Chamber thanks Austin ISD’s Dr. Paul Cruz for service to Austin

Posted on 02/20/2020 by Vice President, Education & Talent Development, Gilbert Zavala

You have likely seen the news that our partner, and colleague, Dr. Paul Cruz, has resigned as superintendent of Austin ISD late yesterday afternoon.

Dr. Cruz’s tenure and leadership at Austin ISD spans 14 years of service to students and families in our community. He has served as superintendent since 2014, and has continually focused on improving educational outcomes and opportunities for area students.

Student outcomes during his superintendency speak for themselves:

  • Graduation rates are up from 84% in 2013 to 92% in 2018—an improvement of 8 percentage points, and likely greater in 2019 given the 1+ year lag in Texas school performance indicators. Hispanic and African American graduation rates-rose from 81% in to 91% and 82% to 91% respectively, during the same period—an increase of 10 percentage points for Hispanic students and 9 percentage points for AA students. (Source: TEA, TAPR Report 2013-2019)
  • College Readiness rates are up from 61% in 2013 to 64% 2018 and 67% for 2019. These improvements make it more likely that students will enroll in college and complete postsecondary credentials. Despite the state lag in CCR, DTC70 partners near real-time preliminary college readiness rates for Class of 2020 are also trending up and are poised to match or surpass prior year rates. (Source: TEA, TAPR Report 2013-2019—DTC70 data by ISD/OneLogos)
  • Priority Aid/FAFSA completion rates are up from 43% in Q1 2014 to 56% in Q1 2020. Approximately, 80% of FAFSA completers pursue college and low-income students who file a FAFSA, and graduate college ready, complete college at a rate 3 times higher than their peers based on University of Texas Ray Marshall Center data. (Source: U.S. Department of Education-THECB/OneLogos FAFSA aggregate filings for DTC70 Partnership)
  • Direct-to-college enrollment is up from 57% in 2013 to 59% in 2018, helping improve our DTC70 regional direct-to-college enrollment rate to over 62% in 2018-2019. This means more of our young people are connecting to the education and training they need to compete for good jobs. (UT Ray Marshall Center THECB/NSC Student Postsecondary Outcomes)

Other accomplishments include, passage and ongoing implementation of $1.05 billion bond to modernize Austin ISD schools and improve facilities for Austin students and families, continued expansion of PTECH/Career Launch/Early College High School programs at Anderson, Crockett, LBJ, Navarro, Travis, and Eastside with plans to expand to other campuses, and prior Chamber recognition as Superintendent of the Year.

Superintendent Cruz will be transitioning to a position at University of Texas at Austin, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, where Dr. Cruz will co-direct the Cooperative Supertintendency Program to prepare the next generation of school leaders. The AISD school board will meet next Monday to discuss plans for his transition.

We are grateful to Dr. Cruz for his partnership and tireless dedication to the students and families across Austin ISD. Our region is better off thanks to his leadership and the team of dedicated Austin ISD administrators he has assembled. We look forward to continuing to work with them and district through this transition and in service to area students.


Related Categories: Education and Talent