4 Latinos to lead large Dallas-Fort Worth school districts
*It’s a first for Dallas. Four major North Texas school districts will be led by Latinos. It’s important because of the large number of Latino students i these districts. For example the Dallas ISD has 70 percent Latinos. What’s missing now are more Latino school board members. VL
By Mercedes Olivera, Dallas Morning News
When Michael Hinojosa shifts from interim to permanent superintendent of Dallas ISD in October, he will become one of four Latinos leading major North Texas school districts.
[pullquote]One thing is still missing in North Texas — greater Latino representation on school boards. These four districts serve nearly 350,000 students, but they have only four Latino trustees among them.[/pullquote]He will join Kent Paredes Scribner, who will take the helm in Fort Worth next month;Marcelo Cavazos in Arlington; and José L. Parra in Irving.
It will be first time these districts, which have some of the largest Hispanic student populations in the area, are led by Latinos at the same time. All four speak fluent Spanish, making it easier for them to communicate with most parents in their districts.
This puts the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the vanguard of educational leadership because Texas has had “massive underrepresentation of Latinos in leadership positions,” said Meredith Richards, assistant professor of education policy at Southern Methodist University.
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[Photo courtesy of The Dallas Morning News]
