Texas Association of School Administrators: A Century of Inspiring Leadership

Texas Association of School Administrators: A Century of Inspiring Leadership (1925-2025)

By Johnny L. Veselka

Congratulations TASA on 100 Years of Supporting Texas Education

Stantec is proud to have joined the TASA Corporate Partner Program in its inaugural year, 2002-03. With every community, we redefine what’s possible.

Texas Association of School Administrators: A Century of Inspiring Leadership

(1925-2025)

By Johnny L. Veselka

Preface

When TASA’s founders met in Dallas in 1925 to organize the Section of Superintendence of TSTA, later named the Texas Association of School Administrators, they envisioned an organization with a commitment of service to Texas school leaders and the students they serve. Today, as I reflect on the 100-year history of TASA and its current priorities, I believe the organization’s founding leaders and charter members would be immensely proud that their vision has not only been realized, but surpassed.

As I researched and wrote the articles included in this publication in preparation for the celebration of TASA’s centennial year, I felt great pride in having the opportunity to commemorate the organization’s contributions to our public schools, the generations of TASA leaders who advanced TASA’s mission, and the thousands of school leaders, who, through the years, have dedicated their careers to meet each moment, working to improve the future of our communities and our state through public education.

It was impossible to include within these pages all the individuals who have helped shape TASA and the work they have done to impact public schools and education policy in Texas, but you will read about the exemplary leadership of many who played important roles. I hope you find that this publication links TASA’s past, present, and future by tracing the organization’s historical legacy, highlighting the foundation of the association’s current work, and envisioning growth for tomorrow.

It has been my greatest honor to serve this association for 43 years, including more than 32 years as executive director, and now, in my retirement, to be able to document TASA’s significant contributions to the progress of public education in the State of Texas over the past 100 years.

Dr. Johnny L. Veselka

TASA

Executive Director Emeritus Executive Director,

1986-2018

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Dr. Kevin Brown, TASA Executive Director, for his commitment to this project and for writing the future-focused conclusion, “A Preview of TASA’s Next 100 Years.” Special thanks are extended to Amy Francisco, TASA’s Director of Communications and Marketing, for her energetic support and constant attention to detail as editor and production manager, ensuring that this publication would be of the highest quality.

Thank you also to Dr. Charles Dupre, TASA Deputy Executive Director, Member Engagement & Support, for his leadership of TASA’s centennial celebration, Marco De La Cueva, TASA Coordinator of Graphics and Multimedia, for preparing the photographs and graphics and designing the TASA anniversary logo on the cover, and Phaedra Strecher of Phaedra Strecher Design, whose editorial design work integrated the text, images, and design elements to effectively communicate the story of TASA’s first century.

We are also indebted to our featured corporate partners, Harris County Department of Education, NWEA, PBK, Stantec, TCG, a HUB International Company, and WRA Architects, for their sponsorship of this publication.

Finally, special appreciation is extended to the countless members of the TASA staff who have supported and contributed to the growth and success of the association — many devoting decades to TASA — since the first executive director and staff were employed in 1966. Your hard work and dedication have made TASA the professional association it is today.

Table of Contents

Washington, D.C. February 28, 1930, President Hoover and a Texas Delegation of Superintendents & School Men of the N.E.A. Department of Superintendence. Prior to TASA’s disaffiliation from TSTA in 1978, it was a department affiliate of TSTA, which is a state affiliate of the NEA.

TASA Timeline: Our Origin Story

1854 -1924

The legislation creating the Texas public school system was signed by Gov. Elisha M. Pease in 1854. It called for the organization of common schools and set aside, as a school fund, $2 million of the $10 million Texas received from the sale of lands to the United States.

According to the Texas Almanac, the first school census showed a total of 65,463 students (state fund apportionment was 62 cents per student). For the next 70 years, no formal organization for Texas superintendents or principals existed. School administrators met informally, typically in conjunction with University Interscholastic League (UIL) competitions and Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) meetings. (The UIL was created by the University of Texas at Austin in 1910 and TSTA originated in Mexia in June 1880 when the North Texas Teachers Association and the Austin Teachers Association were combined.)

1924

During a meeting in Austin, a group of Texas superintendents and principals led by Brownsville superintendent Thomas Yoe formalized and began what would be a transition to form two organizations: one for superintendents and one for principals. These groups were “sections” of TSTA.

Later in 1924, Leonard Power, principal of Bryan Street High School (later Crozier Tech) in Dallas, was elected president, and Stamford superintendent N.S. Holland was chosen to serve as secretarytreasurer. Power ultimately remained with the principals’ section but is credited with providing the encouragement and leadership for the superintendents to step out and form a separate section that would ultimately become TASA.

1925

On what the founding members of the early association called their “Natal Day,” Power called a small group of superintendents to meet in his office at Bryan Street High School, where the superintendents, after acquainting Superintendent Norman Crozier with their objective and obtaining his blessing, prepared to move forward.

In November 1925, during the TSTA Convention in Dallas, the “Section of Superintendence” of TSTA, which would grow into the Texas Association of School Administrators, held its first meeting at the Scofield Memorial Church in downtown Dallas. E.B. Cauthorn, assistant superintendent, Dallas Public Schools, presided over the meeting as president.

1939

When the Section of Superintendence collected a $1 membership fee from 108 charter members in November 1925, Secretary-Treasurer N.S. Holland stated: “Our objective is to get an organization among school administrators, in Texas, along professional lines. The membership fee of $1 should be substantially increased, so that we can find sufficient funds for this organization to assert itself.” One year later, the membership fee was increased to $5.

It wasn’t until 1939 that the TSTA “Section of Superintendence” became the Texas Association of School Administrators. The name was changed to parallel the name of the national organization. (In 1937, the National Education Association’s Department of School Superintendence became the American Association of School Administrators, a department of NEA.) TASA remained a department affiliate of TSTA until 1978 when the TASA Executive Committee voted to disaffiliate from TSTA following TSTA’s unification with NEA.

Mary Carroll: TASA’s First Female Member

By November 1925, the “Section of Superintendence,” as the group that would become TASA was called, collected $1 in dues from 108 school leaders who were designated as charter members of the association. The only woman on the member roster was Mary Carroll, superintendent of Corpus Christi ISD from 1922 to 1933.

school in 1921 and superintendent the following year.

The Caller-Times reports that, during her tenure as superintendent, a $495,000 high school was built. Carroll used that opportunity to introduce a junior high/ senior high system. The newspaper reports that she always viewed that as her most important contribution to the school district.

At the dedication of the district’s third high school — Mary Carroll High School — in 1957, the then-retired Carroll was informed that the district now had nine junior high schools.

“Just shows it was a good idea, doesn’t it?” she remarked.

Of her involvement in TASA, Carroll said that the meetings always interested her, and she attended regularly.

Bonner Frizzell : A Colorful Character Among TASA’s Charter Members

Carroll began her CCISD career at age 18 in 1901, when she was hired to teach Spanish. Although she was born in Texas, she grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, where her family owned a furniture factory.

According to the Corpus Christi CallerTimes, she was paid $50 a month, which was less than what male teachers were paid. “They explained the difference,” she said later, “by saying that men had dependents to support, but many women teachers did, too, with younger brothers and sisters.”

After 20 years of teaching in CCISD, Carroll was named principal of the high

She also told a story about a gentleman from New York who expected to encounter “giant he-men” in Texas. Instead, he encountered Gov. Miriam “Ma”

Ferguson at the Texas Capitol in Austin, and he found County Superintendent Effie Hutto in the Nueces County school superintendent’s office. But he didn’t learn his lesson, because when he met Miss Carroll in Corpus Christi, the gentleman asked for the district superintendent. She replied, as a matter of fact, “I am the superintendent.”

An interesting charter member of the “Section of Superintendence” was Bonner Frizzell, one of Texas’ most noted pogonotrophists (beard growers). He started teaching at age 18 in a oneroom rural school in Henderson County that offered two high school classes, “a girl in algebra and a boy in geometry.” He later recounted: “At Christmas, my algebra class married my geometry class, and I lost my high school.” Frizzell was captain of the 1906 TCU football team, class president for four years at TCU, news editor of The Waco Tribune for one year, and an English instructor at Texas A&M for two years. Later, he served as Chief Supervisor of Rural Schools in the State Department of Education. In 1919, he became superintendent and business manager of Palestine ISD and remained in that position for 31 years until his retirement in 1950. In April 2011, a Texas Historical Marker was dedicated in his honor in Palestine.

Topics of the Time

Throughout the first 25 years of the association’s history, first as the “Section of Superintendence” of the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA), and after 1939 as the Texas Association of School Administrators, the organization sought to solve the major problems that faced school administrators. An early history written by N.S. Holland (see page 7) suggests that one of the reasons TASA was founded was to do research or to promote research to do just that.

Arithmetic

One of the organization’s first major studies focused on the subject of arithmetic. Conducted by Leonard Power of Dallas Public Schools, the study addressed the development of “A Texas Diagnostic Arithmetic Test,” and was described as the “most comprehensive research of its kind thus far undertaken on a single subject.” With 52 schools participating, Power concluded that schools “should not spend so much time in arithmetic,” but rather in a “broad fields” movement, including citizenship training, safety, thrift, radio, art, and music appreciation.

Individualization of Instruction

In the early 1940s, TASA conducted a four-year study about Individualization of Instruction. The committee encouraged “classroom teachers to determine through the examination of current literature the scope of individualized instruction and to present to teachers an historic account of its development.” The committee proposed a checklist of not more than 30 items related to individualized instruction and sought to determine best practices across the country.

Taxation

Throughout the period, taxation, alternative tax plans, a retail sales tax, adequate financial support for public education, and the desire to establish a State Tax Commission were constant topics of discussion, leading to the passage of the Gilmer-Aikin legislation in 1949.

Teacher Retirement

By 1935, association leaders started to discuss a retirement plan for Texas educators. Dr. B.F. Pittenger, dean of the School of Education at The University of Texas at Austin, addressed the topic “Retirement Legislation for the Teacher” at the fall 1935 meeting. Pittenger served on the TSTA Retirement Legislative Committee that proposed the first state legislation on this topic. Superintendents who had worked in states with laws providing for teacher pensions joined in the discussion and shared their experiences. In November 1936, voters approved an amendment to the Texas Constitution creating a statewide teacher retirement system. With the passage of enabling legislation passed in 1937, TRS was officially formed.

Conference Session Topics

While TASA is now a very different organization than it was in its earliest days, one thing hasn’t changed: Members and other experts have given presentations on timely topics at conferences since the beginning. Following are topics from back in the day. While some are signs of the times, others are still hot topics today!

1928

“A Texas Diagnostic Arithmetic Test” by Leonard Power, Dallas “School Publicity and Public Relations” by Dr. Rollo G. Reynolds, Teachers College, Columbia University 1930

“A State Plan for Financing Education” Dr. George Strayer ( and “Why should Beaumont pupils spend more than eleven years in school just because Port Arthur wants a 12-year school system?”)

“A Seven Year Versus an Eight Year Elementary School” by Dr. Charles H. Judd, University of Chicago 1940

“Standardizing the Twelve Grade System in Texas” by Bob Cluck, superintendent, Cisco

N.S. Holland: First Superintendent to Serve as President and Author of TASA Early History Book

In 1928, after having served three years as Secretary-Treasurer of the Section of Superintendence, N.S. Holland became the first school superintendent to serve as president. Holland had previously served as superintendent at Stamford, and was superintendent at Breckenridge during his tenure as president. Later, he would serve as superintendent at Baytown. In the second half of the 1930s, Holland served the Section of Superintendence as its director of research. At the organization’s 1935 meeting, he gave a presentation on “A Proposed Tax Plan for the Schools of Texas.” The focus on taxation was in response to the serious financial difficulties schools faced due to the drop in income from the general property tax.

The next year, the Section of Superintendence proposed a two-year study on taxation. Holland spent a year’s leave of absence at Columbia University where he earned his doctorate studying under noted school finance experts John

Curriculum, Method, Taxation, and more recently Public Relations, have challenged and will continue to challenge Texas school administrators.

K. Norton and Paul R. Mort. Following that, he collaborated with L.B. Cooper, TSTA’s director of research, to publish a series of reports and articles on public finance and school finance topics.

In February 1939, Holland produced a series of monographs on “What Tax Experts Think of a Retail Sales Tax” and “How Tax Authorities Regard the Retail Sales Tax in Theory and Practice.” As a result of his research and discussions on the topic, superintendents repeatedly advocated for a sales tax to support public education and sought the establishment of a State Tax Commission. Throughout the first quarter century, association leaders sought Holland’s advice on questions related to tax policy.

In 1953, Holland published a history of the first 25 years of TASA. “A Brief History: First Quarter Century, 19251950, Texas Association of School Administrators” documents the commitment by the association’s earliest leaders regarding significant decisions on matters of education policy and constructive actions that affected the direction of public education in the years leading up to the 1949 passage of the historic Gilmer-Aikin legislation. In the preface, Holland wrote these words, which have withstood the test of time:

“Running through the entire account of the period treated, or any preceding or subsequent

period, what to teach, how to teach, and where to get funds in ever-increasing amounts stand out in prominence. Curriculum, Method, Taxation, and more recently Public Relations, have challenged and will continue to challenge Texas school administrators.”

TASA is indebted to N.S. Holland for his service to the association and his diligent attention to chronicling the early history of the association.

TASA Awards First Honorary Life Membership

Each year at the Midwinter Conference, TASA honors a new cohort of Honorary Life members. This special category of membership is reserved for school administrators who have demonstrated extraordinary devotion to education and to the association during their careers.

To be eligible, a person retiring from an administrative position in a public, county, or private school or association, college, or university must be a TASA member in good standing at the time of retirement and have at least 10 years of membership in TASA and 25 years of active service in education. TASA has presented Honorary Life memberships to more than 2,000 members since 1961.

This special category of membership is reserved for school administrators who have demonstrated extraordinary devotion to education and to the association during their careers.

TASA’s first Honorary Life Membership was bestowed at the 1943 annual meeting, when TASA President J.W. Edgar arranged for and conferred it on Dr. Fred C. Ayer , a professor of educational administration at The University of Texas at Austin.

Ayer, TASA’s “Director of Research” from 1931-1935, had published a series of reports titled “The Progress of Pupils in the State of Texas.” He

TASA’s First Corporate Partner: Roy J. Beard

Roy J. Beard, who was awarded TASA Honorary Life Membership in 1948, was the founder, president, and chairman of the board of Star Engraving and a member of the education board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in the 1950s. Beard might be best described as TASA’s first significant corporate partner throughout the first 35 years of the association’s history.

At the time he was awarded Honorary Life Membership, N.S. Holland said: “No man not engaged actively in schoolwork or flirting around in the school market has had a more abiding interest in the TASA than Roy Beard.” Beard attended state and national meetings, and his company sponsored events, including the Texas Breakfast at the AASA conference (every year until 1977).

This painting of Roy Beard is among 16 in a collection he donated to Texas State University. The paintings were by Texas artists and many were Texas landscapes and scenes related to the Old West. He also donated 20 engravings produced by Star Engraving. was recognized for the importance of that research. As TASA President Jake Hendricks noted in the foreword of one of Ayer’s reports, “All other educational issues are subsidiary to the problem of child progress.”

“In Texas we are talking about more taxes, more money for our schools, and rightly so,” Beard said. “As taxpayers, Star’s purse is open, and her moral support is backing you.”

Upon his death, he provided for the establishment of the Roy J. Beard Art Foundation to provide funds for paintings to be purchased and placed in high schools across the state. When TASA completed its first headquarters building in 1982, Jack Beard, chairman of the foundation’s board, presented a watercolor painting of downtown Austin to TASA for its new offices.

Honorary Life Members

1940s-50s

1945 Dr. B.F. Pittenger, Professor of Educational Administration, The University of Texas at Austin (See pages 6, 12.)

1946 Dr. A.W. Birdwell, Professor, Nacogdoches

1947 H.A. Fillers, Charter Member, Wichita Falls

1948 Roy J. Beard, Star Engraving Company, Houston

1949 B.B. Cobb, Charter Member, Claude

1950 Bonner Frizzell, Charter Member, Palestine (See page 5.)

1951 T.H. Shelby, Extension Division, The University of Texas at Austin

1952 Henry L. Foster, Longview (See page 10.)

Additional honorees during this period included Sen. A.M. Aikin and L.A. Woods, State Superintendent of Public Instruction (see page 12).

Celebrating 100 Years of TASA

Partnering Together to Provide Financial Wellness

For over 30 years, TCG, a HUB International company, has partnered with TASA to support Texas school leaders in enhancing their financial wellness. We believe that strong school leadership is essential for society's success, and we've worked together to provide financial solutions that complement the Texas Teacher Retirement System (TRS).

Together, TCG and TASA have:

Launched an innovative financial wellness program

Conducted hundreds of compensation consultations

Advocated for legislation to improve educator benefits and retirement savings

As TASA celebrates 100 years, we honor our shared commitment and look forward to many more years of partnership!

Taking a Stand on Legislation: Then and Now

Throughout the 1940s, the topic of state support of public education continued to arise in the organization’s annual meetings. When TASA leaders met in Austin in November 1946, the Executive Committee adopted the following resolution: “That the TASA establish an Educational Policies Commission to consider administrative problems on a long-term basis.” This action firmly demonstrated the association’s commitment to “a diligent consideration of proposed legislation, needed legislation, and other needed action affecting education in Texas.”

The commission was appointed by TASA President R.L. “Red” Williams in 1947 and ultimately influenced the development and passage of the Gilmer-Aikin Legislation during the 1949 legislative session (see page 12). The commission’s work reflected the numerous research studies TASA had conducted.

