made such a contribution to education at this inaugural event,” said Katherine Dawson. “Not only are they legacies of Spring Branch ISD and representatives of the excellent education they received, but they set an example for all of us in the way they ‘pay it forward’ in assuring exceptional education for generations to come.”

“In selecting our Legacies of Spring Branch,” Baker said, “we looked for people who personify the qualities our awards emphasize: learning, achieving and sharing.”

Doug Foshee - Spring Branch Independent School District Distinguished Alumni Award
Foshee, a graduate of Spring Branch High School, is chairman, president and CEO of Sallyport investments. He is a member of the Council of Overseers for the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University and serves on the boards of Rice University, KIPP, Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation and Houston Endowment Inc.

He has chaired the board of directors of The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Houston Branch. Foshee is former chairman, president and CEO of El Paso Corporation and served in leadership positions at Halliburton, Nuevo Energy Company and Torch Energy Advisors.

A graduate of Southwest Texas State University and Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University, he earned an MBA from Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones School of Management. He is an Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipient for his commitment to helping children succeed and his leadership role in the business community.He and his wife, Sarah Foshee, MD, have four children.

Barry Abrams - Spring Branch Education Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award
Abrams, a Westchester High School graduate, earned degrees from Princeton University and the University of Texas School of Law.Hehas more than 35 years of civil trial and appellate experience and is administrative partner in the law firm of Blank Rome, Houston office.

He recently received the Edwin P. Rome Pro Bono Award, which recognizes dedication to pro bono service and honors those who are committed to seeking equal access to justice for all. He is a former chair and remains on the board of the Spring Branch Education Foundation. He chairs SBEF’s Fund for the Future Endowment, which recently reached the initial $1 million goal. As president of the Spring Branch Family Development Center, he is instrumental in piloting Family U, an education program for parents of children ages 0-3.

He is a former president and current board member of the AltharettaYeargin Art Museum.Barry and his wife, Sue, also a Westchester graduate, have two daughters who graduated from Memorial High School.

Andrea White - Susan & Larry Kellner Champion for Education Award
White graduated from Memorial High School, where she was named Miss Memorial three years, before earning undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Texas. Since retiring from the practice of law, she has focused on writing and youth, publishing four award-winning books of historical fiction for middle school-age children.

When her husband, Bill, was mayor of Houston, they partnered with Houston ISD to found Expectation Graduation, organizing an annual Reach Out to Drop-out Walk with a door-to-door appeal for teens to re-enroll in school. The initiative spread to 20 school districts. She is the founding board chair of Houston A+ Challenge, which provides teachers and administrators with resources to achieve classroom and district best practices.

Most recently, she piloted a program in local school districts to bring authors to schools using technology. The Whites, Memorial-area residents, are the parents of three grown children.

The community is invited to celebrate the honorees at SBEF’s Legacies of Spring Branch Gala.
For more information, visit springbranchisd.com/sbef. For regular updates,"like" the Legacies of Spring Branch Gala page at www.facebook.com/Legaciesof SpringBranchGala and follow the event on Twitter @SBEFGala.

About the Spring Branch Education Foundation
The Foundation’s mission is to enhance the quality of education for every student in SBISD. Founded in 1993, SBEF provides donors with a vehicle for making tax-deductible gifts to the district. The Foundation has raised almost $8 million and received the Houston Business Promise Award from the Greater Houston Partnership.

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