PEOPLE Je Arnett New Eanes ISD superintendent
2022 EDUCATION EDITION
BY GRACE DICKENS
Je Arnett started as Eanes ISD’s superintendent on June 1. Arnett has served as the deputy superintendent of EISD since 2016. He has several years of experi- ence in public education and holds a doctorate in educational leadership along with master’s degrees in education and corporate communications. Community Impact Newspaper spoke with Arnett about priorities for the district, his vision for EISD and what he wants parents to know going into the school year. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. WHY DID YOU BECOME AN EDUCATOR?
Je Arnett became the Eanes ISD superintendent June 1. (Courtesy Eanes ISD)
principals. We want to do everything we can to support our principals and our assistant principals. We want to do what we can to create an environ- ment where teachers see that they have a future here and that if they aspire to be in a leadership role, they can grow into that opportunity. WHAT EXPERIENCES IN YOUR CAREER HAVE SHAPED YOUR ABILITY TO INCREASE STUDENT OUTCOMES? Having been a teacher myself, I know the rigors and the expectations of the classroom and what it takes to help students not only meet a certain academic pro ciency and level, but also exceed that. Exceeding those levels is what our community often expects of our educators, so we work really hard with our principals and with our classroom teachers. DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC GOALS OR PRIORITIES IN THIS UPCOMING YEAR? Our topical town hall meetings create opportunities for conversation around these very speci c issues like school safety and security; library books; diversity, equity and inclusion; [and] school funding to
LEARN ABOUT JEFF ARNETT Superintendent Je Arnett has an array of experience both in and outside of Eanes ISD. From his time as a rst grade teacher to now, he has dedicated his career to public education.
My rst degree was in communi- cations, and that’s something I’ve always been drawn to. What attracted me to education is the realization that to be a good educator or teacher, you also have to be a good communi- cator, and to be a good communica- tor, you have to be a good teacher. WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU ABOUT EANES ISD? We are the best school district in Texas. There are a number of benchmarks and measures that we consistently are either at the top of the list or near the top of the list. IN THE NEXT YEAR, WHAT ARE SOME MAJOR AREAS OF FOCUS FOR YOU AND WHY? I want this to be the best district it can be for those who have chosen to be here. … Our teachers have choices; there are a lot of really ne school districts throughout the Austin area, but this is where they’ve selected to be. We want to honor that choice and we also want them to stay here. … The most important leadership role in a school district is not in the superintendent seat, but our campus
Chief communications o cer for Barrington School District in Chicago Director of communications, education and public programs for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Director of communications, director of school and community relations and a rst grade classroom teacher in several Missouri schools
Six years as EISD deputy superintendent
Doctorate in education leadership Master’s degrees in education and corporate communication
SOURCE: EANES ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
give people the opportunity to have more of a two-way dialogue around these topics. We’re talking about listening dinners, where in a small, somewhat intimate setting, we can bring together people from di erent perspectives to hear each other’s stories and to develop those relation- ships of understanding. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW? There is a legacy of educational excellence in Eanes that dates to 1870, and this is the 150th anniver- sary of the beginning of what is now
Eanes ISD. To become superinten- dent at a time that coincides with that ... gives us an opportunity to re-engage families who have been here. Conversely, we have a lot of families who are new to our school district. We want to celebrate that diversity, too, and all the viewpoints and the perspectives that they bring now to our community. I am particu- larly excited about being superinten- dent of such a giving, supportive, and well-educated community of parents and teachers and sta who every day are doing whatever they can to make this the best possible place for our students.
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LAKE TRAVIS WESTLAKE EDITION • AUGUST 2022
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