Following a survey of TASA members, the Commission formulated a series of statements to guide its work. The first statement called for State School Management, advocating for “unified

TASA Educational Policies Commission

J.W. Edgar, Chairman (Orange)

M.P. Baker (Corpus Christi)

S.M. Brown (Tyler)

H.L. Foster (Longview)

Murry Fly (Ector County)

Fred Kaderli (Pharr)

Hollis A. Moore (Kerrville)

Edward T. Robbins (Alamo Heights)

Charles M. Rogers (Amarillo)

R.L. Williams, TASA President (Sweetwater)

leadership at the state level,” with the members of the State Board of Education (SBOE), their appointment by the governor, and the relationship between the SBOE and its executive officer. Other statements dealt with certificates for teachers, Permanent School Fund investments, recodification of Texas school law, reorganization of school districts, a state building code, and multiple adoption of textbooks for elementary schools.

Since the 1940s, TASA has continued

In a communication to TASA members in November 1944, TASA President Irby Carruth stated that it was time for TASA to present “a strong, vigorous, and united front that will become a power in shaping the policies and future program of public education in our state. I believe that our mission as an organization should be largely one of promoting public relations and securing favorable legislation for the schools.”

Carruth, superintendent in Canyon, Bonham, Waco, and Austin, provided aggressive leadership at a time when TASA was emerging as a significant participant in shaping education legislation and policy.

this tradition of taking a stand on the important issues of the day. Every two years, prior to each legislative session, the school leaders who serve on the TASA Legislative Committee develop a slate of legislative positions and priorities and advise the Executive Committee and staff on the direction the association should take regarding legislative and state policy issues. While “arithmetic” is no longer a topic of its own, teacher retirement and taxation certainly still have their place in TASA’s legislative program.

TASA President Henry Foster’s letter to Gov. Beauford Jester in 1948:

“Governor, few people in Texas realize the dire need for more money to carry on a program of education. … The school people of this state should not have to go to the taxpayers and the public every two years and say, ‘Come on now and give us more money to educate your children.’ Perhaps our program of public relations has not been developed to a point where our contributions to democracy, industry, and business are appreciated as they should be. I do not mean that we are discouraged because we are not. The teachers of Texas will march on and do their best, but in our marching, we would like to have plenty of food, clothing, shelter, and a little extra money for some of the luxuries that others are able to have in comparable fields to that of education.”

Gov. Jester responded affirmatively to this letter by TASA President Henry Foster and expressed gratitude for the views on financing schools. He conveyed his interest in hearing from school people and gave assurance that the GilmerAikin Committee would give serious consideration to the letter. (Jester, the 36th governor of Texas, served from 1947 until he died of a heart attack on July 11, 1949, less than two months after helping to implement the Gilmer-Aikin legislation.)

J.W. Edgar: TASA President and First Texas Commissioner of Education

By the time J.W. Edgar was chosen to serve as the state’s first commissioner of education in 1950, he was a seasoned superintendent with experience leading school systems in both rural and urban settings. His first superintendency in 1928-29 was in Heidenheimer in Bell County (a community that is now part of Academy ISD). From 1929 to 1936, he served as superintendent in Mirando City in Webb County; then, in 1936, he was offered the job of assistant superintendent of Instruction and Personnel in the Victoria Public Schools. In 1939, while serving as superintendent in Orange, he was elected vice president of TASA for 1940-41 and served as TASA president in 1942-43. He held one more superintendency in Austin that began in 1947.

When Edgar assumed the TASA presidency for the 1942-43 term, Texas

State officials, recognizing Edgar’s leadership capabilities and expertise, appointed him to various additional committees and called on him for guidance on state policy issues.

superintendents were largely dealing with the impact of World War II on schools. The need for loosening regulations on the use of school buses for transporting athletes was paramount, including the need for federal assistance regarding bus use and gas allowances.

Edgar led a delegation to Washington, D.C., in March 1943 to seek assistance from the federal government. The Office of Defense Transportation recommended the use of private cars to conserve buses for general and school transportation. In addition, after a second trip to Washington in April, the Office of Price Administration increased the gasoline mileage from 470 to 720 per month for holders of “B” Ration books.

At the end of Edgar’s term, TASA leaders concluded that they should continue to be concerned with both research and administrative problems, pursue efforts to obtain federal aid, and urge Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn to name a person on the House Committee favorable to public education.

In 1946, TASA President R.L. Williams appointed Edgar to chair TASA’s Education Policies Commission (a precursor to the current TASA Legislative Committee). State officials,

recognizing Edgar’s leadership capabilities and expertise, appointed him to various additional committees and called on him for guidance on state policy issues.

The State Board of Education appointed him to the State Textbook Committee. Gov. Beauford Jester appointed him to the Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System, and in 1947, Lt. Gov. Allan Shivers appointed him to the GilmerAikin Committee, paving the way for his appointment as Texas’ first commissioner of education — a position he held for 24 years, until 1974.

TASA’s Role in Gilmer-Aikin

In 1947, the 50th Texas Legislature created the GilmerAikin Committee, whose work culminated in proposals to make Texas public schools more efficient and better funded. According to author Stephen Anderson, the idea for the committee originally grew out of planning sessions held by TASA members, and the results of a survey of TASA members helped shape the committee’s recommendations to the Legislature.

In addition to legislators and business and community leaders from across the state, the committee included the following TASA members: Committee Vice Chairman Henry W. Stilwell, superintendent, Texarkana; C.B. Downing, superintendent, Iraan; J.W. Edgar, superintendent, Austin; Hollis A. Moore, former superintendent, Kerrville; and B.F. Pittenger, University of Texas at Austin. Sen. James E. Taylor of Kerens served as chairman.

Committee Convictions

After 14 months of research, which included work by 254 county committees that were formed to assist in the selection of issues and gathering data and five additional subcommittees, the Gilmer-Aikin Committee determined the following:

• Education is a big business in Texas now (in 1948). It must become even bigger. And it must become bigger fast. A million babies had been born in Texas within the past six years. These babies were going to grow up with inferior education at the very time when they needed superior education if Texas citizens did not act promptly and positively.

• The education we now have is not “bad.” It has many excellent features and is making some very good citizens. As a whole, we can be proud of our public schools — but not too proud of our public school system.

• The system for education in Texas must be designed to fit the needs of a great state, a growing state, a modern state with no time or excuse for lost motion.

• Personalities, petty quarrels, local self-interest, political alignments, selfishness — these must be forgotten by any group entrusted with designing a better education for Texans.

A 41-page report was submitted to the county advisory committees, which were asked to secure input from as many groups as possible. Dr. L.D. Haskew, dean of the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin and technical consultant to the Gilmer-Aikin Committee, urged

The work of the Gilmer-Aikin Committee culminated in proposals to make Texas public schools more efficient and better funded.

TASA to contact a superintendent in each county to encourage them to reach out to their county committee to weigh in and relay important information to the state-level committee.

In the end, 133 counties submitted detailed reports to the Gilmer-Aikin Committee. All reports were due by November 10, 1948, for the committee to make its recommendations to the Legislature in time for the legislative session.

TASA President Henry L. Foster (left) was invited to the signing into law of Senate Bill 116 (one of the Gilmer-Aikin laws) in 1949 by Gov. Beauford Jester (seated).

Protest via Panel Presentation

Just as the Legislature convened in January 1949, the Mid-Winter Conference was held. The event reportedly became contentious when TASA members claimed that State Superintendent L.A. Woods, who had served as the elected state superintendent of schools since 1932, packed his panel presentation with those who opposed the Gilmer-Aikin proposals. (Woods was against the Gilmer-Aikin proposals because they included a change from an elected state superintendent to an appointed commissioner of education, and he would lose his job.)

Woods invited four speakers who opposed the legislation: W.V. Harrison, superintendent, Frost; Caso March of Waco, a law professor and candidate for governor in the 1948 Democratic primary; R.P. Ward, superintendent, Edinburg; and W.B. Irvin, superintendent, Highland Park Public Schools. He also invited two speakers who favored the plan (GilmerAikin Committee Chairman Sen. James E. Taylor and Co-Chairman of the Subcommittee on School Finance J.W. Edgar). Edgar was ill and unable to attend, so Taylor was the sole panelist left to defend the proposals.

TASA’s Support of the Legislation

TASA adopted a resolution criticizing Woods’ one-sided presentation and endorsed the TSTA resolution in support of the proposals. By February 1949, TASA was moving steadily forward in support of the legislation. N.S. Holland reported that TASA leaders “came back like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky” and called upon the state press and radio to retract their criticism of the Gilmer-Aikin proposals.

N.S. Holland reported that TASA leaders “came back like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky” and called upon the state press and radio to retract their criticism of the Gilmer-Aikin proposals.

TASA President Henry Foster appointed a committee of more than 20 superintendents to push the Gilmer-Aikin proposals (Senate Bills 115, 116, and 117). They were passed by both houses of the 51st Texas Legislature in April 1949. After a conference committee worked out compromises on the legislation, they were signed into law by Gov. Beauford Jester in June.

Results of the Gilmer-Aikin Laws

• 4,500 school districts were consolidated into 2,900 more efficient units.

• State equalization of funding began to supplement local taxes.

• Higher salaries attracted teachers and encouraged the study of education among prospective teachers.

• School staffs were augmented by education specialists.

• State funding became dependent on attendance.

• The nine-member appointed SBOE and the elected state superintendent of public instruction became a 21-member board with the power to appoint a commissioner of education. The board and commissioner, supported by a staff, composed the State Department of Education, now the TEA.

• Texas children were guaranteed minimum public schooling opportunities for 12 school years (nine months each year) with a minimum of 175 actual teaching days per year.

Later debates over the direction of educational reform in Texas have all been conducted within the framework provided by the Gilmer-Aikin Laws.

PBK has proudly sponsored TASA since 1997! +

PBK joins TASA in celebrating this historic milestone and reflecting upon 100 years of service, leadership, and advocacy for Texas's public schools. TASA has impacted innumerable lives through education and PBK is honored to partner in the important work of empowering leaders to teach, nurture, and equip future-ready students. We look forward to all that the future holds.

TASA’s first executive director, R.E. “Emmett” Harris, (see page 26) with 1972-73 TASA President Alton O. Bowen, who served as Texas

W.T. White: The TASA President Who Passed the Gavel

TASA entered the 1950s with W.T. White as president. In his written history, N.S. Holland noted that “From the standpoint of having a leader with the necessary professional standing and additional qualifications the TASA will not likely have a superior to Warren Travis White.”

Born in 1895, W.T. White graduated from Hamilton High School at age 17 and earned a teaching certificate through a summer course. That fall he began teaching at Enterprise, working also as a janitor at the school. After serving in World War I, he earned a physics degree from the University of Texas.

As a teacher, principal, and superintendent, he worked in schools in Bug Tussle, Bonham, and Wichita Falls before moving to Dallas in 1931

When the history of Texas education is written, White will be identified as one of the most able leaders. … Undoubtedly, he was one of the giants in his day. He made the difference between mediocrity and excellence.

to become principal of Sunset High School. That same year he earned his master’s degree. He then served as assistant superintendent before being named superintendent in 1945. One of his first accomplishments was the creation, in 1947, of Dallas ISD as a separate entity under an elected board of education. Previously, DISD was part of city government.

White had the distinction of serving as both president of TASA and as president of AASA at the same time, “a co-incidence without precedent,” and during the association’s fall 1950 meeting, he announced that AASA required so much of his time that he felt, in justice to TASA, he should resign from his TASA presidency.

At the time, TASA was heavily involved in working with TASA

Past President and Commissioner of Education J.W. Edgar and the Texas Education Agency to implement the sweeping new Gilmer-Aikin legislation, so White passed the TASA gavel to Vice President Edward Robbins. (See page 42).

White continued to serve as superintendent of Dallas Public Schools until 1968. DISD’s W.T. White High School was named in his honor in 1965. He was 91 when he died in 1987. Nolan Estes (1979-80 TASA president), who succeeded White as Dallas superintendent, said of White: “When the history of Texas education is written, White will be identified as one of the most able leaders. … Undoubtedly, he was one of the giants in his day. He made the difference between mediocrity and excellence.”

W.T. White High School

J.W. Edgar: Reflections on TASA from 1952

In October 1952, TASA President Fred Kaderli invited Dr. J.W. Edgar (see page 11), TASA past president and commissioner of education, to lead a panel discussion during an association meeting on “The Challenges Ahead for the Texas Association of School Administrators.”

By 1952, TASA had grown to 800 members. (As the “Section of Superintendence,” the organization rarely exceeded 100 members.) Edgar noted that, since about 1938, the organizational structure had been in transition, moving from a passive research organization to an active membership organization.

“Today, therefore, we are in the position, organizationally speaking, to plan our TASA program for the future in a manner which will ensure that we fulfill the responsibility we have as a statewide leadership organization for school administrators,” Edgar said. He outlined some of the organization’s strengths:

• TASA is no longer an experiment but is a solid organization with well-rooted ties and a continuous program of action.

• TASA has, as an organization, the background of experience necessary for successful program operations.

• TASA has a representative statewide membership in quantity, quality, and location of residence necessary to guarantee that any program we attempt will be representative of the state as a whole.

• TASA has the prestige necessary to fulfill its leadership responsibility as a statewide professional organization of, and for, school administrators.

TASA’s Challenges in 1952 Look a Lot Like TASA’s Challenges in 2025

Edgar outlined three challenges he foresaw for TASA at the time. TASA’s first challenge was “to perfect within TASA our relations with each other and TASA’s relations with other professional groups.”

He elaborated: “To provide an organizational structure which will attract all school administrators, and which will involve active participation from all members. Such a structure will need to bridge the differences which exist among us as school administrators and thus capitalize upon and direct in a positive manner the natural diversities within school administration rather than permitting these diversities to weaken us. This is a fundamental point. If the TASA is to fulfill its destiny, it

needs the active participation of all school administrators. The diversity of such a membership will prove to be its strength if the TASA organizational structure provides for utilizing such diversities.”

TASA’s second challenge, according to Edgar, was “to perfect TASA’s relations with its publics.”

“Today TASA has a greater challenge in its public relations than it has had at any time in its existence. Because of international and national tensions, because of inflation, and because of the development of central governments, the public schools of this nation are facing new publics. Historically, public education has enjoyed a natural and favorable public relationship. While this favorable position is still maintained, to assume that its continued maintenance can be carried on without redefining our relationships

in terms of the changing public attitudes, would be dangerous. Our obligation in this regard boils down to our responsibility for maintaining public confidence in the public schools.”

Did You Know?

It might seem odd today that the commissioner of education would make such extensive comments about TASA’s path to the future, even if he was a past president of the association. But before TASA appointed Emmett Harris as TASA’s first full-time executive director in 1966, TEA staff assisted with the management and operation of the association. As an example, Texas School Business reported in 1957 that Leon Graham, assistant commissioner for administration, also served as acting secretary of TASA. Prior to becoming executive director, Harris provided that support to TASA as TEA’s director of administrative services.

TASA’s final challenge, Edgar said, was “to perfect cooperative programs of in-service education for school administrators.” Among the key components of this challenge, he cited the work of Henry Alves, which focused on working collaboratively with school systems, centers, and other associations devoted to providing such programming. He also mentioned the need to cooperate with Prairie View and Texas Southern University and the Texas Negro Principals Association to support in-service education for its members. And he talked about participating in countywide and regional school board and administrator meetings on common problems, studying the role and functions of school boards jointly with TASB through the TASA-TASB Committee of Ten, and co-sponsoring workshops, conferences, and clinics with The University of Texas at Austin and other colleges and universities. Further, Edgar saw a need for TASA to learn more about the demands on school administrators in planning programs for community improvement and relating their programs more effectively to their communities.

“Oughtness” is Not Enough Reason to Join TASA

Some things change; some stay the same. Back before the internet and email (and even faxes), TASA used paper and ink to communicate with members. And although TASA no longer sends printed letters (like this one from 1952) that ask members to mail their dues to a fellow member, our message really hasn’t changed all that much.

In addition, he urged TASA to support efforts to improve the basic preparation (pre-service) program for school administrators by joining in efforts to improve the content and methods of instruction in graduate courses in school administration, providing on-the-job experiences to prospective school administrators, and developing a cooperative plan with colleges and universities for locating, selecting, and guiding potential school administrators.

In closing on that day in 1952, Edgar suggested that TASA give serious consideration to establishing a fulltime staff as a means of meeting the organization’s challenges. Fourteen years later, in 1966, Edgar’s charge to TASA’s leadership was fulfilled. (See page 26.)

We still need “the active membership of all eligible administrators in Texas” to remain viable and reach our goals. We still ask members to invite their colleagues to become part of what is truly an organization of and for its members. And we still remind school leaders of the many reasons they should join TASA. We do it a little bit differently than the following 1954-55 TASA membership campaign call to action, but you have to admit, the following still sums it up pretty well:

“’Oughtness’ is not enough reason for belonging to TASA, but there are many reasons why every school administrator in Texas owes it to himself and his school district to affiliate himself with TASA. The genial, progressive, well-informed school administrator, with a TASA membership card, and with unshakable confidence in himself, his ability, his school district, his association, his state, and his country, is to millions the living representative of Public Education in Texas!”

The Founding of Texas School Business Magazine

In October 1954, the premier issue of Texas School Business (TSB), “A Magazine Edited and Published Exclusively for Texas School Management,” was published. It featured Texas’ first commissioner of education, Dr. J.W. Edgar, on its cover and information on the recent reorganization of the Texas Education Agency as recommended by Edgar.

