At Granbury ISD, leadership takes many forms, from supporting teachers and strengthening instruction to building a campus where students and families feel connected. This month’s Leading with Purpose: TeamGISD Leadership Stories features Dr. Lacey Padgett, Principal at Baccus Elementary, and Tiffany Rodriguez, Child Care Coordinator at Little Buccaneers. Their stories reflect the lasting impact of investing in others and leading with service.
Leading with Purpose: TeamGISD Leadership Stories is a monthly feature recognizing leaders from across Granbury ISD who are making a meaningful impact on students, staff, and our community. Through their unique journeys, experiences, and leadership philosophies, these stories celebrate the people who help make TeamGISD a place where students and employees can thrive.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Dr. Lacey Padgett | Principal, Baccus Elementary
For Lacey Padgett, leadership has always been about expanding her impact. What began in the classroom grew into a career spanning campus, district, and state-level leadership, each experience reinforcing a belief that has remained constant throughout more than three decades in education: meaningful change begins with people.
Now in her 31st year in education and her third year with TeamGISD, Lacey serves as principal of Baccus Elementary. Her career has spanned roles from classroom teacher and math specialist to principal, district leader, and state-level school improvement specialist, giving her a broad perspective on what it takes to create meaningful, sustainable improvement.
Through it all, Lacey has learned that strong systems matter, but the people within those systems matter even more.
"Leadership is not about having all the answers; it is about creating an environment where people work together to find them."
Lacey pursued leadership to extend her impact beyond the classroom by supporting educators, strengthening systems, and ultimately creating better outcomes for more students.
Along the way, she worked with leaders who challenged her thinking, trusted her with opportunities, and demonstrated the importance of developing others rather than simply leading from the front. Those experiences helped shape a leadership philosophy centered on relationships, growth, and impact.
One of the most influential chapters of Lacey’s career came through her work in school improvement and turnaround. Walking alongside campuses and districts facing significant challenges taught her that lasting improvement does not come from a single program or initiative. It begins when people believe improvement is possible, honestly examine their practices, and work together toward a common goal. That work also strengthened her belief that effective leadership requires both high expectations and genuine support.
For Lacey, relationships are not separate from accountability; they are what make meaningful accountability possible. Listening, being present, following through, and approaching difficult conversations with respect create the trust necessary for people to challenge one another, grow together, and pursue ambitious goals.
Lacey’s leadership has also been shaped by her doctoral work in educational leadership and state-level school improvement efforts, including work connected to the development of the Texas Accountability Intervention System. She has presented professional learning on turnaround leadership, succession planning, and leadership development, but says some of her greatest learning has come from working alongside other educators and the people she serves.
Today, that philosophy can be seen in the work happening at Baccus Elementary. Lacey is proud of the campus’s growth, including improvements in state accountability, stronger student growth, strengthened instructional systems, and recognition as a Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase School. But for her, the most meaningful accomplishment is not any single rating or recognition. It is the culture behind those results.
"Our staff believes in our students, supports one another, and continues to work together to make Baccus better. It is an amazing place to have the opportunity to come to each and every day!"
Lacey wants her impact to extend beyond student achievement numbers. She wants students to feel connected, teachers to feel supported and challenged to grow, families to feel like true partners, and future leaders to be developed. Ultimately, she hopes to leave every place she serves stronger than she found it.
Two words have become especially meaningful to her: impact and intentionality. They reflect her commitment to being purposeful in how she serves others. Lacey sets high expectations because she believes in what people are capable of achieving, and she is willing to work alongside them to get there.
"My door is open, their voice matters, and we are always stronger when we work together."
That sense of connection is also what Lacey values about TeamGISD. She appreciates the strong sense of community, shared commitment to students, and opportunity to learn and grow alongside educators with different experiences, strengths, and perspectives.
For Lacey, Granbury is also personal. Family is the most important thing in her life, and one of the primary reasons she moved to Granbury was to be closer to her parents and spend more time with them.
She is incredibly proud of her two children and the lives they have built. Her daughter, Cailey, 27, is a practicing physical therapist in Oklahoma and is married to her husband, Cole. Her son, Casen, 22, works as a field mechanic, working on large machinery and equipment. Watching both of her children grow into successful young adults is one of Lacey’s greatest sources of pride.
She has also been blessed to share the past 30 years with her husband, Bruce, whom she describes as an incredible partner and source of support throughout her journey. Together, they have built the family that remains at the center of Lacey’s life.
