Get to know TASA’s member service representatives One of the many TASA member benefits is access to member service representatives. These former school leaders serve as an extension of the TASA staff, dedicating their time to support individual TASA members in their respective regions.
spending eight years in the district while returning to Pan American University for his educational administration and superintendent certificates.
The roles of a TASA member service representative are many, from welcoming new administrators to supporting those who’ve been in their positions for an extended period of time and find themselves in need of a mentor. Over the past year in INSIGHT, we’ve been featuring TASA’s member service representatives, the work they do and how they came to serve. Find contact information for all of the member service representatives at tasanet.org/ about/tasa-staff. We complete our series with Roel Peña, TASA member services representative for regions 1, 2, 19 and 20.
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oel Peña is a lifelong resident of the Rio Grande Valley and a tireless supporter of Texas public education, dedicating his entire career, and beyond, to working for school districts. He graduated from Edcouch-Elsa High School, located between Edinburg and Harlingen, not far from the Texas/Mexico border, and received his bachelor’s degree in biology and physical education at Pan American University. He was drawn to work in public education because, growing up in the Valley, he knew his personal experience gave him a unique insight into how best to work with students in the area. 28
INSIGHT
Roel Peña “Kids here in the Rio Grande Valley, they have special learning needs and economical disadvantages,” Peña says, “I wanted to work with those students, so I started teaching in Edcouch-Elsa High School my first year.” Peña taught high school biology and physical science at his alma mater for three years before moving north. His wife was a student at Texas Woman’s University, and so he moved with her to Denton, where he started working in Frisco ISD while pursuing his master’s degree at North Texas State University. Frisco was a small district in those days, and the administration asked Peña to serve as a pseudo-assistant principal, working to help with learning needs and discipline situations of Frisco’s Hispanic students. He remained in the district for two years, then once Peña and his wife had completed their studies, the couple moved back to the Valley. Peña began working in Edinburg ISD as a counselor, then moved into assistant principal and principal positions,
Nearby McAllen ISD hired Peña to serve as its administrator for secondary curriculum and instruction, a position in which he was responsible for overseeing the district’s secondary school program. Peña was asked to serve as superintendent of San Perlita ISD in 1994, after the district had been categorized as low performing by the TEA. Over the next three years, Peña held the superintendency and helped bring the district’s rating up to exemplary. “I was very proud of the fact that it became recognized as an exemplary school district by the state of Texas,” he says. “It continues today as an exemplary district.” From San Perlita, Peña moved to Region 1 ESC, where he served as a deputy executive director for seven years, up until his retirement. Former TASA executive director Johnny Veselka was quick to ask the newly retired Peña to come aboard as a member service representative. “He saw that I had a good connection with superintendents, because that was really my job at Region 1, working with superintendents,” Peña says. “And Region 1 continued using me as a board training field service agent, so I did both.” In his role as TASA MSR, Peña is focused on communicating with superintendents and central office staff in regions 1, 2, 19 and 20. “I have a total of about 147 superintendents that I work with, providing them with up-to-date information on TASA policy development, initiatives and statelevel priorities,” he explains. “I welcome new superintendents to their positions and provide assistance and support.”