The magazine’s first publisher was Burt Pittenger, a lawyer who became president of Sharp and Co., which manufactured and distributed school book covers. He noted:

Did You Know?

In 1966, TASA began publishing a monthly newsletter called the “Texas School Administrator.”

INSIGHT magazine debuted in 1987, TASA launched its first website in 1996, and the TASA Daily e-newsletter got its start in 2004. Since that time, an estimated 5,000 issues of TASA Daily have been sent!

“Texas School Business is not an instrument of any organization or any firm, and in its individual stature, its sole interest will be to serve the professional administrative and supervisory organizations, its subscribers, and its advertisers by providing each month the kind of information, articles, editorials, ‘scuttlebutt,’ facts, news and features that will be of interest to busy school men and women.”

More than 70 years later, Texas School Business, owned and produced by TASA since 2014, continues to serve the public education community in the manner envisioned by its founders — and we still try to include plenty of information and “scuttlebutt.”

TASA purchased “Texas School Business” magazine in 2014, when the publication was 60 years old. The first issue published by TASA included a cover story on House Bill 5, which required the commissioner of education to adopt a transition plan to replace the Minimum, Recommended, and Distinguished Achievement graduation programs with the Foundation High School Program beginning with the 2014-15 school year.

TASA's website, tasanet.org, has come a long way since the 1990s!

“Texas School Business” launched in October 1954. The debut issue featured J.W. Edgar, a TASA past president and Texas’ first commissioner of education.

The Midwinter Conference Over the Years

TASA hasn’t always been the host of the Midwinter Conference. The conference goes way back — more than 90 years — to 1934, when Dr. L.A. Woods, who served as the elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1932 until 1950, initiated it. In its early days, it was called the Mid-Winter School Administrators Advisory Conference on Education.

Mid-Winter in the 1950s

At the 1955 conference, Texas Commissioner of Education J.W. Edgar opened the general session at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Austin. Other speakers included Mrs. Leon Price of Dallas, state PTA president; G.E. Tommy Thompson, TSTA president; and Frank Monroe, TASA president.

The January 1958 conference focused on the problems of small schools. Study group sessions addressed the topics of school accreditation, vocational education, budgeting, accounting, reporting and auditing, and in-service education.

Texas Sen. A.M. Aikin gave the opening address and was interrupted by applause when he said that education should be left on the local level without federal aid. “I do not want the strings that would come with federal aid, and I know it always costs more in taxes to raise it here, send it to Washington, and try to get it back.”

The 1960 Conference

During the January 1960 conference, which was dedicated to the work and life of Woods, the conference’s founder who had died a few months before, Edgar gave Woods credit for establishing the conference:

“This conference has proved to be so valuable to the progress of school administration in Texas that it has been

continued each year since its inception. Today, it is a permanent part of the constant effort in this state to keep the leadership in public education strong and to sustain the principle of local control of our schools — a principle to which Dr. Woods was fully committed.”

TASA Takes Over

Prior to the 1993 conference, TASA entered into an agreement with the Texas Education Agency to assist with the conference by processing registration fees and managing on-site registration. The next year, TASA launched Education Expo94, the conference’s first exhibit hall.

Nearly 10 years later, in 2003, Commissioner of Education Robert Scott officially transitioned responsibility for the “Administrators’ Midwinter Conference on Education,” to TASA due to budgetary and philosophical concerns at TEA. In

his official letter on the matter, he stated: “It is intended that this transition retain the purpose and value of the conference, and that both of our agencies will continue to work together with that end in mind.” TASA was honored to accept the commissioner’s invitation to carry on the conference’s tradition of excellence under the TASA banner.

The first TASA Midwinter Conference in 2004 coincided with the 150th anniversary of the founding of Texas public schools. The opening session featured a joint presentation by TASA President Dawson Orr, who was the superintendent of Wichita Falls ISD at the time, and TASA Past President (1987-88) John D. Horn, educational consultant and former superintendent. (See page 44) Their presentation was titled, “Challenges and Opportunities: Reflecting on Our Past, Exploring the Future for Texas Public Schools.”

Education Expo 2004 featured products and services from 275 companies and the conference agenda included more than 150 concurrent sessions, three general sessions, and a featured strand on school finance that included more than a dozen recognized experts in the field..

Dr. Shirley J. Neeley, superintendent, Galena Park ISD, was recognized at the opening session as the 2003 Texas Superintendent of the Year. Later in the conference, she addressed attendees as Texas commissioner of education, having been appointed to the position two weeks earlier by Gov. Rick Perry.

In the years since TASA assumed responsibility for the TASA Midwinter Conference, it has become the most popular conference for Texas school leaders and one of the largest annual conferences for school leaders in the country.

The cover of the program for the 2004 Midwinter Conference, the first one hosted by TASA

TASA’s First Professional Learning Offerings

While Tasa has hosted the Midwinter Conference for just over two decades, professional learning has long been an integral part of the organization’s work. In 1951, The University of Texas at Austin, in cooperation with TASA, launched a series of “OneWeek Work Conferences” for school leaders, including classroom teachers, supervisors, directors, principals, and superintendents.

Members submitted topics for the oneweek conferences, then they selected the week or weeks offering the greatest number of topics of interest to them.

The 1954 series exemplifies the types of program offerings developed by the university staff in collaboration with superintendents and other administrators, teachers, and professional organization representatives. Topics for the week-long

conferences included: The Principal and Instructional Improvement; Schools and Public; Dynamic Programs for Smaller Schools; State Action for Powerful Schools; and The Superintendent and the Educational Program, which centered around the superintendent being the “nerve-center of professional leadership.”

In the late 1950s ....

TASA President Edward T. Robbins commented that these conferences, “started by the TASA, constitute a distinct contribution towards professional betterment in Texas.” (See page 42 for more on Robbins.)

• Texas ranked 32nd among the states in expenditure per child.

• Texas ranked 31st in average teacher salary.

• Texas public schools employed 8,500 to 10,000 replacement and additional teachers each year.

• In 1957-58, 4,200 of 8,500 teachers employed were issued emergency teaching permits because they did not meet legal standards.

• In 1958-59, more than 4,300 emergency permits were issued to prevent 4,300 vacant teaching positions.

Source: Texas School Business, December 1959

TASA Study Groups: A Tradition that Continues Today

TASA’s study groups, originally co-sponsored by TASA and TEA and funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, were started in 1955 as a means for encouraging member discussion of critical education issues. Held regionally, the study groups brought six to eight meetings per year within the proximity of all Texas superintendents. Each study group selected a chair for the following year, determined meeting topics, and made plans for the year’s study program. Orientation of new chairs took place at the University of Texas Summer Workshop. TEA’s Director of Administrative Services served as project coordinator and assisted in securing consultants for the program.

In 1968, the 30 study group areas across the state were reduced to 20 by the TASA Executive Committee to conform generally to the new Education Service Center (ESC) regions and the TSTA districts, since they were closely aligned, with seven of the 20 conforming exactly. Going forward, the study groups became an integral part of superintendent meetings in each ESC region. Until the mid-to-late 1970s, TEA staff continued to coordinate the study groups and report on the topics discussed during their meetings to the TASA Executive Committee.

Today, the TASA study groups remain an essential medium for discussion of critical issues, challenges, and opportunities by TASA members across the state. Regional study group/membership chairs are elected annually within the ESC region they represent. They encourage membership in TASA and share information on TASA programs and services to administrators in their regions. The format of the study group meetings, which are held to conduct association business, hold regional elections as needed, and discuss relevant issues confronting the profession, varies from region to region.

The TASA/TASB Convention: A Decades-Long Partnership

Decades before TASA began hosting the Midwinter Conference, the organization began its partnership with the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), to host the “TASA-TASB Joint Annual Convention.”

It all started when TASA President Charles F. Mathews (later TASA executive director) invited TASB Executive Director Don Nugent and President A.H. McCulloch to hold TASB’s Annual Meeting in conjunction with TASA’s Annual Meeting in September 1960. Nugent, on behalf of the TASB Executive Committee, accepted the invitation “with enthusiasm.”

The First Joint TASA/TASB Annual Meeting

The first joint TASA/TASB meetings were held September 25-26, 1960, at the Driskill, Commodore Perry, and Stephen F. Austin Hotels, as well as the Paramount Theatre in downtown Austin.

Themed “New Frontiers in Education,” the program featured business meetings of the two associations, two general sessions, and 11 concurrent sessions. The keynote session included presentations by Commissioner of Education J.W. Edgar and U.S. Office of Education Assistant Commissioner for Research Roy M. Hall.

The First TASA/TASB Convention

One year later, on September 24-25, 1961, TASA and TASB collaborated on their first annual convention and first annual exhibit featuring 42 companies. The 1961 convention was the first to be co-sponsored in its entirety by the two organizations, cooperatively planned, cooperatively staffed, and designed to be of mutual benefit to both local school boards and school administrators. It was held at the Municipal Auditorium in Austin.

There was no charge for the conference, and two meal functions were scheduled. Banquet tickets cost $3.00, and luncheon tickets were $1.75. Exhibit hall visitors were given a ticket for the “Exhibitors’ Prize” — a 17-inch portable television set.

The banquet featured W. Cleon Skousen, who discussed the role of the schools in the preservation of democracy. The program noted that “he has been engaged in law enforcement for many years and has an outstanding record in combating Communism and subversion.”

Did You Know?

The luncheon speaker, Daniel R. Davies, discussed his studies of the schools in England, France, and Germany, offering insights into these systems often presented as models for American schools.

The closing session featured a panel moderated by Dr. L.D. Haskew, vice chancellor of The University of Texas at Austin, on the present and future of Texas public education.

• The 1967 TASA/TASB Convention was the first one that required a registration fee: $3 for members and $8 for non-members.

• At the 1971 convention, the TASA School Board Awards were introduced. Brownfield ISD received the first “Outstanding Board” designation, while the boards of the El Paso, Little CypressMauriceville, Richardson, and San Angelo school districts were the first “Honor Boards.”

• In the early 1970s, the convention was scheduled around UT football. Though held in San Antonio, charter buses transported attendees to the games in Austin for $5 per ticket. Attendees departed at 5:30 p.m. from the convention center and returned after the game.

Partnering with TASB—The Committee of 10

Throughout much of TASA’s history, the organization has partnered with the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). Whether it has been the TASA/TASB Convention (now called txEDCON), the endorsement of TASB programs and services that support school operations, or collaboration on legislative and state policy initiatives, TASA and TASB often work together on behalf of Texas public schools.

The relationship goes back to 1951, when a group called the “Texas Committee of 10” — five representatives from each organization — formed to study the relationships between board members and superintendents. The committee developed the Handbook for Texas School Board Members, with the first official edition printed in October 1953. Up to that point, school boards had no guidelines or formal written procedures to follow.

The First Exhibit of School Architecture

The TASA/TASB

Exhibit of School Architecture got its start in 1962, when the TASA/ TASB Convention featured, for the first time, an Exhibit of Outstanding Texas School Architecture, including schools designed by Texas architects that were featured at a recent AASA Convention exhibit. Twenty schools, representing 15 districts, were featured in the exhibit.

Yes Sir, We Need Our A/C!

In the June 1956 issue of Texas School Business, A.E. Wells, superintendent of Abilene Public Schools, made some predictions about changes in public schools over the next 25 years. Among those was that “refrigerated air conditioning will be considered essential in all schoolhouse construction.”

The following campuses were featured:

• Abilene ISD’s Robert E. Lee Elementary School

• Austin ISD’s Albert Sidney Johnston High School and Sidney Lanier Junior-Senior High School

• Brownfield ISD’s Oak Grove Elementary School

• Corpus Christi ISD’s Schanen Estate Elementary School

• Dallas ISD’s Justin F. Kimball High School, Sprague Field House, and T. W. Browne Junior High School

• Dumas ISD’s Cactus Elementary School

• Edinburg ISD’s Edinburg High School

• Fort Stockton ISD’s Fort Stockton High School

• Northeast Houston ISD’s Northwood Junior High School

• Midland ISD’s Robert E. Lee High School

1962 Fort Stockton high school gym.

• North East ISD’s Colonial Hills Elementary School

• Odem ISD’s Odem Elementary School

• Spring Branch ISD’s Edgewood Elementary School

• Tuloso-Midway ISD’s Tuloso-Midway High School

• Tyler ISD’s Boulter Junior High School, Robert E. Lee High School, and Thomas E. Woods Elementary School

The 1962 Exhibit of School Architecture featured Fort Stockton ISD’s brand-new, $1,426,252 high school. The facility is still being used today, with improvements over the years including a larger cafeteria that replaced an open courtyard in the middle of the school, more classroom space, new labs, a larger band hall and practice pad, career and technology program facilities, special events center, natatorium, field house, tennis courts, new athletic fields, and offices/ conference rooms. The 2025 campus is double the size of the original.

For more than two decades, WRA Architects has been honored to partner with TASA, supporting their vital work in shaping the future of education across Texas. We look forward to many more years of collaboration, united in our commitment to the success of Texas public schools and students.

TASA Names First Full-time Executive Director

As TASA grew, the organization needed full-time leadership.

On February 1, 1966, R.E. (Emmett) Harris became TASA’s first executive director. Harris began his career as a principal at Weir, a fourteacher rural school near Georgetown.

As TASA executive director, Harris established an office in the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) building. As an affiliate of TSTA, TASA was furnished office space.

He coached in Lockhart, served as superintendent of the Lytton Springs School District (now part of Lockhart ISD), and for 23 years served as county superintendent of Caldwell County. In 1957, Harris joined the Texas Education Agency staff as director of administrative services.

Harris had served on the Policies Commission and statewide steering committee of TASA and was a past president of the Texas Association of County Superintendents. In his role at TEA, Harris had prepared study guides for the School Administrators Advisory Conference on Education since 1959 and the proceedings of TASA’s annual conference since 1961.

As TASA executive director, Harris established an office in the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) building at 316 West 12th St., just west of the State Capitol, in Austin. As an affiliate of TSTA, TASA was furnished office space and allowed to use TSTA’s duplicating facilities, materials, and mailing services at cost. TASA’s headquarters remained in the TSTA building until the association disaffiliated from TSTA in 1978.

TASA Executive Director Emmett Harris (center) with AASA Executive Director Paul Salmon and Associate Executive Director James Kirkpatrick (back row, center and right) and representatives of other state associations visit the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. in the early 1970s.

Did You Know?

The Golden Deeds for Education Award, one of the most coveted awards for distinguished service to education in Texas, has been presented since 1964, with Sen. A.M. Aikin being the first recipient. The award is still presented annually by TASA and the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development. Over the past 60 years, recipients have included superintendents, commissioners of education, State Board of Education members, university and association leaders, legislators, and others who have made significant contributions to the progress of public education in the state. Initially, the award was presented in conjunction with the A&M Summer Conference and, later, during the Texas A&M Administrative Leadership Institute, jointly sponsored by TAMU and TASA. Today, the award is presented at the TASA Midwinter Conference.

Suburban Superintendents Come Together, TAS/MUS is Born

Texas Association of Suburban/Mid-Urban Schools

Throughout its history, TASA has supported and assisted other organizations representing specialized groups of superintendents and other school leaders who are also active TASA members.

The first of these, the Texas Association of Suburban Schools (TASS), was organized at a meeting in Irving in October 1971. Superintendents representing about 40 suburban school districts in Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, and Harris counties came together to “meet the needs of the suburban schools of the State of Texas.”

Three resolutions were adopted:

• TASS came into being for the mutual benefit of member school districts. Any action or condition that might affect the general welfare or integrity of an individual district will be made known to all members so that a unified response will be possible.

• TASS supports the concept of independent school districts.

• TASS supports the resolutions passed by TASA and TASB that oppose enforced consolidation of school districts against the will of such districts.

Officers elected at the organizational meeting included: President John

Townley, superintendent, Irving; Vice President Ivan Fitzwater, superintendent, North East; Secretary Joe Harper, superintendent, Cypress-Fairbanks; Directors Bennie Rutherford, Everman; Carroll Teague, Harris County; Ed Cody, Northside; and Hugh Byrd, Duncanville.

Among its first actions, TASS initiated efforts to preserve the neighborhood school concept and opposition to forced busing, adopting the following resolutions:

“To prevent the erosion and/or destruction of the public school system as a system responsive to the control of local boards of education.”

“To influence the development and passage of legislation compatible with the philosophy and purposes of the association.”

In the mid-1990s, TASS changed its name to the Texas Association of Suburban/Mid-Urban Schools (TAS/ MUS) to expand its membership to superintendents in mid-urban school districts such as Lubbock, Amarillo, Tyler, and Temple.

TASS and TAS/MUS members have traditionally held two meetings annually since the organization was founded

in 1971. During the spring and fall meetings, members share ideas and discuss the challenges unique to the management of suburban/midurban schools and legislative and state policy issues. These meetings are supported by corporate partners, who have the opportunity to engage with superintendent members regarding products and services that have potential benefits for their schools.

Dr. Jeff Turner, former superintendent, Coppell ISD and TASA past president (2012-13), served as executive director of TAS/MUS from 2014 to 2025.

Did You Know?

Other organizations that TASA has supported and assisted over the years include the Texas Council of Women School Executives (see page 49), Texas Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (see page 48), the Texas Alliance of Black School Educators (see page 57), the Texas Urban Council of Superintendents (see page 63), and the Texas Council of Professors of Educational Administration

Assistance is provided in various ways, including website management, collection of membership dues, financial services, conference planning, presentation opportunities at TASA conferences and other support services in accordance with individual agreements.

