Local Educator Gets "AdvancED" Notice

March 17, 2009 - PRLog -- The Southwest Preparatory School District (SW Prep) is proud to announce that Superintendent Dr. Gary L. Short has been nominated for the Excellence in Leadership Award from AdvancED, a unified national organization dedicated to promoting excellence in education, in recognition of more than 30 years of service at all levels of education in Texas.

In addition to his roles as Superintendent of SW Prep and Executive Director of the Southwest Winners Foundation, Dr. Short has also worked with the Northeast Independent School District (NEISD), the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of the Incarnate Word, and Texas Lutheran University.  Short has been an active volunteer and leader in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), and he currently serves as Chair of the Texas State Council.  His prior accolades include numerous Superintendent's Awards from NEISD; an Outstanding Private School Principal award from the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS); and a Premier Principal's Award from the Texas PTA.  Dr. Short was selected as the Outstanding Young Man of San Antonio in 1982.  In addition to other honors, he was also selected as Outstanding Professor of the Year for 2004-2005 at Texas Lutheran University.  

“I’ve had the privilege to work with Gary for nearly four decades", says Jim Neal, President and Co-Founder of the Southwest Winners Foundation.  "He has been a real leader in our mission of raising standards for education in Texas, and I’m proud that his work is being recognized with this nomination from AdvancED, an organization that shares the same goals and values that we have at Southwest Preparatory School.”

The winner of the Excellence in Leadership Award will be invited to attend the AdvancED Awards Gala, to be held during the AdvancED Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois from March 29-31, 2009.

“SW Prep is dedicated to building our students into our future leaders," says Short, "and that’s a team effort.  It takes parents, teachers, administrators, and organizations like AdvancED – we all have a stake in the students’ future, and so we all have a responsibility in making sure they have the tools they need to excel in the classroom and in life.”

Southwest Winners Foundation, Inc. (SWWF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation established in 1998 for the purpose of providing education and training to at-risk youth in Bexar County.  That same year, SWWF started an open enrollment charter school – Southwest Preparatory School – for high-school age youth.

For more information, please visit swprep.org.