If you’ve ever met DeSoto Alternative Education Program DAEP Principal Homer Webb, you know Webb is passionate about two things—flying and investing in children. Webb’s passion is contagious. Catch a story of him recanting his experiences as a teacher, mentor and principal and you’ll quickly understand why he is well-suited for his professional assignment in DeSoto ISD.
Webb's childhood dream was being a pilot. Even though his parents would take him to airplane shows and events while growing up, he still didn’t know anybody who could fly airplanes.
"Nobody in Oak Cliff flew airplanes that I knew," said Webb. "Most people were scared to fly airplanes."
In his college years, Mr. Webb worked at the local sheriff's department to pursue his dream of being a pilot in law enforcement. While working there, Webb assisted the sheriff's office in juvenile cases. It was then when he realized he wanted to go into the education field to help kids find the right path in life before it was too late.
"Go dream something big, don't worry about what you see in the neighborhood" Mr. Webb always reminds his students.
"If my environment determined where I ended up in life, I would not be flying," said Webb as he spoke of the importance of exposing students to unique career pathways. "I believe kids struggle because they don't have a model to help them believe something is possible."
Webb, a licensed pilot since 2005, said, "I love flying, but I love the kids. Flying is a tool I use to motivate and inspire my students."
On Thursday, Oct. 21, Webb’s birthday, he took a day off to celebrate with his family and spent time living out his dream of flying. Webb gassed up his small plane and flew it over the district’s DAEP and Katherine Johnson TMA campuses during dismissal. Students and teachers alike were excited to see Webb's orange plane flying overhead.
Webb plans to visit the campus to talk to students about the aviation industry and how they, too, can become pilots.
Representation matters and as Webb continues to go beyond his role as principal at DAEP to help students dream, he sees the fruits of his investments in the students, who’ve gone on to achieve all they desired to be.