Jesus Chavez
Jesus Chavez
Saturday, 07 April 2007
Jesus Chavez compares himself as a child to the young Albert Einstein. Like Einstein, he said he was not a model student until a teacher reached out and believed in him. He went on to become the first member of his family to attend college. The challenges in his youth may have helped him with some of the challenges in his first full year as superintendent where he oversaw the passage of a new bond package.
- Q. How did your time spent teaching help you to be a better superintendent?
- A. I worked at a school in Brownsville in a very poor area, not just in the city but in the state, so I quickly learned there’s a lot of need for schools to do a good job giving students the necessary help to succeed. I had very smart kids, but there were language barriers. I started as a third grade bilingual teacher, but half of my class, if not more, didn’t speak English. We had the challenge of not just teaching them the English language, but teaching them the content as well and making sure we gave them the skills necessary to be successful in elementary school, middle school, high school and life.
- Q. What is distinctive about the Round Rock school district?
- A. I think it’s the balance we have. We’re known for our strong academic focus, but we have very strong programming all across our district for fine arts. It’s not uncommon to see Round Rock bands and orchestras performing at a number of state functions, and we see high recognition for our athletic program. I encourage students to do well academically, but to be well-rounded and to participate in some of the activities we have available, whether it be in fine arts, athletics or the community.
- Q. What are you most excited about in the bond package?
- A. Relief of overcrowding, particularly at the elementary level. I know we have several very severely overcrowded situations, but with the coming of new schools those areas will be relieved. We’re building a new high school for 2010. It will offer relief to Stony Point and McNeil, which will be very crowded very soon.
- Q. How were you feeling in November during the bond election?
- A. It was very nerve wracking to wait for results. I was hopeful that the community would see the need and understand that we were going to be good stewards of the district and be financially responsible to them and spend the bond dollars as they recommended. We have four schools under construction and a high school under design. We hope to see the sale of additional bonds this January for construction dollars for the high school and get into implementing some of the technology needs we have.
- Q. There are a lot of elements to being a superintendent. What’s your favorite?
- A. My favorite part of the job is being in the schools. It keeps you grounded and re-energizes you. It makes you realize all the other elements of the job are important because that’s what the ultimate work is about: the education that takes place in classrooms and schools.
- Q. If you had an unlimited budget, what are the first things you would do?
- A. Across the state we need to improve math and science, so I’d put additional dollars toward improving those two areas with hands-on materials, curriculum training, technology and enrichment extension opportunities before and after school.
- Family: Married, two sons ages 21 and 12
- Education: Bachelor of Science in elementary education, University of Texas, Austin; Master of Education, Pan American University; Doctorate in Education Administration, University Texas, Austin.
- Contact information: 464-5022, superintendent_rrisd@roundrockisd.org
| RRISD demographics |
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| Round Rock’s student demographics are changing, but that change is not always reflected in the teaching staff, according to RRISD spokesperson Joylynn Occhuizzi. While around 23 percent of RRISD students are Hispanic, only eight percent of teachers fall in that category. That is something the school district would like to change, she said, so during recruitment time, especially during the spring semester, recruiting efforts throughout the state focused on a diverse group of universities. While the district is concerned with hiring a diverse selection of teachers, choosing quality educators is top priority, she said. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Students by Ethnicity | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| African American | 10.3% | 9.7% | 9.6% | 9.0% | 8.5% | 7.8% | 7.5% | 7.2% | 6.8% | 6.3% | 5.9% | 5.9% | 5.8% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hispanic | 23.4% | 22.5% | 21.1% | 20.3% | 18.8% | 17.8% | 16.8.% | 16.0% | 15.2% | 15.2% | 14.3% | 14.1% | 13.6% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Caucasian | 56.1% | 58.3% | 60.4% | 62.2% | 64.8% | 67.2% | 69.2% | 71.0% | 72.3% | 73.3% | 75.1% | 75.9% | 76.8% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Native American | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 9.7% | 9.1% | 8.5% | 8.2% | 7.6% | 6.8% | 6.2% | 5.6% | 5.3% | 4.9% | 4.4% | 3.9% | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| LISD demographics |
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| Student demographics are changing across the state, but, as in Round Rock ISD, that change is not always reflected in the teaching staff. In 2006, 28.3 percent of the student population was minority and 9.6 of the teachers fell into the same category. Although LISD doesnt have a written procedure for hiring diverse staff, every year the staffing directors re-address whether LISD staff reflects the student demographics, said Jennifer Beard, LISD spokesperson. The district recruits throughout the state and targets universities known to produce diverse candidates. Every year the district works to staff its schools with the most qualified and diverse staff, she said. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Students by Ethnicity | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| African American | 5.8% | 5.4% | 5.0% | 4.5% | 4.3% | 3.7% | 3.1% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hispanic | 18.3% | 17.7% | 17.2% | 16% | 15.2% | 14.8% | 13.9.% | 13% | 12.1% | 11.3% | 11.5% | 10.9% | 10.9% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Caucasian | 71.7% | 73% | 74% | 75.7% | 77% | 78.5% | 80.5% | 81.7% | 83% | 84.1% | 83.9% | 84.4% | 84.4% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Native American | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | .4% | 0.4% | 0.3% | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 3.6% | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 2.9% | 2.5% | 2% | 1.9% | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.7% | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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