The Evolution of TASA Membership Dues

TASA has a long history of providing great value to members. Starting with $1 dues in 1925 (the equivalent of about $18 today) while still the “Section of Superintendence,” dues were raised slowly over the decades, with annual membership costing administrators $15 in 1966 (about $145 today) after an increase to fund the establishment of a TASA headquarters and hiring of TASA’s first full-time executive director, R.E. (Emmett) Harris. (See page 26.)

In March 1971, the membership approved a constitutional amendment to increase annual dues to $35 for 1971-72 (about $270 today). That increase enabled TASA to provide liability insurance coverage to members and to hire an assistant executive director, Howard Pickle, a graduate student at the University of Texas, who was employed part-time.

Over the next several years, several alternatives were considered by the Dues Structure Committee and the Executive Committee to increase dues revenue.

At the January 1972 Executive Committee meeting, the Dues Structure Committee recommended that dues be increased to 1.5% of the gross salary of each member. Despite a campaign meant to acquaint members with TASA’s program of services and the dues structure recommended by the committee, that effort failed when put to a vote of the membership, so the dues for 1973-74 remained at a flat $35.

At the 1973 TASA/TASB Convention, TASA members voted to conduct a mail ballot on raising the dues to $70. However, the membership once again rejected the proposed increase. The Dues Structure Committee agreed to continue working on an alternative acceptable to the membership, and just two months later, made another

attempt to secure member support for an increase. Once again, the proposal was turned down by the membership. At that point, the Dues Structure Committee was discharged.

Meanwhile, TASA continued to partner with The University of Texas at Austin to employ a graduate student on a part-time basis as assistant executive director. In September 1972, Joe Koenig replaced Howard Pickle, who became executive director of the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association. Then, in August 1973, Ron Campbell replaced Koenig, who accepted a position as assistant principal of Highland Park High School. One year later, Campbell left TASA to become house principal at the LBJ High School in Austin ISD and was succeeded by Johnny Veselka. One year later, Veselka accepted a full-time position on the TASA staff. (See page 43 for more on Veselka’s long career with TASA.)

In 1975, an Executive Committee recommendation that TASA dues be set at four-tenths of 1% (.004) of each member’s gross annual salary with dues no less than $56 nor more than $120 was presented to the general membership and adopted by a vote of 234 to 48, with 83%

of TASA members voting in support. The effective date was June 1, coinciding with an announcement that applications were being accepted for a new executive director to replace Emmett Harris, who had announced his intent to retire in June 1976.

Since that time, the dues structure has changed only one time — in 1990 — when TASA’s “21st Century Task Force” recommended that TASA revise its dues structure.

The change eliminated the $120 cap on Active Category members’ dues instituted in 1975, lowered the percentage to calculate each member’s dues from .004 to .003 for 1990-91, with an increase to .004 by 1994-95, deleted the institutional membership category, and provided for dues increases for Associate and Student Category members.

Modifications to TASA’s Constitution & Bylaws in subsequent years granted flexibility to the Executive Committee to change the dues amounts for members other than superintendents. However, the basic dues structure adopted in 1990, providing for growth in dues revenue annually based on member salaries, remains in effect today.

A Timeline of TASA History

A group of Texas superintendents and principals began to form two “sections” of TSTA: one for superintendents and one for principals. (See page 4.)

1924

1925

The “Section of Superintendence,” which would grow into TASA, held its first meeting in Dallas. (See page 4.)

TASA adopted a constitution and bylaws

1965

The Section of Superintendence was renamed the Texas Association of School Administrators (See page 4.)

1939

1943

TASA awarded the first Honorary Life membership to Dr. Fred C. Ayer (See page 8.)

The Exhibit of School Architecture debuted at the TASA/TASB Convention. (See page 24.)

1962

TASA hired its first full-time executive director, R.E. "Emmett" Harris (See page 26.) That same year, the association began publishing a monthly newsletter called the “Texas School Administrator.”

1966

TASA established the Educational Policies Commission (a precursor to the current TASA Legislative Committee). The commission’s work influenced the development and passage of the 1949 Gilmer-Aikin laws. (See pages 10-13.)

1947

TASA offered its first real professional learning with “One-Week Work Conferences.” (See page 21.) 1951

1961

The first joint TASA/ TASB Convention was held. It included an exhibit featuring 42 companies. (See page 23.)

The first joint TASA/TASB “annual meeting” was held. (See page 23.)

1960

1953

1928-29 TASA President

N.S. Holland published “A Brief History: First Quarter Century, 19251950, Texas Association of School Administrators.” (See page 7.)

TASA established the School Board Awards program. That same year, the TASA membership approved a constitutional amendment to raise annual dues to $35 (about $270 today). (See page 28.)

1971

Charles F. Mathews became TASA's second executive director upon the retirement of R.E. “Emmett” Harris. (See page 37.)

1976

1977

TASA developed its first legislative program independent of TSTA in time for the 65th Texas Legislature to convene. (See page 38.)

Virginia L. Collier, superintendent of Brenham ISD, became TASA’s first female president. (See page 49.)

1999

TASA broke ground on its first headquarters building. (See page 41.)

1981

1978

The TASA Executive Committee voted 18-3 to disaffiliate from TSTA following the group’s unification with NEA. (See page 36.)

Stan Paz, superintendent of El Paso ISD, became TASA’s first Hispanic president. (See page 48.) 1997

TASA established the Corporate Partner Program, which provides education-related companies with opportunities to sponsor TASA programs and connect with TASA members, and helps TASA further its mission. (See page 51.)

2002

INSIGHT debuted as TASA’s professional journal.

1986

TASA finalized a formal partnership with the Texas Council of Women School Executives (TCWSE) to provide management services to the group. (See page 49.)

1990

TASA launched the association’s first website

TEA turned over to TASA the “Administrators’ Midwinter Conference on Education” and it officially became the TASA Midwinter Conference (See page 20.) Also in 2004, TASA launched the TASA Daily e-newsletter.

2004

Johnny L. Veselka became TASA’s third executive director upon the retirement of Charles Mathews. (See page 43.)

TASA partnered with TEPSA and TASSP to establish what is now the Texas Leadership Center (See page 45.) 1988

TASA purchased the association’s current headquarters at 406 E. 11th Street in Austin. Also that year, the association unveiled a new logo 1989

TASA’s focus on school transformation began when 35 superintendents from across the state came together as the Public Education Visioning Institute (See page 52.)

2006

Thomas E. Randle, superintendent of Lamar CISD, became TASA’s first African American president. (See page 57.)

2007

2008

The TASA Visioning Document, Creating a New Vision for Public Education, was published. (See page 53.)

TEA transferred coordination of the official Texas Teacher of the Year awards program to TASA. (See page 58.)

2011

2012

TASA launched the Future-Ready Superintendents Leadership Institute (FRSLI) as well as TASA on iTunesU. (See page 55.)

The TASA Executive Committee approved the association’s Statement on Equity and Excellence (See page 62.) Also that year, TASA renamed the annual Leadership Summit event in honor of Past President John D. Horn (See page 44.)

2022

The TASA Executive Committee established the Johnny L. Veselka Scholarship

2013

2014

TASA drafted new marketing priorities and unveiled a new logo as well as the vision, mission, and goals that still guide TASA today. (See page 59.) Also in 2014, TASA published the first issue of Texas School Business since purchasing the magazine. (See page 19.)

TASA established the Future-Ready Superintendents Leadership Network (FRSLN. (See page 55.)

2015

2017

The TASA Strategic Framework was launched, laying out the aspirations the association would reach by 2025. (See page 60.) Also that year, Kevin Brown become TASA’s fourth executive director (see page 61) upon the retirement of Johnny L. Veselka. The TASA building was renamed in Veselka’s honor.

2018

LaTonya Goffney, superintendent of Aldine ISD, became TASA’s first female African American president. (See page 62.)

2023

TASA moved toward fulfilling its Strategic Framework aspirations by launching several new “purposeful networks” with participants engaged in “participant-led experiences”: the Small Schools Network, the redesigned School Transformation Network (established in 2011), and the TASA Executive Coaching Network

Martha Salazar-Zamora, superintendent of Tomball ISD, became TASA’s first female Hispanic president. (See page 63.) Also that year, TASA fulfilled the organization’s final “TASA 2025” Strategic Framework aspiration by launching a “Living Library” called TASA Connect.

2024

TASA organized the Texas Performance Assessment Consortium — now the Texas Public Accountability Consortium (TPAC). (See page 55.) Also that year, TASA entered into a partnership agreement with the Texas Alliance of Black School Educators (TABSE). (See page 57.)

2020

TASA held the association’s first-ever virtual conference, TASA Virtual SummerCon, in the midst of global pandemic. (See page 61.)

TASA marks its 100th anniversary with a yearlong celebration!

TASA held its first-ever TASA txedFest summer conference.

100 Years of TASA Presidents

SalazarZamora Tomball ISD 2024-25

Goffney Aldine ISD 2023-24

2015-16

2022-23

E. Waggoner GrapevineColleyville ISD 2006-07

Martha

LaTonya

Gonzalo Salazar Los Fresnos CISD

Doug Williams Sunnyvale ISD 2021-22

Brian Woods Northside ISD 2020-21

Greg Smith Clear Creek ISD 2019-20

Gayle Stinson Lake Dallas ISD 2018-19

Buck Gilcrease Alvin ISD 2017-18

Kevin Brown Alamo Heights ISD 2016-17

Karen Rue Northwest ISD

Alton L. Frailey Katy ISD 2014-15

Darrell Floyd Stephenville ISD 2013-14

Jeff N. Turner Coppell ISD 2012-13

Rod Townsend Hico ISD 2011-12

H. John Fuller Wylie ISD 2010-11

John M. Folks Northside ISD 2009-10

Rick Howard Comanche ISD 2008-09

Thomas E. Randle Lamar CISD 2007-08

Kay

Alton J. Fields Pleasanton ISD 2005-06

Michael Hinojosa Spring ISD 2004-05

Dawson R. Orr Wichita Falls ISD 2003-04

Don Gibson Wall ISD 2002-03

Leonard E. Merrell Katy ISD 2001-02

James E. Wilcox Hooks ISD 2000-01

Virginia L. Collier Brenham ISD 1999-00

Quentin S. Burnett* Greenwood ISD 1998-99

Stan Paz El Paso ISD 1997-98

J.D. Cox Atlanta ISD 1996-97

Harold D. Ramm Belton ISD 1995-96

Don W. Hooper Galena Park ISD 1994-95

W. Gordon Cockerham* Burleson ISD 1993-94

Joe M. Pirtle* Belton ISD 1992-93

Robert P. Brezina Victoria ISD 1991-92

Terry A. Harlow* Albany ISD 1990-91

Wayne Blevins Alief ISD 1989-90

George M. Crowson Harris County Department of Education 1988-89

John D. Horn Allen ISD 1987-88

C. Lee Meyer* Pasadena ISD 1986-87

Jack D. Johnson* Carroll ISD 1985-86

O.C. “Mike” Taylor* Beaumont ISD 1984-85

Eli Douglas* Garland ISD 1983-84

Victor Krejci* La Vernia ISD 1982-83

Rodney D. Cathey* McAllen ISD 1981-82

Donald E. Robbins* Diboll ISD 1980-81

Nolan Estes Dallas ISD 1979-80

Robert Delwin Webb* Abernathy ISD 1978-79

John F. Townley* Irving ISD 1977-78

Gordon R. Harmon Temple ISD 1976-77

W.C. Andrews* Gregory-Portland ISD 1968-69

Charles F. Mathews* Plainview ISD 1959-60

R.L. Williams* Sweetwater ISD 1946-47

James G. Horn Lockhart ISD 1975-76

H.M. Landrum* Spring Branch ISD 1967-68

Robert R. Ashworth* Corsicana ISD 1957-58

Irby B. Carruth* Waco ISD 1944-45

Jake J. Hendricks* Kerens ISD 1932-33

President, TSTA Section of Superintendence

J.D. Carlisle* Sinton ISD 1974-75

Archie A. Roberts* Beeville ISD 1966-67

Joe P. Moore* Fort Worth ISD 1956-57

J.W. Edgar* Orange ISD 1942-43

J.P. Buck* Sour Lake ISD (now part of HardinJefferson ISD) and Harlingen CISD 1930-31

President, TSTA Section of Superintendence

TASA PRESIDENTS 1925-2025

O.E. Hendricks* New Braunfels ISD 1973-74

James T. Ogg* Brownsville ISD 1965-66

Frank Monroe* Highland Park ISD 1954-55

Frank L. Williams* Mexia ISD 1940-41

N.S. Holland* Breckenridge ISD 1928-29

President, TSTA Section of Superintendence

Alton O. Bowen* Bryan ISD 1972-73

Fred W. Hunter* Beaumont ISD 1964-65

Fred Kaderli* San Marcos CISD 1952-53

W.B. Irvin* Lubbock ISD 1938-39

E.B. Cauthorn was the first to preside over the Section of Superintendence after it split from the principals’ section.

E.B. Cauthorn* Dallas ISD (Assistant Superintendent) 1926-27

President, TSTA Section of Superintendence

G.E. Thompson* Kermit ISD 1971-72

S.M. Anderson* Big Spring ISD 1963-64

Edward T. Robbins* Alamo Heights ISD 1951-52

In 1939, the TSTA Section of Superintendence was renamed the Texas Association of School Administrators.

W. Ogg* Mt. Pleasant ISD 1970-71

ISD 1962-63

W.T. White* Dallas ISD 1950-51

R.H. Brister* Waco ISD 1936-37 President, TSTA Section of Superintendence

Leonard Power*

Dallas ISD (Principal, Bryan Street High School) 1925

Chair, TSTA Section of Superintendents and Principals

When the superintendents formed their own “Section of Superintendence,” Leonard Power remained with the principals’ section, but he is credited with providing the leadership for superintendents to step out on their own.

L. Foster* Longview ISD 1948-49

B.B. Cobb* Waco ISD 1934-35 President, TSTA Section of Superintendence

Thomas J. Yoe* Brownsville ISD 1924-25

Chair of the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) Section of Superintendents and Principals

*Deceased

Terrell

Norman R. Hall* Andrews ISD 1969-70

C.E. Ellison* Killeen

J.D. King* Brownwood ISD 1961-62

Henry

TASA Achieves a National Presence Texas Superintendents Lead AASA

Early in its history, the Section of Superintendence, and later TASA, became actively involved in AASA, The School Superintendents Association. Members attended AASA’s national and regional meetings, and key leaders were involved in the governance of AASA as early as the mid-1920s. For many years, Texas superintendents traveled to AASA meetings by train, with

the president arranging for group rates and scheduled departures from locations across the state.

As of 2025, eight Texas superintendents have served as presidents of AASA.

Among these presidents, Kenneth Oberholtzer,1951-52 (Denver Public Schools), had previously served as superintendent in Bellville, El Campo,

and Lubbock, and was the son of Edison E. Oberholtzer, 1934-35 (Houston ISD).

W.T. White, serving simultaneously as president of TASA and AASA, acknowledged that the AASA presidency required so much of his time that, in justice to TASA, he resigned his TASA presidency in mid-term and passed the gavel to Vice President Edward Robbins in November 1950.

“The superintendent has almost unlimited opportunity for service and leadership. His fairness, wisdom, judgment, and ability to imbue the people with a desire for the best education obtainable may well determine whether the school system, and through it the community, will go forward or backward.” —Paul Salmon, AASA Executive Director (Texas School Administrator, March 1973)

Alton L. Frailey

AASA President, 2016-17 Superintendent, Katy ISD

Kenneth E. Oberholtzer*

AASA President, 1951-52 Superintendent, Denver Public Schools

Don W. Hooper

AASA President, 2001-02 Superintendent, Fort Bend ISD

W.T. White*

AASA President, 1950-51 Superintendent, Dallas ISD

Norman R. Hall*

AASA President, 1978-79 Superintendent, Andrews ISD

Edison E. Oberholtzer*

AASA President, 1934-35 Superintendent, Houston ISD, and Founder (1927) and First President, University of Houston

Irby B. Carruth*

AASA President, 1962-63 Superintendent, Waco ISD

Norman R. Crozier*

AASA President, 1929-30 Superintendent, Dallas Public Schools

*Deceased

Professional Growth and Expansion 1975-2000

In 1988, TASA President George Crowson and Executive Director Johnny Veselka negotiated the purchase of TASA’s current headquarters building (see page 41). After Veselka’s retirement in 2018, the building was named in his honor.

TSTA Unification with NEA Alters the Direction of TASA

The 1975 Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) House of Delegates approved a statewide referendum (54,992 to 46,661) in support of unification with the National Education Association (NEA). TASA leaders expressed opposition to the referendum and its impact on affiliate organizations, including TASA.

As a result of the referendum vote, TASA members were no longer required to maintain membership in TSTA, but TASA officers still had to be TSTA members, and affiliates were free to develop and promote their own programs, even if they conflicted with official TSTA programs. Affiliates were given until March 22, 1976, to notify TSTA of their intentions regarding future affiliation with TSTA/NEA.

In March 1976, the TASA Executive Committee voted 19-2 to continue as a department affiliate of TSTA following a canvas of TASA members that revealed an almost 50-50 split on the question. Members did indicate they did not support continued affiliation if all members of TASA must also be members of TSTA/NEA or if any policy would effectively prevent TASA from opposing TSTA programs unacceptable to TASA.

It wasn’t until May 1978 that TASA disaffiliated from TSTA with an Executive Committee vote of 18-3. TASA President John Townley (1977-78) cited the following reasons for the action: the dilution of administrator participation and influence in TSTA, new provisions that would require TASA to support all TSTA programs, the continuing efforts to achieve public employee collective bargaining by NEA, and the corresponding pursuit of “mandatory consultation” legislation by TSTA.

