Pauline Hargrove was recently named Region V "Superintendent of the Year." The Region V area includes school districts throughout Southeast Texas. She is one of sixteen superintendents state-wide who are being considered for Texas Superintendent of the Year. For over twenty years the Superintendent of the Year (SOTY) program has recognized exemplary superintendents for excellence and achievement in educational leadership. "This award really goes to the District," says Hargrove. "It reflects the cooperation, collaboration, and commitment of our LCM family - students, parents, community, faculty, staff, and Board. It is a privilege and an honor to serve with such a wonderful team that is committed to equity and excellence for all."

According to Ernest Egulf, President of the LCM Board of Trustees, they nominated Mrs. Hargrove for Superintendent of the Year because of her leadership, integrity, and a true desire to for Little Cypress-Mauriceville CISD to be the greatest district in the State of Texas. Her leadership has brought increased achievement in the classroom and in state testing. She leads a highly-qualified faculty and staff that are motivated with a desire to continue improving student achievement, preparing them to enter the work force, or pursue higher education. Mrs. Hargrove has worked to maintain the financial well-being of the district through innovative programs that look, not only at immediate needs, but at those projected for five to ten years down the road.

Pauline is an integral part of the "Team of Eight;" the team made up of Board members and the superintendent. She keeps the Board well-informed on District activities and provides a sounding board on events requiring Board action. Mrs. Hargrove has continued not only to lead in the growth of the district, but has continued to grow herself. She is working on a Doctorate degree, which will allow her to better serve the district. She is very involved in the community and is the District's best salesman. She is open to the community and the parents of our students, and is always thinking and acting in a way which promotes the success of LC-M and its students.

We, the Board, are very proud to have Pauline Hargrove as the person who leads the education of our children in the Little Cypress- Mauriceville CISD. We also feel that she is very deserving of the Superintendent of the Year award."

Hargrove is active in a number of educational organizations, including: Texas Association of School Administrators, for which she served as president two years and was on the Legislative Committee for four years; Deputy Director of the Equity Center; Texas Association of School Boards' Grassroots Campaign Co-chair; Lamar University Lighthouse Initiative Advisory Committee; Association for School Curriculum Development; Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors' Association; Texas Association of Secondary School Principals; Orange County Superintendents; and Phi Kappa Delta Honor Fraternity.

Some of the civic organizations with which she is or has been affiliated are: Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission Criminal Justice Board; Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Executive Board of Directors, Education Committee, Honor Student Luncheon Chair, Student of the Month Chair; Orange Service League; First Presbyterian Church - Elder, Women of the Church, Day School Board Member, Lay Leader, Adult Sunday School Teacher, Trustee, Greeter, LeMaster Foundation Committee Member; Orange County Economic Development - Workforce and Education Focus Group; Leadership Southeast Texas - Orange County Alumni Chair; and Orange Rotary Club, 2006 - 2007 President.
She was an Olympic Torch Bearer in 2002, am Oxford Round Table Representative in 2003, received the 2004 Athena Woman of the Year Award given by the Business and Professional Women's Club and was named a "Yellow Rose of Texas" by Governor Rick Perry.

Pauline Hargrove graduated from Lutcher Stark High School. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and the Education of the Physically Handicapped from Lamar College of Technology. Hargrove also has a Master of Education in Supervision and Administration from McNeese State University, a Mid-management Administrator Certificate and a Certificate of Supervision from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Superintendent's Certificate from Lamar State University. She is currently a doctoral student at Lamar University.

Hargrove's thirty-two-year career includes various teaching assignments in grades one through eight at Mauriceville School, Little Cypress Elementary, and Little Cypress Intermediate. Mrs. Hargrove was principal of the Mauriceville Elementary School, Little Cypress Elementary School, and LC-M High School, prior to being named superintendent of LCM CISD in 2000.

Candidates for Superintendent of the Year are chosen for their strong leadership skills, dedication to improving educational quality, ability to build effective employee relations, student performance, and commitment to public involvement in education. They must be nominated by their own board of trustees, so the very fact that a district's leader is nominated speaks to a level of teamwork and camaraderie between the board and the district's top administrator.

Local nominees are submitted to a regional selection committee, which chooses one nominee to send to the state selection committee. The state committee will interview regional winners August 18-19 and select five state finalists. The Superintendent of the Year will be announced October 6 at the TASB/TASA Convention in Houston.

Even though this recognized Superintendent credits the entire LCM family for this success, her personal mission statement exemplifies the traits that make her a leader that people want to follow. "My mission is to inspire, enable, and empower the students, faculty, and staff of LCM CISD to reach our maximum potential through providing a climate of mutual trust and respect, unity of purpose, and commitment to one another and the District to uphold the standard of equity and excellence for all." According to Hargrove, "It is all about what is best for students, and, yes, it does take prayer, family, and the whole village to raise a child."