Jesus Chavez

Jesus Chavez

Saturday, 07 July 2007

Jesus Chavez, Round Rock ISD Superintendent

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.

• 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

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.

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