AASA severed its formal alliance with NEA in 1969, and most state administrator associations followed suit. The action by TASA, according to Townley in 1978, permitted the “full development of a clearly defined independent voice for school management in Texas.”

Did You Know?

Until 1973, in odd-numbered years, with the legislature in session, superintendents were routinely elected to serve as TSTA president. Five TASA presidents also served as TSTA president during this period. They included R.H. Brister (1936-37), TSTA president in 1928; W.B. Irvin (1938-39), TSTA president in 1941; G.E. Thompson (1971-72), TSTA president in 1955; S.M. Anderson (196364), TSTA president in 1967; and Archie Roberts (1966-67), TSTA president in 1971. The last three superintendents who served as TSTA presidents prior to TSTA’s move toward unification with NEA were Johnny Clark, superintendent, Goose Creek ISD, 1973; C.O. Chandler, superintendent, Victoria ISD, 1971; and Claude Hearn, Jr., superintendent, Randolph Field ISD, 1969.

TASA’s Second Executive Director: Charles F. Mathews

On January 15, 1976, Dr. Charles F. Mathews joined the TASA staff while preparing to assume the full duties of executive director upon the retirement of R.E. (Emmett) Harris in June. Mathews had been a part of TASA since 1953 and had served in every office of the association, including the presidency (1959-60), so he was well-known to the Executive Committee that hired him.

Mathews was a career educator, beginning as a classroom teacher in Santa Anna in 1936, later serving as elementary principal there and junior high principal in Colorado City. Following World War II, he returned to education in Midland ISD as a high school principal (1947-51) and director of curricular services (1951-53). He then served as superintendent of Plainview ISD (1953-1961) and Longview ISD (1961-1972). Before he was appointed TASA executive director, Mathews was executive vice president of Kilgore College.

Mathews served as TASA executive director for 10 years — until

December 31, 1985. During his tenure, TASA developed programs to meet the needs of school leaders in a rapidly changing environment. TASA’s first headquarters building was constructed. Mathews felt that one of the most important functions of the executive director was to be “connected in an effective, creditable way with the decision-makers in the legislative process and with other associations and business groups.” He believed that was so important that he announced his retirement a year in advance to “give the new executive director a full year to prepare for the 70th legislative session.”

Upon his retirement, TASA published Mathews’ reflections on his 50-year career in Texas public schools:

“It is my firm belief that appropriate legislative policies must embrace the concepts of local control, state responsibility, and federal concern. The state’s responsibility must include the provision of adequate financial resources, distributed in an equitable manner. Students should have an equal opportunity to receive the

best educational program possible, regardless of their place of residence.”

Mathews concluded: “I would like for us to consider the role of education in the development of our country. The United States stands today in the forefront of nations. With only about 6 percent of the world’s people and a small percentage of its natural resources, it has achieved a status of prosperity and freedom which, on the basis of these factors, it had no logical right to attain.

“The essential element which has made this possible has been the establishment of universal public education, functioning through a system of free enterprise. While our schools have shortcomings and some localities fail to provide adequate opportunities for their children, the total effect has been the releasing of tremendous human energy and resources in a manner that has excited the imagination of all. Public education has a cumulative effect. Generation by generation, it causes us to be stronger.”

TASA’s First Independent Legislative Program: Toward Equally Effective Education for All Texas Children

In May 1975, the TASA Executive Committee authorized the Legislative Committee to develop a legislative program in preparation for the 65th legislative session in 1977. This action represented TASA’s first effort to develop its own legislative program. Before this time, TASA’s legislative initiatives were presented per its affiliate relationship with TSTA.

President Jimmy Horn (1975-76) and President-elect Gordon Harmon announced the appointment of a five-member committee to formulate TASA’s legislative program. It included: Nolan Estes, Dallas ISD, chair; Forrest Watson, University of Houston,

Clear Lake, vice chair (Watson was the superintendent of Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD from 1978 to 1991); Jimmy Bickley, Robert Lee ISD; Bill Brantley, Kilgore ISD; and Delwin Webb, Abernathy ISD.

As the committee developed its legislative program, the focus was on priorities that would support “a quality education program that is results-oriented, adequately funded to provide varied opportunities for each individual student, and based on a system that provides for renewal and accountability through the accreditation process.” They themed TASA’s first independent legislative program, “Toward Equally Effective Education for All Texas Children.”

The focus was on priorities that would support “a quality education program that is results-oriented, adequately funded to provide varied opportunities for each individual student, and based on a system that provides for renewal and accountability through the accreditation process.

TASA Achieves Success with Major Legislative Initiative on School Funding

The signing of Senate Bill 1 by Gov. Dolph Briscoe in July 1977 was the culmination of efforts by TASA and other education organizations to get legislative support for comprehensive school finance legislation. The $945.4 million school finance bill was passed by the 65th Legislature in Special Session on July 15 with a vote of 119-24, but achieving that victory took a lot of effort and engagement by TASA members.

The work began nearly two years before when, in September 1975, TASA officers, members of the Legislative Committee, and staff met in Dallas to lay the foundation for this legislative effort. Following were months of legislative workshops, committee meetings, regional study group discussions, superintendent surveys, meetings with legislators, research and simulation models, and more TASA advocacy activities.

In February 1977, during the regular session, Sen. Grant Jones and Rep. Hamp Atkinson introduced SB 560 and HB 980, companion $997 million school funding proposals supported by TASA and the Texas School Administrative Coordinating Council. (TSACC was created in 1968 to unify the efforts of the various administrator organizations in areas of common interest and to coordinate research publications and legislative efforts. Members included TASA, TEPSA, TASSP, TASBO, TASPA, TASCD, and the School Tax Assessors Association.) SB 1 was “strikingly similar” to the original bill filings. Superintendents from across the state were actively engaged in the legislative process throughout the regular and special session.

July 14, 1977: A Day to Remember

During the debate on SB 1 in the Texas House of Representatives on July 14, 1977, an amendment was offered by

TASA Legislative Chair Nolan Estes (center) confers with 1977-78 TASA President John Townley during testimony on SB 1 in 1977. Seated to the right is Johnny Veselka, then TASA’s assistant executive director, who worked on legislative policy development, educational research, and more at the time.

Rep. Carlyle Smith of Grand Prairie that would have mandated a local tax reduction by school districts during the second year of the biennium. It was adopted by a vote of 101-39.

TASA leaders immediately called a meeting of superintendents and other administrators who were at the Capitol, and they reached out to numerous legislators to express TASA’s opposition to the amendment. Speaker of the House Bill Clayton assured TASA leaders that a motion to reconsider the vote would be accepted, provided the superintendents could demonstrate sufficient opposition to the amendment among House members.

In the August 1977 Texas School Administrator newsletter, the subsequent action by the House was detailed as follows:

“Within several hours, enough legislators were willing to change their votes, and Rep. Mike Ezzell of Snyder agreed to offer the motion to reconsider the vote by which the Smith amendment was adopted. The vote on the motion to reconsider was 70-69.

The amendment was then offered and, after lengthy discussion, and verification of the final vote tally, the amendment failed on a deadlocked 70-70 vote. Speaker Clayton declared that the Smith amendment had failed adoption. Through the efforts of individual TASA members, present during the House debate, and our capability to work with the House leadership, we were able to reverse the adoption of an amendment that had been approved several hours earlier by a 62-vote margin.”

Estes Lays Out 10-point Plan for the 1980s

1979-80 TASA President Nolan Estes is known by Texas school leaders for his work as director of the Cooperative Superintendency Program at The University of Texas at Austin, and before that, as superintendent of Dallas Public Schools.

But did you know that Estes came to Dallas in 1968 from the U.S. Office of Education in Washington, D.C.? Appointed Associate U.S. Commissioner of Education during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s term, Estes worked with Congress to implement the historic Elementary and Secondary Education Act. He also worked with the 26-member-nation Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, France, to create an international forum of educators and policymakers.

when Nolan Estes assumed the TASA presidency in June 1979, he announced a 10-point plan to address the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for TASA in the 1980s:

1. Strengthen the coalition of school management organizations and expand their role.

2. Initiate a large-scale grassroots effort to assess the needs of Texas public schools.

3. Initiate a comprehensive longrange legislative package to bring greater stability in financing public education.

4. Chart a new course in instructional leadership for TASA.

5. Expand the internal communications structure of TASA to create maximum opportunity for member input.

6. Broaden individual membership involvement in TASA committee activity.

7. Expand the financial resources of TASA by doubling membership and expanding the membership umbrella.

8. Increase associate membership by having every member recruit one associate member.

9. Seek ways to expand cooperative ventures with TASB.

10. Move forward with the establishment of a new TASA headquarters building.

TASA’s First Headquarters Building

Asignificant milestone in TASA’s history was achieved in January 1981 when a contract was signed to construct TASA’s first headquarters building at the corner of 11th and Trinity streets in downtown Austin (next door to TASA’s current HQ). The building was constructed on property leased from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 18, 1981, and TASA staff moved into the new offices on October 19, 1981, leaving the downtown office space leased from the Southwest Educational

Did You Know?

TASA President Don Robbins (1980-81) announced that a significant portion of the first TASA headquarters building’s funding was derived from pledges and contributions to Project LEADER, an initiative established by the Executive Committee to encourage members to support the growth and development of the association through “sustaining membership” contributions over and above their regular annual membership dues.

TASA continues the Sustaining Membership program today. Members in other categories may become Sustaining Members by contributing $100 in addition to their regular membership dues.

Executive Director Charles Mathews (1976-1985) and TASA President Don Robbins break ground on TASA’s first headquarters building at 11th and Trinity streets in Austin. The building currently houses TASB’s Governmental Relations team, and TASA is headquartered next door.

Development Laboratory since TASA disaffiliated from TSTA in 1978 and moved out of the TSTA building.

TASA’s first tenants in the new building were the Texas Educational Secretaries Association and the Educational Facilities Laboratories, Inc., a facilities planning group headed by Ben E. Graves.

The planning and construction of the headquarters building was achieved under the leadership of TASA Presidents John F. Townley, Irving (1977-78), Delwin Webb, Abernathy (1978-79), Nolan Estes, Dallas ISD (1979-80), Don Robbins, Diboll (1980-81), and Rodney Cathey, McAllen (1981-82).

TASA’s Current Headquarters

Following action by the TASA Executive Committee on December 1, 1988, TASA President George Crowson and Executive Director Johnny Veselka negotiated the

purchase of the TASB Headquarters Building at 406 E. 11th Street. The agreement was executed by President Crowson, TASB President Byron Black, and the executive directors in January 1989, and the existing TASA offices at 1101 Trinity were transferred to TASB as part of the transaction. This building had been constructed on land owned by TASB under a long-term ground lease in 1981.

Crowson commended TASA’s past leaders “who had the foresight and commitment to secure the Association’s position of leadership in public education. As a result of their efforts to establish the current headquarters facility, we have now been able to take another major step in fostering the continued improvement of TASA programs and services, whose end result will be further enhancement of educational programs in Texas public schools.“ TASA staff occupied the new facility in January 1989.

TASA

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Edward T. Robbins: 60-Plus Years of Membership

In 1985, TASA conducted an informal search to identify the school leader who had been a TASA member for the longest time. The search revealed that Past President Edward T.

Robbins had been a member since 1926 — 60 years of membership at the time!

After earning his BBA from The University of Texas at Austin, Robbins served as the superintendent of Hearne ISD from 1926 to 1935, earning his master’s degree in 1933. From there, Robbins went on to become superintendent of Taylor ISD, where he served from 1935 to 1947. Later that year, he became superintendent of Alamo Heights ISD, where he stayed until 1966, when he joined the staff of Trinity University in San Antonio.

Robbins served as TASA president in 1951-52, having been passed the gavel when TASA President W.T. White (195051) announced he was resigning his TASA presidency because he was also serving as AASA president at the time and felt

Strategic Planning in the 1980s

TASA President Eli Douglas (1983-84) appointed a committee in November 1983 to set the goals that would direct TASA over the next decade and provide guidance to future officers and executive committees, with the committee recommendations to be completed by May 1985.

He outlined 10 areas to be addressed:

1. Personnel needs for TASA

2. TASA’s role in instructional leadership

3. Future membership and services for different categories of administrators

4. TASA’s role in serving different sizes and types of districts

5. Budgetary considerations, space needs, sources of income, etc.

6. Partnerships with TASB

7. TASA’s role in working with the commissioner of education and State Board of Education

8. Potential seminars for members

9. TASA’s involvement in the training and certification of future administrators, teachers, and other staff

10. TASA’s role in working with colleges and universities

The committee report, adopted by the Executive Committee in May 1985, included recommendations calling for aggressive leadership efforts to unify education-related organizations, greater involvement in the legislative and political process, and strengthening the relationships between TASA and TASB and between TASA and AASA.

The report also stated that TASA should expand its services to meet the increasing demands of the membership through

that he wasn’t able to focus enough on his TASA work. (See page 16.) At the time, TASA was heavily involved in working with Commissioner of Education J.W. Edgar and the Texas Education Agency to implement the sweeping new Gilmer-Aikin legislation.

During Robbins’ administration, TASA appropriated funds to publish a “Handbook for Texas School Board Members,” a project of the Texas Committee of Ten, consisting of TASA and TASB members. (See page 23.) Also during Robbins’ administration, TASA sponsored a series of One-Week Work Conferences with the University of Texas for school leaders. (See page 21.)

Robbins became an Honorary Life member of TASA in 1976 and worked as an educational consultant in the 1980s.

additional written communications, training and information services, and professional growth programs, and place a stronger emphasis on curriculum and instruction.

Specifically, the report said that TASA should examine the possibilities of using “new” media — satellite, cable TV, and videotape — for programming and staff development, and establish and offer “an efficient and effective two-way electronic communications system to the membership.”

In addition, the Goals Committee report included recommendations to revise the dues structure to generate funding for expanded services to meet the new goals, review the Legislative Committee’s roles, responsibilities, and legislative strategies, and study the feasibility of working toward one unified administrator organization across all positions of administrative leadership.

Dr. Johnny Veselka Begins 32-Year Executive Directorship of TASA

with TASA Executive Director Charles Mathews’ retirement expected in December 1985, 1985-86 President Jack Johnson called a meeting of the TASA Executive Committee in June during which committee members selected Dr. Johnny Veselka as TASA’s third executive director.

Veselka began his career in public education in 1969 as a teacher in North East ISD in San Antonio. He joined the TASA staff as an intern in 1974 while pursuing his administrator certification and his second master’s degree at The University of Texas at Austin.

He had served as TASA’s assistant executive director since 1975, working on legislative policy development, educational research, professional development, public relations, and long-range planning. In 1979, he was selected to participate in the Cooperative Superintendency Program jointly sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Education Agency, earning a Ph.D. in Educational Administration in 1982.

Johnson announced the hiring, stating that Veselka was selected for this position

“because of his established ability to work with the diverse membership of the association, his knowledge of the legislative process and state policy, and his understanding of the impact of policy decisions on Texas public schools.”

Veselka remained at TASA’s helm for 32 more years, until his retirement in 2018,

giving a total of 43 years of service to the association. During his tenure, TASA would grow its full-time staff and offerings, purchase its current headquarters, establish a Corporate Partner program that now generates more than $2 million annually to help fulfill TASA's mission and goals, transform the Midwinter Conference into the largest statewide education leadership conference in the nation, take over facilitation of the official state of Texas Teacher of the Year program when TEA could no longer support it, become a leader in the movement for school transformation, achieve significant membership growth, and much more.

In 2013-14 the TASA Executive Committee established the Johnny L. Veselka Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to outstanding doctoral students pursuing careers in educational leadership, in his honor. After his retirement, the TASA headquarters building at 406 E. 11th Street was named in his honor.

Veselka with 2016 Johnny L. Veselka Scholarship recipients Jeanette Winn and Kim Tunnell

John D. Horn: TASA President and Visionary Leader

John D. Horn served as TASA president in 1987-88, while he was superintendent of Mesquite ISD, where he served from 1986 until his retirement. During his presidency, Commissioner of Education W.N. Kirby broke with tradition and asked him to keynote the 1988 Midwinter Conference (a TEA conference at the time). It was a turbulent time for Texas public education, following four years of implementing a massive set of new regulations from House Bill 72 and years of litigation over school finance.

Horn offered an insightful perspective on the political climate and the most prevalent challenges facing public education as the 1990s approached: “I think it is fairly safe to say that we in education will have another set of twins to nurture. Their names are ‘voice’ and ‘choice.’ They will join our present set of

twins, whom you know as ‘TEAMS’ and ‘PEIMS.’ How we deal with this new set of twins will largely determine the course of public education in Texas.”

Horn was referring to the demands for more “say” from all quarters in addition to the advance of more comprehensive testing programs (TEAMS) and their underlying accountability partner, the PEIMS information and data collection system. He said that the wisest school leaders “will provide for meaningful involvement and more choices in our districts,” predicting that parents would increasingly voice demands to share in educational decisions about their children and want more choices. Horn concluded that promoting and providing for greater parental involvement could hold more potential for improving student learning than any other thing schools do.

Horn chaired the Texas Leadership Center

(see page 45) Board of Directors from the Center’s inception in 1987 until 1997 and had a key role in securing funding for the establishment of the Center. He was instrumental in focusing attention on leadership development as one of TASA’s highest priorities and chaired the advisory committee that worked with the State Board for Educator Certification to establish learner-centered Professional Standards for the Superintendency.

Following his retirement in 2001, Horn remained active in Texas public education, conducting superintendent searches, serving as a senior associate with the Schlechty Center and as a TASA consultant. While at the Schlechty Center, Horn facilitated a partnership between the Center and TASA that supported Schlechty’s Standard-Bearer School Districts and Superintendents Leadership Network in Texas.

