Arlington ISD Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos is one of five public school administrators from across Texas selected as state finalists for the annual Superintendent of the Year award.
Sponsored by the Texas Association of School Boards, the SOTY program has recognized exemplary superintendents for excellence and achievement in educational leadership since 1984.
The other 2016 finalists and their regions are Angi Williams, Galena Park ISD, Region 4; David Harris, DeSoto ISD, Region 10; Robin Battershell, Temple ISD, Region 12; and Greg Gibson, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, Region 20.
The state selection committee, which interviewed regional winners Aug. 26-27 in Austin, targeted such issues as advocacy for public education, recruitment and retention of high quality educators, programs and initiatives that positively affect student growth, and steps to measure continuous improvement.
With 17 years of administration experience, Cavazos serves about 63,000 students. He has led Arlington ISD for four years. Cited by the selection committee were his outreach and agreements with local universities to secure automatic admission for the top 20 percent of district juniors and emphasis on training to strengthen the leadership skills of aspiring principals and assistant principals. Cavazos earned his bachelor' s and master' s degrees at The University of TexasPan American and doctorate at The University of Texas at Austin.
Candidates are chosen for their strong leadership skills, dedication to improving educational quality, ability to build effective employee relations, student performance and commitment to public involvement in education. Superintendents from any of the state' s local school districts are eligible for nomination by their school boards. Local nominees are submitted to a regional selection committee, which chooses one nominee to send to the state selection committee.
Regional winners nominated by regional selection committees are Marla Guerra, South Texas ISD, Region 1; Suzanne Nelson, Tuloso-Midway ISD, Region 2; Jay Killgo, Vidor ISD, Region 5; Jason Marshall, Palestine ISD, Region 7; Don Jefferies, Greenville ISD, Region 8; Jeff McClure, Henrietta ISD, Region 9; Cathy Lauer, Nixon-Smiley CISD, Region 13; Shaun Barnett, Stamford ISD, Region 14; Bill Wiggins, Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips CISD, Region 16; Dewitt Smith, Wink-Loving ISD, Region 18; and Jos Espinoza, Socorro ISD, Region 19.
The 2016 Superintendent of the Year will be announced Sept. 23 at the TASA/TASB Convention in Houston.
TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local public school boards. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 5.3 million students.
Arlington ISD, Education, News