One year, during the time I served as Superintendent of the Portland, OR schools, the Niketown store in Portland invited a series of famous athletes to speak at the store. While clearly designed as a commercial promotion, they also tied the series to the importance of education. As a result I was sometimes asked to sit behind the athletes on the platform as they spoke. The ones I particularly remember were Michael Johnson, Gabby Reece (and her husband Laird Hamilton) and Carl Lewis.

By far the most interesting talk was the one given by Carl Lewis. Like everyone else in the audience I was in awe of this man who had achieved extraordinary heights and sustained world-class level performances over more than a decade. Moreover, his career was distinguished by high personal integrity and an unwillingness to use performance-enhancing drugs.

As we sat patiently waiting to hear about his athletic exploits and his duels in his various competitions, he talked instead about his childhood and the influence of his parents. I do not remember whether one or both of his parents were teachers. Whether they both were or not, the message from both was clear and succinct - to do well in school or in athletics requires careful planning, sustained effort, a willingness to keep improving incrementally and faith in yourself. His plans in both areas of his life were carefully thought through - on 3 x 5 file cards, if I remember correctly - and posted on a bulletin board. His parents taught him how to seek help when he needed it, whether it was with his athletic endeavors or his studies. Academics took precedence and quiet time when he could focus on homework was zealously guarded.

While most of us who saw Carl Lewis compete as an adult would describe him as one with incredible "natural" gifts, he described his early athletic endeavors as constant struggles, with as many failures as successes. School posed similar challenges as his expectations of himself in school were as high as they were of himself in athletic competitions. He talked about how his family supported him each step of the way and how he learned to analyze what he needed to do to improve. For him, the discipline he learned as an elementary student was one of the critical elements to his eventual success as one of history's premiere track and field athletes.

As we start the new school year, it is worth remembering that the habits of mind a young person acquires as they go through school are often among the most important things they learn. Carl Lewis' parents understood that and we, as well as he, were the beneficiaries of that.