Charles McClure, Editor of the Lake Travis View, has been named to the 2009 Media Honor Roll, a program sponsored by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).

 The Lake Travis Independent School District (LTISD) Board of Trustees formally recognized McClure and Superintendent Dr. Rocky Kirk – who nominated McClure for the honor – at the May 21 regular school board meeting.
For McClure, the honor was particularly meaningful. He has dyslexia — a learning disability — and credits a schoolteacher for helping him to deal with limitations associated with the disorder.
“Take a good look at me,” McClure said after receiving the award. “I represent what all of you — whether you are an trustee, an administrator or a teacher — are trying to accomplish. I was a troubled youth because in 1966, when I was first diagnosed with dyslexia, little was known about it. During grammar school, I struggled with my studies. I even repeated third grade. Unknown to me, a sixth grade teacher at my school, Martha Fitzgerald, was observing me. She had been learning about dyslexia while earning her masters degree. When I entered the sixth grade, I was initially assigned to another classroom. She went to the principal and asked that I be reassigned, but first she came and asked me if that was all right by me.
“It was the first time that anyone, other than my parents, saw potential in me,” he continued. “She was very tough on me, but taught me good study habits and she changed my life. I owe her everything.”
McClure said he has been looking for Fitzgerald for more than 25 years to thank her, but has been unsuccessful. However, thanks to the foundation she helped him establish, he was able to overcome his learning disability.
“I am living proof that with loving parents, dedicated educators and willing mentors, that a person with a learning disability can overcome virtually any obstacle,” McClure said. “I am a product of Texas public schools and, for me, being honored by LTISD and TASB in this manner has great personal meaning. I hope teachers find inspiration in my story and know that they are in the most important of professions. They touch and change lives like mine each and every day.”
According to TASB, the Media Honor Roll recognizes media representatives statewide who deserve recognition for fair and balanced reporting of news about public schools. Media representatives from approximately 450 Texas newspapers and radio and television stations have been named to the Media Honor Roll.
Criteria for selection included the media representative’s efforts to get to know the superintendent, board president, and the district’s mission and goals; report school news in a fair, accurate, and balanced manner; give a high profile to positive news about schools; visit the schools; and maintain a policy of no surprises by sharing information with school officials.
“Much of the community’s knowledge and opinions about public schools rely on responsible reporting by local media representatives who decide which news to share with the community, how much attention will be focused on various issues, and what the tone of the reporting will be,” said Kirk. “On behalf of our Board of Trustees and the entire LTISD family, we express our sincere appreciation for Charles and his balanced and accurate approach to sharing with the Lake Travis community both the challenges facing our schools and the successes achieved by our students, teachers, and staff.”
TASB is a nonprofit organization established in 1949 to serve local Texas school districts. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 4.6 million public school students.