By Mark Hyatt
When you work at a national nonprofit with ties to like-minded groups around the world, it’s not often that you get to talk about friends and neighbors back home. But this month, I have the welcome opportunity to congratulate a fellow Colorado educator who also happens to be one of CEP’s site visitors and evaluators for our annual National Schools of Character awards program.
On March 21 in Colorado Springs, the Pikes Peak Chapter of the American Red Cross will honor Ute Pass Elementary School Principal Chris Briggs-Hale as one of its annual ‘Hometown Heroes’ who have inspired others and made a difference through individual acts of courage. Cited for his decisiveness and sustained determination after last spring’s Waldo Canyon wildfire and the mudslides that followed in the summer, Briggs-Hale was nominated for the award courtesy of a letter-writing campaign by his grateful students. What had he done to merit such praise?
Well, during the fire, he remained calm, focused and relentless as he oversaw the safe evacuation of his school and reassured his 152 students, almost all of whom had to evacuate their homes, as well. Then, when mudslides followed just weeks later, wiping out Ute Pass Elementary’s playground, Principal Briggs-Hale found his mission, drawing inspiration from the plaintive question of one of his frightened students. As he explained to the Colorado Springs Gazette, “I was calling a parent about something else and their little girl picked up (the phone)… ‘Mr. Briggs-Hale, is our playground going to be OK?’ she asked. She was upset. It hit me like a ton of bricks.”
Briggs-Hale promised her that the playground would be rebuilt. After he hung up, he realized that he would now have to deliver on his word. He soon began working the phones and meeting with local merchants and civic associations, seeking donations for the project. In the end, his tireless efforts, combined with paid insurance claims, yielded $200,000 for a new playground that also accommodates students with disabilities. It re-opened a week before Thanksgiving.
Ute Pass Elementary’s students and parents were thrilled. So much so that one class even composed this ‘thank you’ song and performed it for the Principal.
This school is your school
This school is my school
You are a hero
and you are so cool
You saved our playground
and our community
This day was made just for you — hooray!
The letters to the American Red Cross also demonstrated that Briggs-Hale’s influence on his students goes well beyond the natural disasters of 2012. Wrote one youngster:
Dear American Red Cross,
My hero is Mr. Briggs-Hale…
He saved us from the flood. He helps us with problems and he saved us from the fire.
[He is] very kind and generous.
Another letter doesn’t even mention the fire or the mudslides. It just launches into a separate episode with which teachers and administrators everywhere can relate:
Mr. Briggs-Hale put his foot down to the bully and said “STOP!” I first thought he would just put the bully on the wall, but no. Mr. Briggs-Hale took action. He had a conference with me. He turned into my super hero that day because he was kind, truthful, brave, and mostly heroic.
I think he should win [the Hometown Hero award] because he will be the biggest hero this state will ever have. Mr. Briggs-Hale should win because he will take action. But I mostly nominate him because the minute that bully left me alone, I felt safe once more.
Wow. Wouldn’t we all like to have a letter like that in our personnel file?
Obviously, to those who know him, Chris Briggs-Hale is much more than just a nice guy who saved a playground. His career accomplishments go back much farther and his influence runs much wider than the average elementary school principal. In 2004, in fact, he was even named the ‘Community of Caring’ National Administrator of the Year.
I am proud to know Chris as a friend and colleague, and we at CEP are even prouder to have him represent us to our NSOC candidates. His is a character and a career that we would all do well to emulate.
Congratulations, Mr. Briggs-Hale!
