Less than two years after she departed for another job, the Dallas school board has asked a former administrator to return to the district as superintendent.
The board has announced that it has named Stephanie Elizalde as the lone finalist for district's top job.
Elizalde was the chief of School Leadership in the Dallas district until August 2020, when she was hired as superintendent of the Austin (Texas) district. Dallas is the state's second-largest district and has nearly twice as many students as Austin--153,784 compared with 80,718, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Once a finalist is identified, the state of Texas requires school boards to wait 21 days before they can offer prospective superintendents a contract for employment.
Elizalde would replace Michael Hinojosa, who announced earlier this year that he was relinquishing the superintendent's job.
A native Texan, Elizalde is a third-generation public school educator who has served in various roles such as teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and deputy chief.
Austin school board president Geronimo Rodriguez expressed appreciation to Elizalde for her brief tenure there.
“Thank you to Dr. Elizalde for her steadfast leadership through what has been an unprecedented and challenging two years,” Rodriguez said. “Her commitment to our...mission allowed our community to safely move through the pandemic and stay laser-focused on academic achievement.”
