FRISCO, TEXAS – Thousands of teachers join the workforce every year. They go into higher
positions, see completely different sides of the education system, or turn to another profession.
But how many teachers do you know that stayed in one place for 19 years?
Since 2005, Brian Greenleaf has taught color guard at Centennial High School. That means, 19
shows done with his work for the marching band during the summer and fall. Not only that, he
teaches JV Winterguard and Varsity Winterguard during the winter and spring.
Color guard is visual art that includes dance and equipment manipulation. The equipment used
are six-foot flags, rifles, swing flags, and sabers. The color guard dances side by side with the
marching band as their visuals. This team goes and encourages school spirit and participates in
competitions.
When Greenleaf first originally became the colorguard director at Centennial he saw how the
previous Guard Director had left things for him.
“It was the students. They were bad. Not just with their skills, but as people,” Greenleaf
reminisces. “A lot of them had their issues, but all together they were disrespectful to any
authority.”
Greenleaf was eager for the next four years, as he was trying to instill discipline in his classroom
and help each student achieve their goals.
“For the next four years, I kept on trying to instill new good behaviors in the students. The
upperclassmen were harder to help, but the underclassmen were already used to my good
intentions and the work environment I created for them. And by the end, I had a whole new
guard of good-behaved kids.”
Senior Valeria Norena is one of the few people in the guard currently who have been with
Greenleaf for four years.
“In the past four years with Brian Greenleaf, I’ve learned many things, both about guard and life.
I have definitely matured as a person and learned how to stand up for myself,” Norena recalls.

Greenleaf has built a reputation around the entire guard community. When teaching for so many
years, he has sent many kids into successful careers, many of those being fellow Guard
Directors.
An alumnus who graduated in 2016, was a tech in winterguard for 2022, teaching the dance to
the guard members while she was in college. Now, she is the colorguard director at a school in
high school in North Texas. Now, he has connections with almost every school in the Dallas area.
His years of experience have also earned him the title of past President and 1st Vice President of
the Mid-American Performing Arts Association. He also served on the Executive Board of the
North Texas Color Guard Association, as well as the Winter Guard International Advisory Board
and Steering Committee on the executive board.
With all this success in his career, many would believe that he would move on to a greater and
more fulfilling job, but instead, Greenleaf decided to stay.
“I was scared that someone would come and undo the work I put into the guard. These kids have
a safe space here, where they can be themselves and forget about whatever is going on in their
lives. So I stayed. Even if I had been here forever, I wouldn’t let anyone destroy what these kids
had.”
That was his thought until Lauren Flores showed up in 2021. Flores joined the staff, helping
Greenleaf with colorguard and winterguard. Wielding her colorful graphic designs and long
experience in guard due to working with the WGI medalists, Kickapoo Color Guard, and
working with Timber Creek Color Guard.
She decorated the Guardroom, organized all the information the Guard needed, and helped the
students with anything they needed. To Greenleaf, it was mainly how she was able to help with
creating that safe space.
“When Lauren came, I saw how she could connect and help the students. She did it so easily, you
would think that she worked here for ages. Now, I am sure that my students are going to good
places with a good person behind them.”
This year, Greenleaf is retiring from Centennial High School. The show, “To The Clouds We
Fly”, will be his last. After that, Flores will be taking up his position and continue as the new
Color guard Director.
Over the years, Greenleaf has influenced people in many ways. Even if he is going to pursue
different things, his influence on Centennial will never leave.