Sharon Delesbore, principal at Christa McAuliffe Middle School in Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD), has been recognized as an Emerging Leader by PDK International, a global association of education professionals.

The Emerging Leader program recognizes top educators under age 40 from across the world for their leadership, particularly as it is related to PDK’s tenets of service, research and leadership. A committee of past Emerging Leaders selected this year’s 24 honorees from a competitive field of applicants, based on their outstanding professional accomplishments.

Before becoming principal at Christa McAuliffe Middle School in 2008, Delesbore served at several Houston area schools. She was an assistant principal at Holub Middle School and Hastings High School in Alief ISD. Prior to that, she was a science instructional specialist at Elsik High School and a science teacher, head basketball coach and assistant volleyball coach at E.A. Olle Middle School.

She has made presentations at local, state, regional, and national conferences and was named 2008 Alief Paraprofessional Association Administrator of the Year in the Alief ISD. She is a member of many professional organizations, including Texas Association of Secondary School Principals, People to People International, and Science Teachers Association of Texas. She is also a member of PDK’s University of Houston/Clear Lake chapter.

Delesbore is a principal in the neighborhood where she grew up, and she’s faced several challenges this year, including Hurricane Ike. The storm did so much damage to Christa McAuliffe MS that students had to attend Willowridge High School for their fall semester. She was also faced with implementing the first stage of a plan to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), or federal accountability guidelines.

“I have taken on a big agenda, but every day I wake up with a smile because I love what I have been sent to do,” Delesbore said.