From 2006 to 2008, Horn was a member of the team that developed the design for the Public Education Visioning Institute (see page 53), was the lead facilitator for the Institute, and coordinated the publication of the visioning document, Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas. As an extension of that work, he facilitated TASA’s Academy for Transformational Leadership for several years and, in 2016-2017, co-facilitated the work of the TASA 2025 Task Force, which developed the TASA Strategic Framework (see page 60).

For many years in the early-to-mid 2000s, Horn facilitated TASA’s Leadership Planning Meetings, First-Time Superintendents Academy, and Aspiring Superintendents Academy. In July 2022, TASA honored him for the instrumental part he played in the organization over the years by renaming the TASA Leadership Summit (formerly the Leadership Planning Meeting) in his honor.

Federal Grants Fund Important TASA Initiatives

Texas Leadership Center

In 1988, TASA partnered with the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA) and the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP) to establish the Texas LEAD Center, now the Texas Leadership Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. The Center was established with federal funding provided to advance leadership development opportunities for school leaders in each state following Congressional passage of the Leadership in Educational Administration Development Act. In the early years, the Center had its own staff who worked on initiatives focused on leadership training — the biggest being the Leadership Development Program (LDP) in partnership with Dupont. Since that time, the Center has acquired multiple grants to support significant training opportunities for TASA members and other school leaders.

Today, TASA has sole responsibility for the Center. It is governed by a ninemember board of directors, including the TASA president, president-elect, and vice president, and six other directors appointed by the TASA president. The TASA executive director serves as executive director of the Center.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation $6.3 Million Grant Supports Technology Leadership Academy

In April 2000, the Texas Leadership Center submitted a proposal to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as a State Challenge Grant for Leadership Development establishing the Technology Leadership Academy for Superintendents and Principals. The Center received $6.3 million from the Gates Foundation over a four-year period, plus $1.5 million in matching funds from the Meadows Foundation, Sid Richardson Foundation, and Houston Endowment, along with fees from participants.

The funds were used to train more than 4,200 superintendents and principals over a five-year period. The belief underlying the Academy was that superintendents and principals must be able to use technology to enhance school operations, enrich the curriculum, and improve learning.

Texas Comprehensive School Health Initiative

In 1989, TASA received a three-year federal grant to establish a comprehensive school health initiative to diffuse and

impact the level of comprehensive school health education in school districts across the state. The initiative brought together a consortium of state agencies, health organizations, universities, and professional associations to function as an advisory council and provide expertise, guidance, and resources.

The grant supported the establishment of All Well, the TASA-sponsored annual school health promotion conference on the campus of thenSouthwest Texas State (now Texas State) University from 1990 to 2000.

Mike Moses, Superintendent, Commissioner, and TASA Advocate

When Gov. George W. Bush appointed Dr. Mike Moses as commissioner of education in March 1995, he selected a longtime TASA member who served on TASA committees and was a strong supporter and advocate for the association throughout his career. At the time of his appointment, Moses was the Lubbock ISD superintendent, having previously served as superintendent in Tatum and LaMarque. Moses was actively engaged with TASA in supporting the grant applications to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other foundations to establish the Texas Lead Center’s Technology Leadership Academy and encouraged TASA’s involvement as a founding partner of the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards program (see page 58). Following his term as commissioner, Moses served as deputy chancellor for systems operations for the Texas Tech University System, and from 2001 to 2004 he was general superintendent of Dallas ISD.

21st Century Task Force

Report to the Executive Committee

TASA President George Crowson (1988-89) established the 21st Century Task Force in July 1988, charging his appointed chair, Robert Brezina (the Victoria ISD superintendent who would serve as TASA president in 1991-92), to focus on the “promotion of excellence in the administration of primary, elementary, and secondary education to assist education leaders in preparing for the 21st Century.”

Said Crowson, “TASA must continue to enhance its leadership function in education during the balance of this century and in preparation for the vast responsibilities that rest with educators in the century to come.”

Brezina divided the task force into four subcommittees: Facilities, Finance, Organizational Structure & Member Services, and Mission, Goals & Objectives.

In addition to focusing on dues structure modifications, which

were approved by a membership vote in February 1990 (see page 28), the following were among the task force’s recommendations:

• TASA’s Mission, Goals, and Objectives, adopted by the Executive Committee in January 1988, should continue to serve as the basis for the development of TASA’s programs and services.

• TASA should continue to develop and implement programs and services that will ensure a strong leadership role in professional development, including the development of the superintendent, both personally and professionally.

• TASA should continue to expand its legal services.

• TASA should establish an ongoing professional development program for new and aspiring superintendents.

• The TASA president should appoint a Small Schools Advisory Committee to provide input on programs and services that would benefit small school districts.

TASA Launches Legal Support Program to Assist Superintendents

Following extensive study by the TASA Executive Committee and a special advisory committee, TASA established a legal support program in 1989 to assist superintendents with their employment contracts and other matters related to the superintendent’s employment.

In launching this program, TASA published a Texas Superintendent’s Contract Reference Manual and Drafting Guide and retained the services of Neal W. Adams and the law offices of Adams, Lynch and Loftin, P.C., as general counsel. For more than 35 years, hundreds of TASA members have been able to obtain legal assistance regarding their employment contract and benefits, as well as support in resolving conflicts in their employment relationship with the board of trustees.

These important services continue to be offered to TASA members by the law firm of Cory Hartsfield P.C. through consultation regarding the superintendent’s employment contract, board relations, and other topics related to professional duties and employment.

Did You Know?

In response to one of the recommendations of the 21st Century Task Force, TASA President George Crowson (198889) appointed a Small Schools Advisory Committee and named Vice President Terry Harlow as chair. Harlow stated that the priority issues for the committee would include governance and finance, personnel recruitment and retention, instructional leadership, staff training needs, small school effectiveness, school-community interaction, federal and state policies impacting small schools, management in small schools, special program management and legislative mandates and administrative paperwork.

Based on the work of the Small Schools Advisory Committee, the TASA Executive Committee approved the establishment of the Administrative Services Resource Center to be implemented in January 1990. ASRC services included: “The School Administrator’s Resource Manual”; an information resource hotline; an administrative services newsletter; technical assistance with district plans and reports; legal consultation services; and facility planning consulting services.

TASA edPAC Formed to Support

Pro-Public Education Candidates

The TASA Executive Committee established TASA edPAC as a general political action committee in November 1990 because the “support of political candidates who are sympathetic to the problems and issues facing Texas public schools will enable edPAC to become an effective tool for counteracting both the continuing decline in public education’s share of state revenues and erosion of management prerogatives at the state and local levels.” edPAC was authorized to make contributions to candidates for statewide office, state senators, state representatives, and State Board of Education (SBOE) members. In October 1994, for example, Quentin Burnett, chair of the TASA edPAC Candidate Coordinating Committee, announced edPAC’s support of 34 candidates for legislative and SBOE positions, including Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock and House Speaker Pete Laney.

In March 2006, after edPAC had not functioned as an active political action committee for several years, the TASA Executive Committee voted to dissolve edPAC and transfer its remaining fund balance of approximately $2,600 to Texas Parent PAC.

Leadership Training and Professional Development Take Center Stage

Since the mid-1980s, leadership training and professional development have become a central focus of TASA. From programs on instructional leadership to developing leadership skills among first-time superintendents and those who aspire to the superintendency, communication strategies and advocacy, school transformation and technical support, TASA’s offerings have covered every aspect of school administration. Key initiatives during this period included:

• 1987—The Institute for New and Aspiring Superintendents was established.

• 1987-1989—The Meadows Executive Leadership Program was founded with the support of the Meadows Foundation. Thirty superintendents were selected as fellows to participate in this program to build educational leadership and excellence in the superintendency. The superintendents

met 10 times in 1987 and 1988, focusing on professional growth, school improvement, collegiality, and mentoring.

• 1988—TASA partnered with TEPSA and TASSP to establish the Texas LEAD Center with federal funding to develop and support leadership training. (See page 45.)

• 1992—TASA partnered with the Cambridge Group to offer strategic planning services to school districts, including district and school/sitebased planning services.

• 1993—TASA initiated the Spring Conference for School Executives to meet the needs and address the demands confronting school executives. The second Spring Conference in April 1994 featured a keynote address by Phillip Schlechty, founder and president of the Center for Leadership in School Reform, now The Schlechty Center. His

address led to the formation of a long-term partnership between TASA and the Center to develop a network of Texas school districts modeled after the National StandardBearer School District Network and a Superintendents Leadership Network supported by the Schlechty Center. These initiatives were facilitated on behalf of the Center by former TASA President John Horn (see page 44), who served as Senior Associate for the Center.

• 1994—The Texas Curriculum Management Audit Center was established, and TASA consultants, working in conjunction with the CMSi team, began conducting curriculum management audits in Texas school districts. Developed by nationally recognized curriculum expert Fenwick English, the audits (to this day) offer the most comprehensive examination available of a school district’s curriculum management system.

Stan Paz: TASA’s First Hispanic President

In 1997, Dr. Stan Paz, superintendent of El Paso ISD from 1991 to 1998, became TASA’s first Hispanic president. Paz’s stellar 50-year career in education and business has included serving as associate superintendent in Dallas ISD, as superintendent of Tucson Unified School District in Arizona, and

as the first Hispanic superintendent of El Paso ISD. He was honored as the Texas Superintendent of the Year in 1994.

When he was elected to TASA’s presidency in 1997, Paz noted in his message to TASA members that “Texas is experiencing today what the rest of the country will experience in the future. By 2025 the nation’s school age population will be a mirror image of our state’s student demographics today. These state and national trends will create a need to better address quality education for students of color, for students who speak languages other than English, and for students who come from homes with incomes below the poverty level.”

In 2016, Paz became executive director of the Texas Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (TALAS) and led the effort to establish an organizational partnership between TALAS and TASA. Serving for five years as TALAS executive director, he was

The TASA/TALAS Partnership

In 2016, recognizing the important role of the Texas Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents as a statewide association committed to the identification, recruitment, development, and advancement of Latino school administrators, TASA began a partnership with TALAS.

Since its inception, TALAS has provided leadership development, collective impact, advocacy, and a proactive voice for Latino and non-Latino leaders who have a passion for serving the fastest growing student population in Texas. TALAS established a Latino and Latina mentoring program, offered in conjunction with TASA conferences, along with session presentations that support the growth and advancement of Latino learners and leaders.

As part of the agreement between TASA and TALAS, TASA committed to design, develop, and manage a website for TALAS, process membership dues and other fees, assist in promoting TALAS events, establish opportunities for TALAS professional development and training in conjunction with

instrumental in establishing TALAS as a significant source of professional development and mentoring for Latino leaders throughout the state. At the national level, he was the founding president of the Association for Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS).

Did You Know?

In 1992, TASA amended its Constitution and Bylaws to allow the TASA president to appoint two at-large members from underrepresented segments of the membership to two-year terms on the Executive Committee. Paz was appointed to an at-large position the following year and was elected to serve as the 1995-96 vice president, 199697 president-elect, and 1997-98 president.

the TASA Midwinter Conference, and generally support the TALAS mission. To this day, TASA continues to support TALAS, though the dayto-day assistance lessens as the organization grows and develops under its own leadership.

Dr. Stan Paz, former executive director of TALAS, said this of the partnership: "When TALAS was established, TASA, through the leadership of Dr. Veselka, stepped forward to provide us support so that we could build the organization. As the executive director, I worked closely with the TASA staff in developing the programs necessary to address professional development for the members of TALAS, but all the support was provided by TASA. This is probably what has made us successful in being able to grow the organization. I think what makes it special is that we didn't grow separate and apart from TASA. We did it in a coordinated effort and supporting one another."

Virginia L. Collier: TASA’s First Female President

In 1999, Dr. Virginia L. Collier, superintendent of Brenham ISD, became TASA’s first female president. Collier had served as president of the Texas Council of Women School Executives (TCWSE) in 1990-91 and was instrumental in creating one of TASA’s most significant long-term partnerships.

Working with Dr. Susan Sclafani, TCWSE’s 1989-90 president, TCWSE founder Dr. Margret Montgomery and other early leaders of the organization, she led the effort, along with TASA Executive Director Johnny Veselka and the TASA Executive Committee, to establish a partnership between TCWSE and TASA.

An educator for 35 years, Collier served Irving ISD as a teacher, junior high and high school vice principal, curriculum consultant, and elementary principal. She served Fredericksburg ISD as an elementary principal, North East ISD as associate superintendent for instruction, and Lago Vista and Brenham ISDs as superintendent. She completed her doctorate in the Cooperative Superintendency Program at The University of Texas at Austin. Collier was appointed by Gov. George W. Bush to the State Board for Educator

Certification, and following her retirement from the superintendency, she went on to work in higher education at Texas A&M University, supporting principal and superintendent preparation.

Karen Rue, who would follow in Collier’s footsteps to become TASA’s 2015-16 president, said she was inspired by Collier’s “example of courage and strength in breaking through leadership barriers.”

“Virginia Collier not only paved the way for future generations of women in education but also demonstrated that resilience and vision can lead to significant change for women in the superintendency,” Rue said. “She broke a glass ceiling, setting a new precedent for school leadership. Role models are all around us, and Virginia Collier is definitely one of mine!”

The TASA/TCWSE Partnership

Five years after the Texas Council of Women School Executives (TCWSE) was founded by Dr. Margret Montgomery in 1984, the TASA Executive Committee adopted a partnership agreement with TCWSE to assist in managing and promoting the TCWSE annual conference, assisting with TCWSE services, communications, membership processing, and overall operations.

TCWSE, in search of an executive director, needed a full range of operational support and TASA committed the services of Ann Halstead, who, while also fulfilling her diverse obligations and leadership responsibilities with TASA (she was TASA’s director of communications at the time), served as TCWSE’s executive secretary/treasurer. Until her retirement as TASA’s associate executive director of internal operations in 2023, Halstead supported TCWSE on behalf of TASA, managing association operations and empowering and supporting women in public education through her work on behalf of TCWSE.

Today, TASA continues to provide comprehensive association management services to TCWSE, managing the group’s membership, event planning and registration, website, and more. TCWSE’s conference is held each year in conjunction with the TASA Midwinter Conference. TCWSE provides a strong support system for women administrators, both those already in careers in school administration and those who may need encouragement to enter the executive ranks.

A New Vision Frames the Future 2000-2025

TASA’s Corporate Partner Program Launched to Support Association Programs

TASA’s Corporate Partner Program, established in 2002 by then-TASA Executive Director Johnny Veselka, furthered the association’s mission and was designed to be mutually beneficial to both TASA and the organization’s corporate partners. Prior to implementing the program, TASA received sponsorship support from various companies for meal functions, receptions, and program development dating back to the early years of the association. In the late 1990s, TASA also generated revenue from royalties related to endorsed products and services. The Corporate Partner Program replaced the royalty program and provided an organized structure for generating nondues revenue for the association.

Original Corporate Partners

In the first year, 2002-03, the President’s Circle Corporate Partners included Apple and Curriculum Advantage. Apple has been a continuous supporter of TASA since the program was established. Two other companies: SHW Group, LLP, now Stantec, and TCG Consulting Group, now TCG, a HUB International Company, also joined the TASA Corporate Partner Program in 2002-03 and have supported the association continuously since then.

Growth of the Program

In the Corporate Partner Program’s first year, 21 companies contributed over $300,000 in support of TASA programs and services. By 2017, the annual contributions from Corporate Partners surpassed $1 million. Today, these contributions, including monetary and in-kind support, exceed $2 million annually. Jennifer Garrido, TASA’s

director of Corporate Partner Services since 2015, has helped to grow the program to more than 80 companies as of 2025.

Support of Major Initiatives

At times, TASA’s Corporate Partners have supported major association initiatives. In 2006, for example, SHW Group, LLP, now Stantec, made a major commitment to TASA’s Visioning Institute, enabling the production of Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas, the document that has driven TASA’s school transformation initiatives over the past two decades.

In 2009 and 2010, PBK, in cooperation with TASA and the Cooper Aerobics Center, sponsored the Superintendents’ LIFE Institute, helping superintendent participants achieve a balanced, healthy and fulfilled life.

Apple has supported TASA’s technology initiatives, including development of the TASA on iTunes U curriculum content in 2012. (See page 55.) NWEA, a TASA Corporate Partner for more than 10 years as of 2025, has supported a series of leadership development opportunities for TASA members, including the Texas Public Accountability Consortium (TPAC), as well as providing thought leaders and general session speakers at TASA conferences on topics related to student assessment. Raise Your Hand Texas has also been a major supporter of TPAC (See page 56 for more on TPAC.).

TCG, a HUB International Company, has supported TASA programs annually since 2002 and now also offers specialized compensation analysis and financial and retirement planning services to TASA members.

TASA Corporate Partners benefit from exclusive opportunities — via sponsorships, advertising, and exhibits — to connect with school leaders and gain recognition and visibility. At the same time, our partners’ support enables TASA to advance its mission: To promote, provide, and develop leaders who create and sustain student-centered schools and develop future-ready students.

Public Education Visioning Institute: Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas

In the first decade of the 21st Century, TASA embarked on a new mission — Mission: School Transformation. It began in 2006 when 35 public school superintendents, frustrated with the state accountability system’s over-reliance on standardized testing and the general over-regulation of schools by the state and federal government, gathered to create a new vision for public education in Texas.

Meeting as the Public Education Visioning Institute for two years, they shared ideas on how to transform Texas schools to meet the needs of 21stcentury students. The result of their work was Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas. Published in 2008, the “Visioning Document,” as it is also called, continues to guide TASA and school districts across the state.

