Texas Border Business –
By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez
James J. Ponce, Ed.D., is the McAllen Superintendent of Schools, a professional in education that has infused McAllen Independent School District (MISD) with a focus on rigor in teaching and learning. He was born in Silver City, New Mexico to parents Jimmy and Socorro Ponce.
Prior to taking the helm at McAllen ISD, Dr. Ponce served Dallas ISD as Deputy Chief of Staff where he provided leadership for the district Transformation Management Office, Emergency Management and Operations, Police and Security Services, Parent Services, School Choice, and Athletics.
Part of his 16 years at Dallas ISD was spent serving as Area VI Superintendent overseeing 36 campuses and approximately 30,000 students. Beginning his career as a bilingual teacher, he served as a high school assistant principal, an elementary principal and directed the Reading First Program.
Dr. Ponce is a three-time graduate from the University of Texas in Austin, having earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance and Management in December 1990; a Master’s in Educational
Administration in December 1998; and his Doctorate in Educational Administration in May 2009. McAllen ISD hired him in May 2009.
Dr. Ponce told Texas Border Business that one of the challenges he has had is, how to set up a system that prepares students for an exponentially ever-changing world. “Students will need to compete with people throughout the world for jobs. We want our students to contribute and to compete, not just to get a job. I want our kids to go out and change the world.” How are we setting them up for that? “That is our challenge.”
If you have not seen Dr. Ponce in action, well, he is passionate and proud to be one of the very few to get to be a superintendent in the state of Texas. He said, “I’m blessed to be in a position to make an impact on students.”
And speaking about impact, he is very involved with ‘Let’s Move!’ that is impacting nationwide and delivering exceptional results through sharing. He explained, “Let’s Move is a national campaign to promote student health and well-being.
The League of Innovative Schools is a group of 57 school districts in the country, which meet periodically and share best practices in educational technology.”
In 2011, Dr. Ponce spearheaded a group called the District Technology Leadership Cadre to answer how it could foster a 21st-century learning environment. Dr. Ponce said that there were many questions that needed an answer like; “How are students and teachers going to thrive?”
He said, “We started talking about Anytime, Anywhere Learning and, given the socio-economic background of some of our students, overcoming a digital divide. From those conversations, we knew kids would need a device and we were going to need to rethink the traditional classroom-learning environment. We knew professional learning was the key element. Students driving the learning coupled with facilitating the learning environment lead us to choose the iPad as the tool.”
For this reason a total of 6000 devices were assigned to students and teachers. “Students in special education, elementary, and middle school received devices that year from alternate funding sources,” he said.
The iPad project had a tremendous success and now is part of a larger framework called TLC3 (TLC cubed) stands for Transforming Learning in the Classroom, Campus, and Community. Dr. Ponce indicated that it’s an innovative teaching and learning framework that leverages powerful new technologies and merges them with student-centered, inquiry-based learning.
Dr. Ponce pointed out that the benefits to students of the iPad include a leveling of the playing field and access to Anytime, Anywhere Learning by placing a powerful learning tool in their hands. “It sparks innovation and strengthens students in what we call the four C’s (communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking). We don’t want students to be wowed when they leave here. The state accountability tests do not assess the necessary skill sets that a child needs to flourish, to be a problem-solver and to be a leader. We need to round that out.”
TLC3 empowers students to live and learn in a continuously changing, 21st-century environment and enables them to effectively interact in a global marketplace. He said, “It was a team of eight (school board and superintendent), after consultation with our technology cadre, which laid out this bold direction.”
All of this effort has been a tremendous experience, are you satisfied with the results? “It is an ongoing process. We are definitely moving in the right direction. There is engagement in the classroom. Overall, there are some lessons learned and improvements to be made. We are still consulting other school districts across the nation that want to follow our model.
Do you think that you are ahead of the times by giving opportunities (iPad) to students? “We didn’t start out trying to be but, as we looked around, we saw we were at the forefront. We had other districts seeking our advice. Remember, the device does not innovate; people innovate. We believe we are building a framework that allows students and staff to be innovative and creative with respect to learning.”
Dr. Ponce was originally planning on a business career. “My father was an educator, I thought about it. But, I felt I could make a difference.” He continued, “The expectation I had was that I needed to lead and achieve something. I always had teachers who nurtured and fostered growth in leadership. You don’t squander what you have been blessed with.”
The McAllen school district excites him because it is the backbone of education, quality of life, and economic issues for all its citizens. He said, “The McAllen ISD’s success is vital to, not only our students, but to McAllen, the region, and the state as well.”
His plans for the future are to continue to expand TLC3 with initiatives such as Prenatal to Pre-K. According to him this is a partnership with local health care and social services to ensure all children are ready to begin school by age 4 (pre-kindergarten age).
Dr. Ponce mentioned that they are also engaging partners for what they call Transforming U. He said, “This is a mentoring program for about 70 students each year. They are paired up with adults from the business community and will remain with their mentor through graduation.”
Texas border Business was present when this program was launched and the Transforming U partners include the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, McAllen Economic Development Corp., South Texas College, the United Way, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
He said, “We will tout our work with ‘Dual2Career’; these are endorsement pathways that lead to licenses, certificates, or an Associate’s Degree. Other plans include offering dual language across all elementary schools, and the kinder – 8th grade International Baccalaureate expansion.”
Did you give up anything in your life in order to become superintendent? “You do sacrifice a lot of free time. I believe in 20 years of marriage, I’ve missed about seven summers with study or work-related internships.”
What would you do differently if you had a chance to do it all over again? “Nothing. I’m blessed.”
Dr. Ponce is married to Katherine, his wife of 20 years; they have three sons – Julian, Mathew, and Gabriel.
Do you have any hobbies? “My hobby is spending time with my kids. I enjoy watching them grow and working with them through the Boy Scouts and their extracurricular activities.”
Aside from his heavy schedule of work, Dr. Ponce finds the time for civic activities; currently he is Assistant Scout Leader with Boy Scouts Troop 7. He is also a board member for the United Way, the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, and the March of Dimes.”
Dr. Ponce has been an example of a professional with a unique dedication to his work as McAllen Superintendent of Schools, for that reason Texas Border Business selected Dr. Ponce to be part of the special series “Men From Another Galaxy”. We end, with his story, the 2014 article series, which will continue next year. TBB
Written and created by Roberto Hugo Gonzalez, the 2009 SBA Journalist of the Year Award winner & a 2009 and 2012 Paul Harris Award recipient.
 with a focus on rigor in teaching and learning. He was born in Silver City, New Mexico to parents Jimmy and Socorro Ponce.){kind=link}