Away from school, her favorite place to recharge is anywhere near the water, whether she is on the boat at the lake, enjoying the beach, or simply relaxing by the pool with the people she loves most.
After more than 30 years in education, Lacey’s definition of leadership continues to come back to people. It is about seeing potential, creating conditions for growth, setting high expectations, and being willing to walk alongside others as they work to achieve them.
Her goal is simple but significant: to be intentional about her impact and to leave every place she serves stronger than she found it.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Tiffany Rodriguez | Child Care Coordinator
Sometimes leadership finds us when we least expect it. For Tiffany Rodriguez, a move to Granbury came at a time when she thought her career in education might be coming to an end. Instead, an opportunity she almost never pursued opened the door to what she now describes as the most rewarding, and challenging, chapter of her career.
Now beginning her 22nd year in education and her ninth year with TeamGISD, Tiffany serves as Child Care Coordinator, overseeing Extended School Day (ESD) and Little Buccaneers. Her journey to this role has included experiences in early childhood education, elementary classrooms, program development, and child care leadership, all of which have shaped her belief that effective leadership begins with relationships.
Early in her leadership journey, Tiffany found inspiration in Simon Sinek’s Start with Why and Leaders Eat Last. Their emphasis on leading with purpose and taking care of the people entrusted to you helped shape her belief that trust, purpose, and people should remain at the center of leadership.
Tiffany’s connection to early childhood education began long before she joined TeamGISD. While attending Texas Tech University, she began working at a child care facility at 18, eventually serving in roles ranging from infant and school-age teacher to assistant director and director. She also developed curriculum and launched the center’s after-school and summer programs, experiences that would become especially meaningful later in her career.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies and teaching certification in 2005, Tiffany spent the next 13 years in public education as a reading interventionist and kindergarten, first-, and fourth-grade teacher. When her family moved to Granbury, she was ready for something different and wasn’t sure she wanted to remain in education. But when she saw the posting for Granbury ISD’s ESD Supervisor position, she decided to give it a try, a decision she is grateful she made.
Sharon Williams, who hired Tiffany as ESD Supervisor and served as Curriculum Director during her first years in Granbury ISD, became an important mentor. Tiffany remembers Sharon as an empowering leader who modeled patience, positivity, and trust. Rather than providing the answers, Sharon guided her decision-making, helping Tiffany develop confidence and autonomy as a leader.
That same commitment to empowering others is now central to Tiffany's own leadership philosophy.
She believes people thrive when they feel valued, supported, and trusted. For Tiffany, leadership means knowing the people she serves, recognizing their strengths, setting clear expectations, and providing the encouragement and support they need to grow. Her goal is not simply to manage people, but to develop and empower them to become the best versions of themselves.
Perhaps no accomplishment reflects Tiffany's journey more clearly than the creation of Little Buccaneers, Granbury ISD's first employee child care center.
During her second year with the district, Tiffany was given the opportunity to research, plan, and launch the program. Drawing from her early experiences in child care and her years as an educator, she worked to incorporate the strongest elements of high-quality child care into a program designed specifically to serve TeamGISD employees and their families.
"I was absolutely thrilled to lead the research and planning for Granbury ISD's very first employee childcare center."
Now celebrating its seventh year, Little Buccaneers is an accomplishment Tiffany is incredibly proud of, but she is quick to redirect the credit to the people who bring the program to life each day. She describes the staff as the heartbeat of its success, pouring their hearts into caring for the district's youngest learners.
That perspective reflects one of Tiffany’s most important lessons about leadership: success is not about having all the answers or doing everything yourself. She wants the people she leads to feel valued, supported, and heard while knowing she believes in their potential and will challenge them to continue growing.
Tiffany’s own commitment to growth has never stopped. At age 42, she returned to school and earned a master’s degree in Child Development and Family Studies from Tarleton State University, continuing a journey centered on helping children, families, and educators thrive.
For Tiffany, being part of TeamGISD feels like being part of a family. She is grateful for the supportive foundation and positive culture that define the district and the opportunity to serve its students, staff, and families.
Beyond her work, Tiffany and her husband have been married for 15 years and have two children who attend Mambrino STEAM Academy and Granbury Middle School. She loves getting lost in a good suspense or thriller, spending time with her family, kickboxing, and gardening.
Tiffany’s journey has brought together a lifetime of experiences, from working in child care at 18, to the classroom, to creating a new program for TeamGISD families. Through it all, one principle continues to guide her: start with purpose, invest in people, and create an environment where others feel valued and empowered to grow.