UISD: Ready for School.

United ISD Focuses on Leadership and Legal Updates at Annual Summit

United Independent School District (UISD) recently hosted its annual Leadership Summit, gathering over 200 campus and district leaders at the UISD Student Activity Complex. The summit, centered around the theme “A League of Our Own,” aimed to enhance leadership skills, disseminate crucial information, and synchronize district-wide initiatives to ensure continued academic success in the upcoming 2025-26 school year.

Superintendent’s Address: Reflecting on Achievements and Preparing for the Future

Dr. Gerardo Cruz, Superintendent of Schools for UISD, extended a warm welcome to all attendees, emphasizing the significance of this yearly summer event. He noted that this year’s summit was particularly crucial due to recent legislative changes.

“The summer is perhaps one of the busiest times, and this year was a legislative year,” Dr. Cruz stated. “We have a lot of legal updates, and new laws are coming into place. It’s our role, as district leaders, to interpret all of this information and get it down to our campus principals and our district leaders.”

Dr. Cruz expressed his pride in the district’s accomplishments, highlighting its exceeding of expectations in several key areas. “We surpassed the expectations with STAAR, we did go over our accountability ratings,” he said. “We surpassed the region data, we also surpassed some of the state data. So good things are happening here when it comes to academics at United ISD.”

The summit, according to Dr. Cruz, provided an opportunity to review the district’s achievements and accolades. He stressed the importance of continuous growth and development for leaders. “We want to make sure that they grow and develop themselves as leaders so they can be the best that they can be growing and developing campus teachers and ultimately, making sure our kids are learning every day,” he explained. “So the intent of these few days here is to be sure that we regroup, that we focus to make sure that we have our plans in place for the coming school year.”

Summit Highlights: Breakout Sessions and Legal Updates

The two-day event featured presentations on various initiatives and breakout sessions tailored to specific needs. Elementary and secondary principals had the opportunity to delve into data analysis and review essential routines such as bell schedules, master schedules, and student pick-up procedures. Changes to the student code of conduct were also discussed.

Other breakout sessions focused on key areas like:

• Wellness: Strategies for promoting well-being among students and staff.
• Attendance: Best practices for improving student attendance rates.
• Data: Utilizing data to inform instruction and improve student outcomes.
• Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA): Understanding and implementing the TIA program.

A significant portion of the summit was dedicated to legal updates. Attorneys provided insights into new legislation and its implications for the district. Coaching opportunities were also offered to equip campus leaders with the skills to mentor and develop their teachers. “This summit allows us to regroup and equip our campus leaders with the tools they need to be effective,” Dr. Cruz emphasized.

Dr. Cruz also proudly announced that UISD’s latest test scores are performing well above the state average. “It’s a premier school district. We have maintained high academics,” he said. “We are at the top in our region and our state, according to our data.”

Empowering Leaders and Addressing Challenges

Dr. Cruz noted the positive energy at the event, with principals and assistant principals enthusiastic about their roles. “Our main campuses are very excited to be part of our leadership team and to be part of their leadership journey,” he said. He reassured campus leaders that they have ample support. “One thing I want to ensure to our campus leaders is that they’re not alone. There are many resources they can turn to so they can be successful. If we have successful principals, then we are going to have great teaching happening in the classroom with positive student outcomes.”

The summit also addressed upcoming changes passed in the legislature, including modifications to the STAAR test and campus grading systems. “And that’s always challenging,” Dr. Cruz acknowledged. “We want to make sure that our campus principals know what needs to happen—being sure that all of our students have an opportunity to learn, not just our top students, but our students with the most need, our special education students, our emerging bilingual students.” He emphasized the district’s commitment to ensuring that “every student has the opportunity to grow, get better and do well in school.”

Dr. Cruz described the past year as a period of learning and adaptation, both for himself and the district. “It has been a year of learning, especially for me—personally and as a leader of the district—having to adapt and learn a new system in terms of how big the system is,” he said. He thanked everyone for their support and expressed his pride in the district’s collective efforts. “But I am also very proud of the work that everyone in the district has done so far, but there’s always room for improvement. We just need to continue that, so when we come to work every day, we do our very best and we support one another.” He reiterated that “student outcomes will always be at the forefront, and making sure that we engage with our parents, with our community, we want them to know that we are open, that we are honest and transparent, and do our best every day.”

Principal Perspectives: Appreciation and Anticipation

Michelle Cantu, Principal of Gutierrez Elementary School, shared her perspective after attending the event. With 28 years of experience in the district, she highlighted the value of the summit in providing updates on state legislation and laws. “This year they ended up creating sessions to give us updates on state legislation, laws, different things that have changed, and then of course to help us out,” she said. “This summit is for campus administrators to do a better job—to make sure that every child has the adequate resources, materials and instructional curriculum to show progress.”

She expressed her gratitude to the organizers and departments involved in putting the summit together. “I’m very grateful to the coordinators, to the different departments that have put this together, because they do have to look at legislation, look at anything that’s new or updated, and then they present it to us to make sure that we have all the tools and necessary resources in order to continue running our campuses.”

Gilbert Moreno, Principal of Trautmann Middle School, praised the summit’s dynamic format, comparing it to a professional conference. “UISD always equips us with the skills and the resources needed to succeed,” he said. “Today’s breakout session is something that they’ve created recently, and they’ve been able to bring to us—a conference-like feeling.”

Moreno appreciated the opportunity to choose sessions relevant to his campus, such as those focused on TIA implementation, APIs for teachers, and staff development. He also emphasized the importance of the sessions with the attorneys. “Our sessions with the attorneys will be our opportunity to discuss what we’re going through inside the campus,” he explained. “Also, we’ll get to give them feedback on what’s happening day to day as they’re presenting. It’s almost like a true-life feedback loop where we’re able to ask the attorneys questions, we’re able to give them scenarios we’ve been in and what the outcome of those scenarios would be, so they’re able to also educate themselves based on what’s happening to us, based on our experiences from the previous school year.”

Moreno expressed curiosity about implementing the new legislative changes and acknowledged the hard work of all administrators. “I’m very curious about how we’re going to implement these changes,” he said. “I think we administrators have a calling after teaching. So good luck to every administrator in the district, because everyone puts a lot of hard work into it. As I always say at Trautmann, there’s nothing here that’s done by luck—there’s a lot of work that goes into that work. You put in the effort, and the results will come on their own, whichever those may be.”