It’s no wonder we’re featuring Ryan Flint for Irving ISD’s Kindness Week. He is one of the district’s kindest, most caring employees, and here’s why:
You can see Ryan walking the hallways of the Admin building proudly wearing a star-shaped sticker on his ID badge. He wears this badge of honor as a way to promote Irving Schools Foundation. If you have a star on your ID badge, you are identified as a financial donor. And just to be clear, there are a lot of employees with stars on their ID badges. Ryan has done his job well!
But that’s more of a volunteer role. Ryan’s full-time job is an instructional coordinator for Curriculum and Instruction. Every day looks different, but the responsibility is the same: support teachers in the classroom so they can implement best practices for all students. It makes sense why he thrives in this role. “With my current teachers, I have strong relationships with many of them. I’ve known these teachers for a long time so they trust me and know I will support them.”
Ryan’s kindness has come naturally because others have shown him that same kindness. Ryan landed his first job in Irving ISD as a science teacher. He describes his colleagues as a “little science family.” Monica Umerah, another science teacher, helped him plan lessons and run labs his first year. Other science teachers invited him for barbecue tailgates. Cindy Sanders, another teacher, even invited him and his husband, Mike, to dinner for Thanksgiving.
A few years later, Ryan joined the team at Singley Academy. He soon felt that same bond he did at Irving. “We took care of each other. You could have personal issues that came up but together, we were able to lean on each other.” He loved the climate so much that he spent the next 11 years there.
Encouraged by his colleagues to pursue leadership roles, he became the science department chair and pursued his master’s degree in educational leadership. Soon after, he was promoted to an assistant principal of an early childhood school, two elementary schools and a middle school. Ryan left from these roles with the same gratitude: “My principals trained me for the next leadership role, each one treated me like a member of their family, the teachers created a culture of collaboration, and they integrated me into the school culture.”
It’s so obvious why Ryan has spent his educational career of over 20 years in Irving ISD. It’s because of the people that have been kind to him, that have supported him and made him feel worthy of their time. And here’s the best news, Ryan has continued that legacy of kindness as he fundraises for our Foundation and supports our teachers to perfect their practice.
