HARLINGEN — Change requires trust.
That’s the message Arturo Cavazos, superintendent emeritus at the Harlingen school district, will extend to school districts across Texas as Superintendent-in-Residence for The Holdsworth Center.
“I’m humbled and honored,” said Cavazos after learning of his appointment to the leadership institute based in Austin. He and Thomas Randle, superintendent of the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, will begin serving at the center in July.
The Holdsworth Center’s goal is to support and develop public school leaders to improve the quality of education for Texas students. The Center’s website congratulated Cavazos on the new position.
“They’ll be coaching and mentoring superintendents in one of the most prestigious leadership development programs in the state,” the Center said.
And that’s what Cavazos, 56, is ready to do. He explained that one of a district leader’s responsibilities is to create a trusting culture with the school community. In order to do this, in order to accomplish anything, district leaders and administrators must “plan the work and work the plan.”
“There is some work that has to be done on the front end as you move to change a school system,” Cavazos said. “It cannot be a trial by error where you just hope it works. It has to be sustainable and scalable change that is going to be systemic. I think those are two main points.”
More broadly, he said Texas school districts are facing several challenges, specifically the “political lens” and rules and regulations which come down from the local, state and federal level.
“I think the bigger challenge is creating a culture where goal decision making is acceptable,” he said. “You must put yourself in a vulnerable situation where you’re always learning and trying to get better.”
This learning, this progression, this change presents a certain degree of fear which requires courage.
“You have to know how to lean into the fear,” he said. “You’re doing the right work. Be courageous and identify the bureaucracies that get in the way of change.”
