Alief ISD’s HD Chambers named Superintendent of the Year

HD Chambers, superintendent of Alief Independent School District, has been named the 2021 Region 4 Superintendent of the Year. Chambers is the Region 4 nominee for the 2021 Texas Superintendent of the Year program, sponsored by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). The Texas Superintendent of the Year will be announced at the 2021 TASA/TASB Convention September 24–26, 2021, in Dallas.

During his 10 years as superintendent of Alief ISD, Chambers has been a tireless advocate for students and educators alike and, in collaboration with the Alief School Board of Trustees, supported the formation of the Alief ISD Equity Committee. After months of collaboration, the district adopted the Alief ISD Racial and Social Justice Equity Policy to ensure students have equitable access to educational instruction and programs through enhanced restorative practices, unconscious bias training, and reducing student removal. Equity proved particularly important as the district navigated the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During the pandemic, Mr. Chambers did not allow the politics of funding to get in the way of good decisions based on what students needed to continue learning,” said Ann Williams, president, Alief ISD Board of Trustees. “This was essential in ensuring that the District was prepared to provide safe and effective learning to students, beginning on day one of the 2020–2021 school year.”

Chambers also has worked to build lasting partnerships with the community. Through the Superintendents Pastoral Network, Chambers established a link between the school district and area churches that has proven to be a vital source of support, particularly during Hurricane Harvey, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Winter Storm Uri.

“Throughout this unprecedented year, Mr. Chambers has fostered open communications with parents, staff and the Alief community,” said Williams. “He drove transparent and factual communications that allowed for parents, staff and community members to make personal decisions. Mr. Chambers has provided steadfast leadership that has made a lasting impact.”

Chambers also has overseen a continued tradition of academic excellence driven by effective, well-supported teachers. After soliciting feedback from stakeholders, Alief implemented best practices designed to support equitable leadership practices and adopted the Effective Schools Framework to foster improved outcomes for all students.

“For 30 years, HD Chambers has served as a consummate example of excellence in service for children in keeping students and teachers at the forefront of everything he does, not only for his school district but for districts across the state of Texas,” said Dr. Pam Wells, executive director, Region 4 Education Service Center. “This has been especially evident during the past 15 months. Mr. Chambers has provided exceptional leadership and has ensured students and teachers are empowered to continue learning as they navigate each challenge. We congratulate him for this well-deserved recognition and wish him the best in his nomination for Texas Superintendent of the Year.”

About Texas Association of School Boards

TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local Texas school boards. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve approximately 5.4 million public school students. The Superintendent of the Year program has recognized exemplary superintendents for excellence and achievement in educational leadership since 1984. Candidates are chosen for their strong leadership skills, dedication to improving educational quality in their districts, and commitment to public involvement in education. Superintendents from any of the state’s 1,024 local school districts are eligible for nomination by their school boards.

About Region 4 Education Service Center

Region 4 Education Service Center (Region 4), located in Houston, is one of 20 service centers established by the Texas Legislature in 1967. The purposes of the service centers, as presented in legislation, are to assist school districts in improving student performance, to enable school districts to operate more efficiently and economically, and to implement initiatives assigned by the Legislature or Commissioner of Education. The core purpose of Region 4 is to provide excellence in service for children.

Encompassing seven counties in the upper Texas Gulf Coast area, Region 4 serves 48 independent school districts and 39 open-enrollment charter schools. As the largest service center in Texas, Region 4 serves an education community of more than 1.2 million students, more than 99,000 professional educators, and 1,500 campuses.