The Story Behind the Vision

The catalyst for the document was Keith Sockwell, a former superintendent who had retired from Northwest ISD, and at the time, traveled around the state in his work with SHW Group LLP (now Stantec), an architectural firm in Plano. During his visits with superintendents, Sockwell kept hearing that they were frustrated with the direction in which public education was headed and that there was no clearly stated vision for a preferred future. Superintendents knew what they were against. But what were they for?

The “no vision” bug bit Sockwell hard, so he asked SHW Group if the company would underwrite a quest to create a vision with “no strings attached.” SHW Group’s only stipulations were to take the long-term view, think creatively, and follow through.

TASA Pledges Support

Sockwell contacted TASA Past President John Horn (1987-88), who had retired from Mesquite ISD and was then a senior associate with the Schlechty Center for Leadership in School Reform (see page 44). Horn brought TASA Executive Director Johnny Veselka into the conversation. Veselka eagerly agreed to support the visioning effort and obtained the TASA Executive Committee’s unanimous support to provide coordination and staff support.

The superintendents invited to participate were those with whom Sockwell had been visiting, (mostly SHW Group clients). The members of the Texas Leadership Center Board of Directors and TASA officers were also invited.

In the end, the group included superintendents representing a variety of types of districts serving a total of 1.2 million students. (See a roster of Institute members and a more detailed history of the Institute, as told by its members, at tasanet.org/about/publiceducation-visioning-institute.)

The Institute’s Design Team members believed that the initial draft of the

They were frustrated with the direction in which public education was headed and that there was no clearly stated vision for a preferred future. Superintendents knew what they were against. But what were they for?

visioning document was a “work in progress” and that any others inspired by it could contribute to its evolution. In the nearly two decades since its publishing, the visioning document has inspired changes in school districts across Texas, as well as in TASA as an organization.

Work to fulfill the principles of the document continues to this day, as TASA celebrates its 100th year in 2025. (See Two Decades Devoted to Transformation on pages 54-56.)

The Visioning Document: Principles and Premises

The Public Education Visioning Institute envisioned a public school system that fosters innovation, creativity, greater local control, and a thirst for learning — and one that champions new, more meaningful assessment and accountability measures. The result of the Institute’s work, Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas, also called the TASA Visioning Document, was published in 2008.

The document was modeled after the Declaration of Independence in both structure and intent. It expresses school leaders’ desire to be free of government over-regulation to be able to innovate schools to prepare future-ready students.

The document’s principles and premises are defined in six articles:

Article I: The New Digital Learning Environment

“... We must embrace and seize technology’s potential to capture the hearts and minds of this, the first digital generation, so that the work designed for them is more engaging and respects their superior talents with digital devices and connections.”

Article II: The New Learning Standards

“The new digital environment demands new learning standards for students so that they will have the values and the capabilities to live, learn, and earn in a free society surrounded by a world that is truly global, connected, and increasingly competitive in scope and character.”

Article III: Assessments for Learning

“Appropriate and varied types of assessments are essential for informing students about their level of success in ways that affirm and stimulate their efforts and for informing their teachers so that more customized learning experiences may be provided in a timely way. …”

“The framers of the Declaration of Independence provided inspiration for this monumental task we have felt compelled to undertake. While making no claim that this work is in any way comparable to their epic accomplishment, we have used what they did to inspire us, as a metaphor to frame our own efforts, and to reflect our deeply held belief in the assertion of Thomas Jefferson that learning is essential to liberty. So in that sense, we, like them, find that we can no longer keep quiet and continue to endure the injustices the present bureaucratic school system is imposing on our youth and their future.”

Article IV: Accountability for Learning

“Comprehensive accountability systems are essential to achieving minimal personal and organizational performance only. ... Excellence and sustained exceptional performance come from a commitment to shared values and a clear vision that encourages collaboration and teamwork. ...”

Article V: Organizational Transformation

“The digital revolution and its accompanying social transformations and expectations dictate a transformation of schools from their current bureaucratic form and structure that reflects the 19th and early 20th century factory after which they were modeled, to schools that function as learning organizations. ...”

Article VI: A More Balanced and Reinvigorated State/Local Partnership

“A more balanced, reinvigorated state/ local partnership can generate the public involvement and community support needed to meet the demands of new learning standards essential to the success of the 21st century learner. ...”

A Work in Progress for Conversation and Further Development

Respectfully Offered by Superintendent Participants in the Public Education Visioning Institute

Read the full the visioning document at https://bit.ly/tasa-visioning-document.

Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas

Two Decades Devoted to Transformation

2006

TASA’s focus on school transformation began when 35 superintendents came together as the Public Education Visioning Institute to create a new vision for public education in Texas. (See page 52.)

2008

The TASA Visioning Document, Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas, was published as a result of two years of work by the Institute. (See page 53.)

2009

With the Visioning Document in hand, the Visioning Institute sought a means to begin work to fulfill that vision. They conceptualized a network of school districts to do the work and sought to establish a consortium.

2011

With the passage of Senate Bill 1557, the Texas Legislature established the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium (see “The Texas Legislature Recognizes TASA’s School Transformation Efforts.”)

This same year, TASA invited school districts to be part of the original School Transformation Network (STN).

The Texas Legislature Recognizes TASA’s School Transformation Efforts

In 2011, the 82nd Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 1557, calling on the commissioner of education to select school districts to participate in the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium (THPSC), established in statute as a result of this legislation.

SB 1557 extended the work of the Public Education Visioning Institute that resulted in the TASA Visioning Document (see pages 53-54). This legislation charged the Consortium with improving student learning through innovation in four areas:

1. Development of high-priority learning standards

2. Use of multiple assessments to measure learning

3. Integration of technology into student learning

4. Creation of robust community-based accountability systems

After an extensive application process, 23 school districts were selected by Commissioner of Education Michael Williams to create the Consortium. (See the list of districts at www.tasanet.org/about/texas-high-performanceschools-consortium.)

The Consortium submitted recommended actions to the commissioner and the Legislature prior to the 83rd legislative session in 2013. These recommendations were included in House Bill (HB) 2824, filed by Rep. Bennett Ratliff with the intent of providing flexibility for the participant school districts to continue their work as a pilot program for the state. However, despite unanimous approval in both the Texas House and Senate, Gov. Rick Perry vetoed HB 2824 due to concern it would exempt consortium districts from the Texas accountability system and required assessments..

Nevertheless, the Consortium continued its work outlined in SB 1557 and provided recommendations via reports to the commissioner and the Legislature prior to the 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 legislative sessions. (Find links to the reports and learn more about the THPSC at www.tasanet.org/ about/texas-high-performance-schools-consortium.)

In 2017, as an extension of the Consortium’s work, TASA launched the Texas Performance Assessment Consortium, which was later renamed the Texas Public Accountability Consortium (TPAC). The group of 44 districts came together to demonstrate that a well-crafted community-based accountability system can better communicate the quality of effort by a school and district than the state’s standardized, test-centric accountability system. (See page 56 for more on TPAC.)

2012

TASA designed the Future-Ready Superintendents Leadership Institute (FRSLI) under the leadership of 201213 TASA President Jeff Turner, who wanted to bring together a cadre of superintendents and senior-level district administrators in the early stages of their careers who were willing to expand their leadership beyond the local level and propel Mission: School Transformation forward. FRSLI superintendents worked in teams, with the help of facilitator Shannon Buerk, for the next year to produce tools for use across Texas to advance the work outlined in the TASA Visioning Document. In addition to an infographic, video, and slide presentation, they created “The Moral Imperative: From Vision to Action,” a report that captured FRSLI’s desire to launch the vision into action. (See www.tasanet.org/about/future-readysuperintendents-leadership-institute for more on FRSLI, including a list of the 39 participants.)

2015

TASA established the Future-Ready Superintendents Leadership Network (FRSLN), a superintendent-designed and led group of future-focused school leaders who still gather today for events, facilitated by the TASA staff, that provide authentic learning and rich networking experiences and advance the principles of the TASA Visioning Document. The first FRSLN cohort, chaired by thenAlamo Heights ISD Superintendent Kevin Brown, included the original members of FRSLI and superintendents nominated by FRSLI members — 35 superintendents committed to creating models of futureready schools throughout the state. As of 2025, FRSLN engages 250 members across the state in nearly 100 districts that are carrying out the work of the Visioning Document. The FRSLN cohort meets in person three times per year

Did You Know?

In 2012, TASA launched TASA on iTunes U to assist in transforming teaching and learning by providing course content for classroom teachers in the four core subject areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and English language arts, offering 18 high school course collections in these four core content areas. With support from Apple consultants, 58 innovative teachers and content specialists from 14 school districts participated in the development of the course collections.

2013

By mid-January, 881 Texas school districts representing more than 4.4 million public school students, as well as dozens of Chambers of Commerce and PTA groups across Texas had adopted a sample school board resolution that TASA had shared with districts across the state in 2012 to build support for transformation in Texas public schools. The resolution called on the Legislature to “reexamine the public school accountability system and develop a system that encompasses multiple assessments, reflects greater validity, uses more cost efficient sampling techniques and other external evaluation arrangements, and more accurately reflects what students know, appreciate and can do in terms of the rigorous standards essential to their success, enhances the role of teachers as designers, guides to instruction and leaders, and nurtures the sense of inquiry and love of learning in all students.”

at events hosted by member districts, where participants visit campuses, talk to students, and observe innovative programs in action. “FRSLN is a closeknit group of school leaders who share their successes and challenges and who are committed to the work of school transformation,” says Jill Siler, who in 2025 is TASA’s deputy executive director of professional learning, but who served as chair of the FRSLN Design Team while superintendent of Gunter ISD. “In many ways, FRSLN is the culmination of the Visioning Document

because it’s putting the principles into action. FRSLN members don’t discuss what the Legislature needs to change, complain about school finance, or even talk football. They figure out what can be done to improve our schools, and they do it.” In 2025, Alamo Heights ISD Superintendent Dana Bashara serves as chair of the FRSLN Design Team.

2017

As an extension of the work of the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium, TASA launched the Texas Performance Assessment Consortium, which was later renamed the Texas Public Accountability Consortium (TPAC). The original group of 44 districts came together to demonstrate that a well-crafted community-based accountability system (CBAS) can better communicate the quality of effort by a school and district than the state’s standardized, test-centric accountability system. Since then, more than 75 school districts have participated in TPAC, and many have implemented an individualized CBAS in their districts to more fully tell the story of the work their schools are doing to prepare students. “The communities where a CBAS has been put into place seem to love it because these are not one-sizedfits-all systems,” says Eric Simpson, TASA’s chief learning officer who has helped facilitate TPAC since launch. They allow each school district to share what its strengths and weaknesses are in a way that is tailored to the district and according to the community’s learning priorities for its students.”

2019

In 2019, TASA began a formal partnership with N2 Learning to offer professional learning opportunities designed around the principles of the Visioning Document and to further TASA’s mission of developing innovative, future-focused school leaders. The partnership began with the Principals’ Institute and has grown to include the Assistant Principal Leadership Academy, Executive Leadership Institute, and most recently, the New 2 Principalship Collaborative Coaching Series.

2020

The evolution of TASA’s professional learning offerings continued, as TASA worked toward achieving the organization’s Visioning Documentinspired Strategic Framework aspirations, with the redesign of the Aspiring Superintendents Academy offered in conjunction with the Midwinter Conference and the launch of the Aspiring Superintendents Virtual Summer Series. That year, TASA also launched a redesigned Superintendent Mentoring Program, and two years later, the organization launched an executive coaching pilot program. (See page 60 for more information on these programs.)

2023

As part of TASA’s effort to offer professional development offerings aligned with the principles of the Visioning Document, TASA redesigned the FirstTime Superintendents Academy (FTSA), which had been offered to first- and second-year superintendents for decades. FTSA has continued to evolve as TASA has worked to fulfill the aspirations of the TASA Strategic Framework (see pages 59-60), which was launched in 2018 to guide TASA as it supports districts in the work of implementing the principles and premises contained in the TASA Visioning Document.

Did You Know?

TASA began offering the First-Time Superintendents Academy for the first time in 1990. While it has changed over the decades, its objective has remained the same: to prepare new superintendents for the multi-faceted role of the superintendency.

TASA launched a redesigned School Transformation Network to complement TASA’s other school transformationfocused networks: FRSLN (launched in 2015 and TASA’s most popular professional learning offering by this point) and TPAC (launched in 2017). Those networks focus on instructional practices and accountability, but the new STN focuses on “transforming the basics” — finance, staffing, board relations, and more — the systems that support instruction. The program is conducted virtually.

Also in 2023, TASA launched the brandnew Small Schools Network (SSN), modeled after FRSLN with group visits to campuses, to engage smaller districts (less than 1,300 ADA) in the work inspired by the Visioning Document and to fulfill the aspirations of the TASA Strategic Framework (see pages 59-60). “The Small Schools Network focuses on transformation and providing the best learning opportunities to students, no matter the size of school or resources you have,” says Megan Pape, Snook ISD superintendent.

TASA members from Alamo Heights ISD, which has been a member of TPAC since its inception, discuss communitybased accountability during a 2019 TPAC meeting in Georgetown.

Thomas Randle: TASA’s First African American President

In 2007, Thomas E. Randle, superintendent of Lamar CISD, became TASA’s first African American president.

A graduate of Brenham High School, Randle earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University, and later his doctorate from Oklahoma State University. He first taught in Sweeny ISD. After four years there, he spent 13 years in Conroe ISD, serving as a grade-level principal and administrative assistant principal at McCullough Junior High School in the Woodlands. He then became the principal at Knox Junior High School, a position he held for five years before changing roles to serve as assistant superintendent in secondary education in the district. Six years later, Randle moved into his first superintendency in La Marque ISD. After six years there, he became superintendent of Lamar CISD, a position he held for 20 years until his retirement in 2021.

“When Dr. Randle was named superintendent of Lamar CISD, I was

an administrator in Spring Branch ISD,” remembers Alton Frailey, who followed in Randle’s footsteps as TASA president in 2014-15. “We finally met through my superintendent, Dr. Hal Guthrie. Dr. Randle was with me, as he was with most of us with aspirations to move up in the ranks of school administration, very respectful, encouraging, and a role model. He influenced just about every aspect of my service as a superintendent and my work with TASA.”

During Randle’s TASA presidency, he was a member of the Public Education Visioning Institute and co-author of the TASA Visioning Document (see pages 52-53). In 2017, the Texas Alliance of Black School Educators — an organization of which Randle is a founding member — named a statewide award in his honor.

“When Dr. Randle was elected president of TASA, he appointed me to the Executive Committee,” Frailey says. “I was surprised and deeply honored to have been considered by him — someone I held in the highest esteem. He truly launched my career in service to TASA and then AASA. (Frailey served as the 2016-17 president of AASA, The School Superintendents Association.) Dr. Randle has been the first in many phases of his life because of who he is. He’s a quality, qualified person and an inspiration to many.”

Today, Randle supports TASA members as a TASA Executive Superintendent. “Having the opportunity to serve the members of TASA is an honor,” Randle says. “Coaching and working with superintendents is rewarding and allows me to share some of my experiences from 26 years in the chair. We are fortunate to have dedicated professionals who truly believe in the children they serve. Our future is truly in good hands.”

TASA’s Partnership with TABSE

The Texas Alliance of Black School Educators (TABSE) received its charter from the National Alliance of Black School Educators in 1987. The organization had 13 charter members, including Dr. Thomas Randle.

“The founding of TABSE created more spaces for aspiring professional administrators of color to attain needed opportunities and experiences for leadership development,” says Alton Frailey, a TABSE supporter and TASA past president. “Before it became more recognized that public school leadership in Texas needed to become more reflective of the growing diversity of the student population, not many avenues were available to aspiring administrators of color to gain those needed experiences.”

Since 2017, TASA has partnered with TABSE to host its Texas Educational Policy Institute (TEPI) preconference, its TABSE Superintendent Think Tank, and a concurrent session strand at the TASA Midwinter Conference. TASA also supports TABSE’s membership function by making it possible for individuals to join TABSE when they join TASA.

“Working in partnership, TASA has made available considerable resources to support and enhance the critical work of TABSE in creating and developing a growth pipeline that is populated with leadership aspirants equipped with needed leadership skills and qualities,” Frailey says.

TASA Takes Over the State of Texas Teacher of the Year Program

Prior to 2011, the Texas Teacher of the Year program was managed by the Texas Education Agency, honoring excellence in classroom education and providing a forum to showcase many outstanding educators whose efforts and example have inspired their students, their colleagues, and the communities they serve.

In 2011, Commissioner of Education Robert Scott invited TASA to take over facilitation of the Texas Teacher of the Year Program, and TASA was honored to assume leadership of this important recognition program. Texas Teacher of the Year is the highest honor that the State of Texas can bestow upon a teacher.

The official State of Texas program, now facilitated by TASA, annually recognizes and rewards teachers who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and excellence in teaching. It is part of the National Teacher of the Year Program, sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers,

2015 National Teacher of the Year Shanna Peeples with President Barack Obama in the White House Rose Garden

and it is the oldest and most prestigious awards program to focus attention on excellence in teaching.

TASA annually recognizes an elementary teacher of the year and a secondary teacher of the year in each Education Service Center Region (three state-level elementary finalists and three secondary finalists). A Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year and Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year are named, and one of the state winners is designated as Texas’ nominee

Did You Know?

The H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards Program, established in 2002 as the H-E-B Excellence in Teaching Awards, was created by H-E-B, in cooperation with TASA, to recognize the contributions of outstanding public school educators.

