Paul Arnold Rode 

Notes:

a) Religion: Lutheran, ELCA

b) Born in Halletsville, Texas to Lydia Hannemann and Arthur Daniel Rode on June 6, 1928, Paul was reared in Taylor. He attended classes at Texas Lutheran University (then Texas Lutheran College) from September 1945, to May 1947, when he transferred to Texas State (then South Texas State Teachers' College), where he graduated with a degree in history and biology in May of 1949. In 1950, he went to Europe under the auspices of Lutheran World Relief to assist Baltic refugees displaced by the Second World War and events following. Upon returning to the United States, he began a 41 year teaching career as a 6th grade teacher at Oak Park Elementary in Corpus Christi Texas. While in Corpus Christi, he directed a church choir and had roles in little theatre productions for 3 years. He also met Mary Margaret Woodward, his beloved wife of sixty years, whom he married in August of 1953.

After their marriage, he and his new bride moved to San Antonio, where he taught Texas History at Cooper Junior School and 6th grade at John B. Hood Elementary. In 1956, he spent time in Vermont while Mary Margaret attended classes at Breadloaf College. Shortly thereafter he was chosen as principal of Collins Garden Elementary, and in the early 1960's, he worked with KLRN TV as an on-air science educator, giving televised lessons in 5th and 6th grade science, pioneering a tradition later to be made famous by Don Herbert and Bill Nye. His son Benjamin was born in July of 1965. In 1966, Paul became principal of Baskin Elementary, where he served until 1973.

In 1973 he assumed the position of principal at Cambridge Elementary in Alamo Heights Independent School District, where he would continue for 18 years in a tenancy of profound educational excellence and influence. Awards during this period included The American Educators Award by the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge (1977), The Distinguished Library Service Award by the Texas Association of School Librarians (1983), the Luby Prize for Educational Leadership (1986), of which he was the first recipient, and the Mind Science Foundation's Imagineer Award (1990). The Cambridge School library was named the Paul A. Rode Library in his honor upon his retirement.

After retiring, he remained active in the San Antonio educational and arts communities, helping manage the Twig Bookshop and supporting the San Antonio Symphony and public libraries, in addition to serving on the board of the San Antonio Children's Museum, where he was a tireless advocate for the vision that he lived to see realized in the DoSeum, San Antonio's flagship museum for kids.