HISD | Employee News: HISD’s news for district employees

In this week’s I am HISD, which features district students, graduates, and employees, M. C. Williams Middle School Principal Corey Seymour talks about how he achieved a childhood dream of having four different careers, his work as an award-winning film producer, and how arresting one of his former students convinced him to return to education.

Williams MS Principal Corey Seymour as a member of the Madison HS Marlins

You are a native Houstonian and a product of HISD?
I went to Hobby Elementary, Lanier Middle School, and Madison High School, and then pursued higher education at Rice University and Texas Southern University. I was raised in the Third Ward by a single mom who worked two jobs so my brothers and I could have a better life. I was a latch-key kid, but my older brother kept me on the straight and narrow. My mother pushed education as the great equalizer. She used to tell us that we may not have all the things that other families have access to, but in school, we were equal to the kid sitting at the desk next to us.

Did you always want to be an educator?
When I was a third-grader at Hobby Elementary, we had to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up for a local art contest. I told my teacher I wanted to be a teacher, a principal, a police office, and a doctor. I drew a picture showing all four images and ended up winning second place in the contest. My teacher may have thought I was just indecisive at the time, but so far I have held jobs in each of the four professions. I have served as a Houston police officer, an HISD teacher, an HISD principal, and now I have my doctorate degree.

Wait. You were a police officer?
Yes, I was teaching at Westbury High School when I decided to leave and become an officer with HPD. It was something I had always wanted to try, and I did it early on in my career so I wouldn’t have any regrets later in life. A short time later, I ended up arresting one of my former students and I knew I needed to go back to the classroom and do what I could to make a difference, particularly at the middle-school level.

Why middle school?
I think it takes a special mindset to relate (to students that age), which I believe I possess. In middle school, a child’s eyes are still wide open to the world and they are more willing to try and accept new things. It just takes someone to keep them on the right path. I also think I can relate to kids at this age because of my own struggles during middle school. I regularly tell people that “I get paid to change the world,” and I really do believe that.

You also have another job under your belt that few people know about.
I actually have written, produced, and directed several movies. A few of them have even won awards at various film festivals. While at Rice University, I took a class in screenplay writing and film-making and I got bitten by the bug. I’m working on a documentary now. If you Google my name, my movies will come up. One of the more successful ones is called “Point of Death,” and it explores what a man experiences when he is reaching his last breath.

In this week’s I am HISD, which features district students, graduates, volunteers, and employees, Park Place ES student teacher Joanna Subias discusses how her experiences as a bilingual student at Grady MS encouraged her to become a teacher and give back to her community.

Joanna Subias (left) with former teacher (and now colleague) Linda Riehl

What experiences as an HISD student have most shaped the person that you are today?

It wasn’t one specific experience. I moved here in the sixth grade from Mexico and I didn’t speak a word of English. I remember someone outside of school saying, “You know, it’s going to take forever for her to learn the language.” And I remember thinking “I’m going to prove you wrong.” I was in Advanced Placement (AP) courses in ninth and tenth grade. This just shows what a difference great teachers and great schools can make. It was really feeling encouraged, like my teachers really, truly wanted me to succeed. That makes a huge difference.

In the past you have served as a tutor, a school board member and a PTO member. Currently, you are a Girl Scout troop leader, a room mother at Briargrove ES, and you were recently awarded the Servant Leader Scholar Award from the University of Houston–Clear Lake for your work with St. Paul’s Emergency Aid Coalition, which provides clothing and food for families. What do you find so rewarding in volunteering?

Volunteering was a life-changing experience. I had never volunteered with the Houston Food Bank or the Emergency Aid Coalition. I had no idea there was so much “need diversity.” If you can make even just a little bit of a difference, why wouldn’t you take the time? When I go, my kids go with me. We volunteer as a family. It’s a great experience for them, because they are seeing another side of the city. One “a-ha” moment was being at my son’s Boy Scout meeting, and someone said, “Okay, guys, you have to leave it better than you found it.” I would like to leave my community just a little better than I found it. I came here as a little girl not knowing anything, and all of these strangers were really invested in making sure that I succeeded, so why wouldn’t I try and do that for someone else?

You are a student teacher of bilingual education at Park Place Elementary School. What made you decide to become a teacher?

I decided to go back to school and I wasn’t sure what to do. I went into it with a very open mind, and I started to remember Ms. (Linda) Riehl at Grady Middle School. Looking at it from a teacher’s perspective, she just had the good stuff. She never made us feel we were any less for not speaking the language; she never talked down to us. She always told us, if you think you can do it, you are going to do it. She set really high expectations for us and really challenged us. We all wanted to make sure we were doing a good job for her and working hard, and we didn’t really know we were learning a whole lot in the process. If I could be half the teacher she is, then I can make a difference in these kids’ lives.

What do you think the biggest challenge will be in helping students learn English?

Teaching is not the hard part. To me, the challenge is the misconceptions that people have about what the bilingual program is. I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that we are not teaching any English – just Spanish. And you do have to build on the first language, but you teach a second language on top of the first. There are different types of bilingual programs available for students. It’s about informing yourself.

Your children now attend Briargrove Elementary School. What advice would you give to your children to get the most out of their time in school?

I would tell them they need to take advantage of every opportunity that is presented to them. Get to know what programs are at the schools. Briargrove has the Name That Book contest, which gets kids reading. Some schools have Odyssey of the Mind, which really challenges students. My second year here, I entered the spelling bee and I got fifth place. It’s about finding out what your school offers, what you are interested in, and taking advantage of those opportunities.