Partnership Principal Charlesetta Deason

     Charlesetta Deason, principal, Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, in Houston, had a very special Mother’s Day this year—one that demonstrated the real value of being a high school leader.

     “One of our senior girls gave me a Mother’s Day card, saying that I was her ‘second mother’ for all the advice that I had given her during her four years at the school,” Deason recalls. “She told me that I didn’t know how positive a lot of the students felt about me. Those are the things you can’t measure.”

     Deason is completing her 15th year as principal of DeBakey, a 9-12 college prep, magnet school for students who are interested in the health professions. Now 33 years old, the school was started with the involvement of Dr. Michael DeBakey, the famed heart surgeon, and has close connections with the Texas Medical Center and the Baylor College of Medicine.

     The 725 students are very diverse with 36.4 percent African-American; 30 percent Asian, 26.2 percent Hispanic, and seven percent Caucasian. Fifty percent qualify for free and reduced price lunches. Yet, they also have a great deal in common, according to Deason.

    “Our students like the diversity at our school and all are focused on where they are headed,” she explains. “Here, they can avoid some of the things that trouble some high schools, such as gangs and racial conflicts, and they enjoy not worrying about those things. They are also very competitive, yet develop a caring attitude, having to complete 100 hours of community service.”

    Sixty percent of DeBakey graduates work in some form of health care, and 15 percent either become practicing physicians or work in medical schools.

The school also has developed a unique scholarship opportunity for some grads moving into medicine. Ten years ago The DeBakey Foundation and the University of Houston created a program where 10 students would receive a full scholarship for undergraduate work at the University of Houston. If they meet all their requirements, they would then receive a scholarship to the Baylor School of Medicine for further study.

    The students are able to take one course each year with a medical focus. In their freshman year, an introductory class gives an overview of the health science profession with professionals coming in from across Houston to work with the students. Here they learn about such topics as medical terminology and medical ethics.

     Their high school career is capped with a senior year class where students shadow health professionals at the Texas Medical Center. Every other day they spend 180 minutes at the Center where they witness everything from surgeries to administrative work.

    Deason, only the second principal in the school’s history, is extremely proud of her students, pointing out that in the typical graduating class of 150 to 175 students, they will average $12 million in scholarships. SAT scores can be 100 points above those of other schools, and 98 percent of the graduates go on to college.

    Yet, she has her challenges, one of which is trying to keep parents involved in their child’s education. Another is keeping up with technology, which Deason identified in the fall of 1997.

    “We noticed that students in that class had an attention span that was much shorter,” she said. “I talked with principals at other schools, and they saw the same situation in their freshman class. We finally figured out that this was the first class that was raised with all of the technology that is now common, and they were used to a multi-media and hands on approach. Ever since, we have been challenged to present lessons in that format to reach our young people.”

     Her accomplishments in Texas are being rewarded by her peers this June when she becomes president of the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals, having been elected to the president-elect position a year ago. During her year as president, she will represent more than 5,000 middle and high school principals across the state.

     Deason knows that a successful school leader has to have a number of qualities, ranging from being a good listener, an intuitive ability to recognize good teachers during an initial interview, having a love for young people, and strong human relations and management skills.

     “You have to be a good manager but also be patient,” she says.

     She was one of the first principals in Houston to join The Principals’ Partnership and has valued the experience ever since.

     “It struck me during the first meeting when we were told this program ‘is for you, the principal’,” she recalls. “That philosophy is just what we need, and it has realized throughout my experience. Our consultants have always been available, and this is a great opportunity for all of us.”

     Deason can be contacted at [email protected], and more
information about the school can be found at http://hs.houstonisd.org/debakeyhs.
    

 
Past Focus Principals:

Focus- Rene Posey
Focus- Stuart Baker
Focus- Paul Smith
Focus- Christie Gestvang
Focus- John A. Butterfield
Focus- Janie Hill Hatton
Focus- Steve Warmack
Focus-Glen Clark
Focus- William Dunn
Focus - Richard Pemberton
Focus - Dr. Anthony Spivey
Focus - John Weigel