Baylor School of Education Hosts New Waco ISD Superintendent

Dr. Roland Hernandez, the new superintendent of the Waco Independent School District, will be the guest speaker at a meeting hosted by the Baylor University chapter of Phi Delta Kappa International from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, in Room 211 of the Draper Academic Building on campus. The meeting is open to students, area educators and the public.

Phi Delta Kappa is an honorary society for professionals in the field of education. The local Baylor chapter includes faculty and students, as well as teachers and administrators from various surrounding school districts.

"The Baylor chapter of Phi Delta Kappa was thrilled when Dr. Hernandez was able to work our meeting in his schedule, because so many of our teacher-candidates are involved in Waco ISD schools," said Dr. Rachelle Meyer, lecturer in curriculum and instruction in the Baylor School of Education and president of the Baylor PDK chapter. "The Baylor School of Education has a very strong partnership with Waco ISD, and this is a good way for local educators, as well as Baylor's pre-service teachers, to learn about Dr. Hernandez's ideas and aspirations for Waco ISD."

Hernandez came to Waco from the Tyler ISD, where he had been serving as deputy superintendent since July 2003. He has served as one of six members of the No Child Left Behind National Advisory Board, state director of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and program coordinator for the University of Texas at Austin's prestigious Charles A. Dana Center.

Hernandez earned his doctorate in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin, a master's degree from the University of Houston at Clear Lake, and a bachelor's degree from Southwest Texas State University. He and his wife, Cynthia, have two children, Lauren, 11, and Leyton, 8.

For more information, contact Rachelle Meyer at (254) 710-6069.