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‘The little girl from Altair’
Gwendolyn R. Knight was born Sept. 12, 1952 in Weimar, Texas to Shephard Ward and Ethel Stevenson Ward. Her mother was a Weimar native, but Knight has spent all of her life in Altair, Texas.
And though she has had many experiences in education including traveling abroad, she still describes herself as “the little girl from Altair.”
Right after graduating from Southwest Texas (now known as Texas State University) in 1974, she first started working in San Marcos as a third-grade teacher.
In November 1978, she boarded a plane with her daughter, Natasha, to go to Panama. She laughs thinking about the experience.
“Traveling on a plane with a baby from San Antonio to Panama; stopping in every country — Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica,” she laughs remembering the culture shock of seeing people that looked like her, but not being able to converse with them. She describes it as “a whole different world.”
Her husband, Jay, who was in the army, picked them up from the airport.
“When I first went there, I thought I was going to be a stay-at-home wife,” she laughs. “But I got there and felt like this is not for me. I’m not used to sitting at home.”
Knight worked as a teacher for the Department of Defense in Panama and taught at American schools.
Her first role was as a director of a pre-kindergarten program. She then became a substitute before becoming a teacher. She taught a fifth-grade class at Fort Clayton class before getting transferred to Balboa Elementary School to teach third grade.
She said the small classes gave her the opportunity to get to know the students and their parents.
She remembers when she was pregnant with her son, Jay II, and how the school gave her a baby shower, and when she changed schools, she received another baby shower. Knight describes the people as caring that she worked with and said that it was a good experience.
Whi le in Panama, Knight said she would play piano for the gospel military choir. She smiles thinking about the director for the choir whose name was Gwen...she was from New York.
Knight actually started playing the piano at the age of 8 and first played at church when she was 10.
“My mother always said, ‘If you get someplace and you don’t have no money, you can play your way back home,’” Knight said. “And every place I’ve lived, I’ve played.”
She said her first love was to be a concert pianist, but when she reached her junior year, that changed.
“I just fell in love with teaching,” she said. “I didn’t think I would.”
After three years in Panama, Knight’s husband was transferred to Florida. Knight taught third grade, fifth grade, and kindergarten at Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa, Florida for six years.
She came to work for Rice Consolidated Independent School District in August 1987 as a fifthgrade teacher and taught honors classes in Eagle Lake.
“We had the textbook, but I would go beyond that,” she said. “They could devise their own game. They could do presentations. They could write a research paper, anything that would go beyond... It’s the same curriculum that the other kids were doing, but I was doing enrichment.”
She became a counselor for the district in 1995. In addition to helping students with failing grades, she remembers helping students with their peers and or helping those who were having problems at home. She recalls serving as “a buffer” between students and their parents at times.
“The whole thing about counseling is leading the person to what the situation is and letting them decide, what choices do I have?” she said. “Are these good choices? Are these bad? I can’t make them for you.”
She remembers the times she had to encourage students not just in her counselor role, but when she was a teacher also.
“You can do anything you want to do,” she would tell students. “And when you accomplish that, you show that person ‘hey, you said this about me, but look where I am now.’ If you cannot help anybody, you don’t put them down.”
Knight served as a counselor until 2010. She then transitioned to become a principal at Eagle Lake Intermediate School, which houses third through fifth grades.
When she reflects on her time as a principal, she remembers how the transition was difficult at first because her role alongside teachers changed.
“It was a little struggle for me to go from counselor to administrator, because now you got to enforce mandated law,” she said.
She said there were things that had to be done in compliance with TEA and she had to make sure team leaders were disseminating the information accordingly.
Knight’s background in working overseas allowed her to view education from multiple angles including how students take standardized tests.
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, known as STAAR, is what students at the intermediate school would take. Knight said that when she compares testing in the U.S. to what is done in Central America, she said that while testing is done in Central American, the curriculum is more difficult.
“Some of the stuff that we started doing in Florida, the kids overseas had already seen it,” she said. “And it’s not to say that those kids were any smarter, it’s that they were exposed to something more difficult, and the same point about it being so structured really was a big thing with Department of Defense.”
Knight retired as a principal in January 2017. When she reflects on her journey, Knight says her faith played a big role in her walk in education. She said she thanks God for his grace and mercy. She wants students to know that it does not matter where you come from, “If you dream it, you can have it.”
“This is what I tell kids. When I think about that I grew up in Altair — the dirt road, riding on my bicycle with my straw hat on my head — I never envisioned myself doing as much traveling,” she said. “I never envisioned teaching in as many places as I have.”
She said working with students who are struggling was what she enjoyed the most throughout her career.
“I think that’s the most rewarding thing when you see kids who are struggling,” she said. “And all of a sudden that light bulb goes off and they’ve got it, and you see the smile on their faces and the gleam in their eyes. I don’t care if they are the valedictorian. I don’t care if they’re in the top 10; I care about them.”
She said she instills this in her grandchildren also as they pursue their education journey, especially in college.
“If you’re not happy with what you’re doing, you’re going to be miserable and you’re not going to be successful,” she said.
Knight has five granddaughters: Bianca, Jayla, Taylor, Reagan and Khloe.
Preparing students for the real world has always been important to Knight. Since retiring, Knight substitutes for the district at the intermediate school, junior high, and high school. She also tutors students for STAAR at the intermediate school and continues to play the piano for local churches.
