Dees Wins Regional Superintendent of the Year Award
Roger Dees, superintendent of Giddings ISD, has been named the 2020 Regional Superintendent of the Year by Education Service Center Region 13.
Dees has led Giddings ISD for five years, where he serves 1,900 students. He is a member of over a dozen professional organizations that support the school district.
The Giddings ISD Board of Trustees cited Dees’ tireless efforts to improve the educational experiences and outcomes for students of the district. Roger Dees’ impact was visible through a variety of ways, including:
- Restructuring the Human Resources Department to be led by the Assistant Superintendent of Instruction in order to better determine staffing needs and recruit the best-qualified candidates
- Implementing an anonymous Client Survey that improved morale by giving employees a place to have their voices heard
- Improving academic performance yearly through his shared vision of Students First and a focus on school improvement and instructional leadership
- Inspiring teachers to share their success stories by inviting Dees into their classroom.
- Hiring a CFO put the district in the strongest financial situation they’ve seen in decades.
These fundamental changes and connections that Roger Dees made across the district and with the community set the stage for the district to respond quickly and successfully when faced with crises: Hurricane Harvey and the COVID-19 pandemic. Without setting the foundation of trust, clear communication, and high expectations, Gidding ISD would not have been poised to help fellow districts during the devastation of Harvey nor been equipped to transition into remotely educating and feeding students within four days.
His influence can easily be summed up by the nominating Board: “The sense of trust we have in each other was built through the open communication we share.”
“Roger Dees is a prime example of the Superintendent our schools need to foster a culture of success and caring regardless of what role you hold in the district,” said Dr. Rich Elsasser, Executive Director of ESC Region 13. “His involvement and visibility across the district and his championing of trust and communication show he cares deeply about the success of his students and staff.”
Sponsored by TASB, the Superintendent of the Year program has recognized exemplary superintendents for excellence and achievement in educational leadership since 1984. Candidates are chosen for their strong leadership skills, dedication to improving educational quality, ability to build effective employee relations, student performance, and commitment to public involvement in education.
Superintendents from any of the state’s local school districts are eligible for nomination by their school boards. Local nominees are submitted to a regional selection committee, which chooses one nominee to send to the state selection committee.
TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local public school boards. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 5.3 million students.
Cole Bubenik is a Content Marketing Specialist here at Region 13.
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