Texas Border Business
PHARR – Dr. Daniel P. King, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD Superintendent of Schools for the last 12 years has announced his plans to retire this fall. The sought-out visionary and leader has spent 42 years in public education, including 20 as Superintendent in two school districts.
“My tenure in public education has been exciting and fulfilling,” Dr. Daniel King said in a letter submitted to the PSJA School Board. “It is time for me to move into a different phase of my journey.”
He presented the letter announcing his intention to retire to members of the PSJA ISD School Board, during yesterday’s regularly scheduled board meeting. With plans of retiring by September 30, 2019. Dr. King is sure the district will continue reaching even higher levels of excellence.
“I thank our Board and the entire PSJA Family for allowing me to serve this incredible team and this remarkable tri-city community,” he said. “I have truly enjoyed my twelve years here as we have worked together to overcome significant challenges and leverage the novel strengths of this team to establish PSJA as one of the premier districts in Texas.”
On behalf of the PSJA ISD School Board, President Jesse Zambrano stated that although it will be challenging replacing someone like Dr. King, the Board fully supports Dr. King’s decision and wish him well in the next stage of his life.
“We truly appreciate the work Dr. King has done for the PSJA community,” Zambrano said. “Although there is still much work to be done, the programs and processes that have been set in motion over the last 12 years will have a long-lasting effect on PSJA ISD and the entire PSJA community for many years to come. Our students and families are obtaining educational opportunities not available to our community prior to Dr. King’s tenure, and we attribute the success PSJA ISD has had over the years to his vision for our district and his leadership. We want our students, teachers, administrators, staff, and the entire PSJA community to rest assured that we will work with Dr. King for a smooth transition. We have a talented group of employees throughout the district that will help us continue to take PSJA to the next level.”
During his tenure at PSJA ISD, Dr. King’s bold thinking helped the district decrease its dropout rate, and increase the graduation rate, surpassing the state average. PSJA has become a state and national model for dropout prevention and recovery, inspiring state legislation (SB 975) and replication of its innovative initiatives across Texas and the nation.
Through the district’s vision of graduating all students College³ or College Ready, College Connected, and College Complete, he led a smooth scale
Before coming to PSJA, Dr. King led Hidalgo ISD for eight years. Under his leadership, a district that had once been among the lowest performing in the State of Texas became the first Early College School District in the nation. In 2006, Hidalgo High School transitioned into an Early College High School for all students. This initiative acted as an accelerant to the rapidly improving district.
In both Hidalgo and PSJA, Dr. King committed to
“I value greatly the friendships and professional relationships that have taken root during my tenure at PSJA,” Dr. King said. “The memories and experiences I will cherish are too many to count. I will certainly miss the incredible students and dedicated teachers, administrators, support staff, board members, parents, community members, alumni, and other supporters that make PSJA such a great place to work. Each of you enriched my life. PSJA will always hold a special place in my heart.”