TASA was honored to be invited by H-E-B Chairman and CEO Charles Butt, whose philanthropy on behalf of Texas public education is unprecedented, to assist H-E-B in designing and implementing the

for the National Teacher of the Year Program. An annual awards ceremony honors all 40 Texas Regional Teachers of the Year. The six finalists for Texas Elementary/Secondary Teacher of the Year are recognized, and the Texas Teachers of the Year are announced.

In April 2015, Shanna Peeples, the 2015 Texas Teacher of the Year, was named the 2015 National Teacher of the Year. Then an English teacher at Palo Duro High School in Amarillo ISD, she was the first educator from Texas to earn the national honor since 1957 and was formally recognized by President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony. She was the second Texas Teacher of the Year to receive that honor.

In 1957, Eugene G. Bizzell of Austin ISD was the first Texas Teacher of the Year to be named National Teacher of the Year.

program, encouraging participation by local school districts, and assisting with the formation of regional and statewide judging panels. Since its inception, the program has been expanded to include the recognition of school counselors, principals, early childhood programs, school boards, and school districts. The program has awarded more than $14 million in cash and grants to Texas teachers and schools since 2002 and is the largest program of its kind in the state of Texas and the nation.

Eugene G. Bizzell

The TASA 2025 Task Force & Strategic Framework

In 2016, the TASA Executive Committee established the TASA 2025 Task Force, which included the TASA officers and a diverse group of 30 superintendents and central office staff from across Texas. The task force, led by then-TASA President Kevin Brown, met over the course of a year with the help of facilitators TASA Past President John Horn and consultant Natalie Glover, to develop a plan that would maximize TASA’s resources and relationships to accelerate the organization’s mission.

The result of the TASA 2025 Task Force’s work — the TASA Strategic Framework — was the culmination of more than a decade of school transformation initiatives that began with the formation of the Public Education Visioning Institute in 2006. (See pages 52-56.) It drew inspiration from the TASA Visioning Document, published in 2008, to lay out aspirations and outline the long-term strategies TASA would use to reach those aspirations by 2025, the organization’s centennial year.

The Strategic Framework identified three strategic areas: Professional Learning, Community and Policy Advocacy, and Member Engagement. TASA’s full-time staff and committee structure were reorganized to align with those areas, and an effort was made to increase the diversity of the members who serve on TASA committees.

Impact of the TASA Strategic Framework

Since the launch of the Strategic Framework, TASA has worked toward its stated aspirations:

“By 2025, TASA aspires to cultivate a…

• Cohesive, nationally recognized professional learning system that builds leadership capacity and a culture of transferable learning.

• Deeply engaged membership that selforganizes around creating the highest level of leadership performance.

• Diverse and extensive collaborative of champions equipped to advocate for an educated citizenry.”

Guided by the long-term strategies identified by the TASA 2025 Task Force, TASA leaders, members, and staff have worked together to fulfill those aspirations. The result has been new and reimagined programs and partnerships, including:

• A redesigned and expanded Texas Public Accountability Consortium — More than 75 districts participated in TPAC from 2017 to 2025. (See page 56 for more on TPAC).

• An expanded Future-Ready Superintendents Leadership Network (See page 55 for more on FRSLN.)

• A redesigned First-Time Superintendents Academy (FTSA) (see page 56) and Superintendent Mentoring Program — The redesigned TASA Superintendent Mentoring Program launched in 2020 helps first-year superintendents participating in FTSA fulfill a State Board for Educator Certification mentoring requirement. It was the result of three years of work by TASA’s Professional Learning Committee, who wanted the program to train mentors focused on creating intentional experiences for new superintendents.

• A redesigned Aspiring Superintendents Academy and a new Aspiring Superintendents Virtual Summer Series — The academy, held in conjunction with the TASA Midwinter Conference, was redesigned for January 2020, and a virtual series was launched in summer 2020 during the pandemic. The academy has continued to evolve since then with the content hours gradually increasing as

TASA launched the Strategic Framework during the 2018 Midwinter Conference with a celebratory beach ball toss in the first general session.

Strategies

Strategic Framework

Stakeholders

participants engage in more and better hands-on learning, hear from seasoned superintendents and search firms, and access a rich online repository of resumes, entry plans, and other resources.

• Professional learning partnerships with N2 Learning and TASBO — TASA has expanded its partnership with N2 Learning established in 2019 (see page 56) to offer learning opportunities that align with the various career pathways of members (a long-term strategy outlined in the Framework). Through the N2 partnership, assistant principals, principals, central office administrators, and superintendents can all receive training on transformational leadership. TASA’s partnership with TASBO allows TASA to reach school district finance professionals via finance-related offerings such as the School Finance Template Boot Camp and the Budget Cohort for Texas District Leaders.

• A new TASA Executive Coaching program — In 2022, Charles Dupre, deputy executive director of member

engagement and support, led the effort to secure grant funding and establish an executive coaching pilot program that paired trained, experienced superintendents with first-year superintendents. In just three years, the program has expanded to serve not just first-years but also superintendents with some experience who want to grow as leaders. The number of coaches and superintendents served by the program has grown significantly as well.

• A redesigned School Transformation Network and a brand-new Small Schools Network — TASA launched these in 2023 to “cultivate purposeful networks of leaders engaged in work that advances the TASA Visioning Document” (another strategy outlined in the Framework). (See page 56 for more on these networks.)

• A new grassroots advocacy initiative — To fulfill the aspiration of a "diverse and extensive collaborative of champions equipped to advocate for an educated citizenry," TASA established a grassroots advocacy initiative in 2023 led by Brian Woods, who served as

TASA president in 2020-21, and joined the staff as deputy executive director of advocacy. While TASA Governmental Relations staff have continued to focus on policy advocacy at the Capitol, the grassroots initiative takes Woods into the field. "It isn’t our role to dictate a school or a region’s priorities," Woods explains. "Our role is to say, 'Tell us what your schools need, let’s get some agreement locally, and then we will help you advocate for that need.'"

Today, in 2025, TASA not only celebrates the association’s 100-year history.

The association is also celebrating the fulfillment of the Strategic Framework, which has carried forward the vision of TASA’s founding superintendents, who first met in Dallas in 1925 to make a commitment of service to Texas school leaders and the students they serve.

The Strategic Framework has elevated the foundation TASA has built during its first 100 years, ensuring the organization’s ability to promote, provide, and develop leaders who create and sustain studentcentered schools and develop the next generation of future-ready students.

Kevin Brown: TASA’s Fourth Executive Director

In July 2018, Dr. Kevin Brown became TASA’s fourth executive director upon the retirement of Johnny L. Veselka. At the time, Brown was the superintendent of Alamo Heights ISD, TASA’s immediate past president, chair of the Future-Ready Superintendents Leadership Network (FRSLN), and chair of the TASA 2025 Task Force, which developed the TASA Strategic Framework that launched at the January 2018 TASA Midwinter Conference (see pages 59-60).

After completing his BA in government at The University of Texas at Austin, Brown began his career in Texas public education as a social studies teacher in Southwest ISD and in Round Rock ISD. He then served in New Braunfels ISD as an assistant principal and principal at both the elementary and secondary levels. Brown joined Alamo Heights ISD in 2000 as director of personnel and public information and served as superintendent from 2008 to 2018. He received his master’s degree in Education Administration from Texas State

University in 1998 and doctorate from Texas A&M University in 2004.

In addition to his leadership roles with TASA, Brown held other leadership positions in statewide organizations including the Texas School Coalition, Legislative Council for the University Interscholastic League, Texas Association of Mid-Size Schools, and the Texas Association of School Personnel Administrators.

"I am extremely humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve public education and the membership of TASA in this new capacity," Brown said upon his appointment as executive director. "I believe in the promise of public education for individuals, families, communities, and our entire nation. TASA is uniquely positioned to defend public schools, help them transform into student-centered organizations, celebrate their success, and develop the strongest leadership capacity our state has ever known." Brown continues to serve as TASA executive director in 2025. He has led the association through many changes as it has worked to fulfill the aspirations outlined in the TASA Strategic Framework, led the organization through the COVID pandemic, and passionately advocated for public schools in a challenging political climate. He has also drawn on his firm belief in public education as the foundation for democracy to advocate for public education at the Texas Capitol. See page 64 for Brown’s “Preview of TASA’s Next 100 Years” as the association begins another period of strategic planning in 2025-26.

Perseverance through Global Pandemic

Considering that TASA hosts so many conferences, meetings, and professional development events each year, 2020 was a major challenge with the onset of a global pandemic that prevented TASA members from gathering in-person.

But the organization shifted gears in a big way, with staff spending the spring getting a crash course on virtual event platforms and hosting the TASA Virtual SummerCon just three months later. During the 2020-21 school year, TASA continued to hold all events — big and small — online, including the 2020 TASA|TASB Convention and the 2021 TASA Midwinter Conference.

COVID-19 brought even more challenges to school leaders, so TASA responded with a series of “Live Virtual Events” to assist members with timely issues, including topics as diverse on feeding children, teacher and administrator wellness, holding classes while social distancing, and even how to allocate football tickets when attendance was limited to 25 percent.

TASA became a hub for school leaders, providing critical support during this public health crisis.

“TASA leaders and staff worked tirelessly with state leaders,” remembers TASA Executive Director Kevin Brown, who says then-TASA President Brian Woods is to be credited for daily communications with TASA staff and collaboratively working with state leaders to support schools, which were the “glue that held many communities together at this time.” “TASA also played a major role in ensuring that $13 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds flowed directly to school districts rather than being supplanted by the state,” Brown says.

LaTonya Goffney: TASA’s First Female African American President

In 2023, LaTonya Goffney, superintendent of Aldine ISD, became TASA’s first female African American president.

Goffney, who earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees at Sam Houston State University, began her career in education as a language arts teacher, serving as an assistant principal and principal before stepping into her first superintendency in 2008 in Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD. In 2013, she took the helm of Lufkin ISD as superintendent, then moved into the top position in Aldine ISD in 2018. She was the first African American to serve as superintendent in all three districts.

Goffney was named Texas Superintendent of the Year in 2017

“I still remember in 2008 when I attended my first TASA conference. I remember how I felt, being one of the only people of color in the space, and I remember seeing everyone dressed in suits and ties, and I was feeling a little bit of imposter syndrome. It was my first year as superintendent. I remember walking into the huge auditorium and seeing Dr. [Thomas] Randle. He was the president that year. When I saw him on that stage, I felt like I belonged, and I said to myself ‘You know, one day I’d like to do that.’ Just seeing someone who looked like me made all the difference.” —LaTonya Goffney in a 2024 interview about TASA’s history

and Texas’ nominee for National Superintendent of the Year in 2018. In 2019, Sam Houston State University presented her with the Distinguished Alumni Award. That same year, AASA recognized her as a finalist for the 2020 Women in Education Award. And in 2021, she received the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents’ National Champions of Equity Award.

In 2025, Goffney is the president of the National Alliance of Black School Educators. During her career, she has been active in the Texas Association of Black School Educators, the Texas Council of Women School Executives, the Texas School Alliance, and the Texas Urban Council of Superintendents, as well as Chiefs for Change.

TASA‘s Support of the Texas Urban Council of Superintendents

TASA has supported the Texas Urban Council of Superintendents since 2016, performing accounting functions and maintaining membership records, while serving as fiscal agent for the association. The initial agreement between TASA and the Council was executed by then Council President Dr. Michael Hinojosa and TASA Executive Director Johnny Veselka. TUC’s membership currently includes the superintendents in 11 school districts with more than 30,000 students with concentrations of disadvantaged, low income, and special needs students or concentrations of minority students.

Martha Salazar-Zamora: TASA’s First Female Hispanic President

In 2024, Martha Salazar-Zamora, superintendent of Tomball ISD, became TASA’s first female Hispanic president. She began her education career in Alice ISD as a teacher, educational diagnostician, and speech and language pathologist. While working in Bishop Consolidated ISD, she served as a principal and director of federal programs/special education. In Kingsville ISD, Salazar-Zamora worked as an assistant superintendent for curriculum/ instruction and human resources as well as a speech/language pathologist, before becoming the superintendent, a position she held for three years.

In addition, Salazar-Zamora worked in Spring ISD as an area superintendent, assistant superintendent, and executive director of student/school services. She served in Houston ISD as the assistant superintendent of school support services and in Round Rock ISD as the deputy superintendent of curriculum and administration. Tomball ISD welcomed her as superintendent in 2017.

“When I think about what it’s like to be the first Hispanic female president of TASA, it’s really an incredible feeling, especially as we celebrate our centennial year. Although I have loved seeing all the people who have come before me and served so well, it is a source of pride for me to think about someone looking at me and thinking, ‘I too want to do that one day.’ I believe that representation matters in so many ways, and TASA has always understood that and celebrated that. TASA is such an incredible support system and association for people who want to continue to serve Texas public education students. I’m excited about who we are today, but even more excited about who we will continue to evolve into as an association in time.”

—Martha Salazar-Zamora in a 2024 interview about TASA’s history

In 2023, Salazar-Zamora was named Texas Superintendent of the Year — the first Hispanic female to receive the honor — and she was selected by AASA as one of four finalists for 2024 National Superintendent of the Year. In 2024, she was named the Houston Area Educator of the Year, one of the Top 40 Women of Distinction in Houston, and she was listed by “District Administration” magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Educators in the nation. In late 2024, she was also named one of two finalists for AASA’s Women in Leadership Award.

Today, in 2025, Salazar-Zamora serves as president of both TASA and of the Texas

Council of Women School Executives, and she has previously served as president of the Fast Growth School Coalition. She is also a past president and founding member of the Texas Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents.

Salazar-Zamora holds a doctorate of education from Texas A&M University, a master of education in educational administration and a master of education in special education from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and a bachelor of science from Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M UniversityKingsville).

TASA Statement on Equity and Excellence

At the 2022 TASA Midwinter Conference, the Executive Committee approved the following TASA Statement on Equity and Excellence:

TASA values the strengths, contributions, and varying perspectives of all educational leaders. Our goal is to intentionally equip and support school districts and leaders as they foster a culture in which all students and adults are valued for their unique gifts, supported academically, socially, and emotionally, and empowered to reach their full potential.

A Preview of TASA’s Next 100 Years by TASA Executive Director Kevin Brown

As I sat down to write this conclusion to the story of TASA’s first 100 years, what was to be a forward-focused look into TASA’s future, I found myself wondering if the organization’s charter members had any kind of idea, 100 years ago, of how TASA would change and thrive over the century ahead. I asked myself, “Can any of us actually grasp in the slightest what the next century holds for TASA? If we could live another 100 years, would we even believe what we would see in our world?” I think the answer is probably not, but there are a few truths that I know for certain will drive the transformation of TASA over the next century.

Leadership and Vision Matter

The first is that leadership matters. Public school leaders are the most inspiring leaders I have ever known. Our engaged, professional, missiondriven, innovative leaders have what it takes to ensure our schools thrive in the next century. Any organization that stands a chance at success must constantly adapt and innovate, be nimble, and embrace new technology and the latest research. Our TASA leaders have committed us to do that.

Second, vision matters. Michael Bernard Beckwith wrote, “Vision without action is fantasy; action without vision is chaos.” TASA has a vision for the future that calls for greater local control and local accountability for schools, a thoughtful approach to the use of technologies and assessment, and a focus on engaging students in ways that prepare them for an ever-changing world.

Public Education is a

Moral Imperative

Third, public education is a moral imperative to our children and free society. Public education is at the core of the American dream, and TASA serves a critical role in the success of both. The work we do simply must be done if American democracy is going to endure.

TASA Has What It Takes

Finally, TASA gets things done. Our history proves that, and recently we have demonstrated that yet again through the fulfillment of the TASA Strategic Framework. When we set our collective minds to achieving a shared vision, we are unstoppable. To that end, the TASA officers and Executive Committee have set forth a process to engage our members to update the TASA Visioning Document by the end of 2025, making it more relevant and contemporary for today’s challenges. Then, in 2026, we will engage the TASA membership in developing a new strategic framework.

Successful organizations embrace change, and TASA has strong and capable leaders, staff, and members who can navigate what lies ahead, including the challenges that are thrust upon us every year. We are ready for the future, and that is thanks, in large part, to the growth and change our organization has navigated over the past 100 years. TASA is a different organization today than it was a century ago — bigger, stronger, and more diverse — thanks to the members of the organization, both past and present.

This publication chronicles how TASA members have shaped the organization to become what it is today, so I offer my sincere thanks to TASA Executive Director Emeritus Johnny Veselka for the many hours of work he did researching and writing it. The result is clearly a labor of love from a man who devoted

We

are ready for the future, and that is thanks, in large part, to the growth and change our organization has navigated over the past 100 years.

more than 40 years to TASA, and it’s also a resource for us to understand, acknowledge, and celebrate TASA’s evolution.

Looking Ahead

I hope this publication and our centennial celebrations will inspire and recommit all of us to the TASA mission to promote, provide, and develop school leaders who serve and advocate for students. Together, we will take this organization into the future. We may not be able to fully comprehend today what that future looks like, but if we collectively engage and work together, we will continue to build TASA into an even better organization for those who come after us.

Celebrating 100 years of leadership in education

Congratulations to the Texas Association of School Administrators on your centennial anniversary!

For 100 years, you have demonstrated exemplary service and leadership in support of public education in Texas!

At NWEA®, we share your commitment to student growth through evidence-based assessments and tailored learning solutions that meet the diverse needs of all learners.

As a proud corporate partner of TASA, we’re honored to support your programs and collaborate with Texas school districts on impactful initiatives.

Here’s to continued excellence in education!