Terrance Sanders, a deputy superintendent in San Marcos, Texas, was appointed the next superintendent of District 161 schools on a unanimous vote by the board of education at its June 29 meeting.

After the announcement, Sanders told the board and audience that he’s “honored and grateful” for the appointment.

“I look forward to building on the strong foundation that’s already in place. The future of District 161 is bright, and as of this moment, I’m all in.” 

He told the Chronicle he learned about the strong foundation of the district and was told “that this is the place you definitely want to consider. So I looked at it, and this is the type of student-centered, staff-focused, community-centered place” that interested him.

Sanders has 23 years of educational experience, starting as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and deputy superintendent of a K-12 district.

Steve Griesbach of BWP & Associates, the search firm that worked with the district, thanked the board for its input during the search period. He said Sanders was one of more than 50 candidates for the position that former Superintendent Dana Smith held for nine years before resigning to take a position in another district.

He said the selection of Sanders signifies “a big winner for the board and the community.”

Information provided by the district said Sanders “has distinguished himself as a data-driven leader who has developed and monitored robust, districtwide Key Performance Indicator scorecards. This accountability system effectively tracked and improved critical metrics across academic achievement, student attendance and discipline.  

“This experience will translate well into his new role, as District 161’s Board of Education has approved five-year goals including raising academic achievement in English/Language Arts, Math and Science for all students — while fully eliminating achievement gaps and reducing chronic absenteeism to 10%.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Sanders to our district,” said David Linnear, school board president. “We sought a leader with a unique blend of ground-level school experience and high-level systemic vision, and Sanders exceeded our expectations. His proven ability to use data-driven metrics to elevate student performance ensures our district will continue to thrive.”