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Dr. Jorge Arredondo,
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD, Superintendent
Dr. Jorge Arredondo,
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD, Superintendent
Dr. Jorge L. Arredondo started his new position October 1, 2019 and is looking forward to continuing the legacy of excellence at PSJA ISD.
A former educator, principal and administrator of the year, Dr. Arredondo began his public education career as an English teacher at Milby High School in Houston ISD, the largest public school system in the state. He was soon tapped as principal for McReynolds Middle School, which faced closure for failing to meet the state’s “Acceptable” accountability rating. The McReynolds team worked over a 3-year period to exceed the status quo and reach the “Recognized” accountability rating.
After six years at McReynolds Middle School, Dr. Arredondo was promoted to lead Austin High School during the state’s transition to a new accountability system. Austin High School earned the “Met Standard” rating in its first two years while garnering academic Distinctions.
Dr. Arredondo then moved to a district-wide role as Assistant Superintendent for Family and Community Engagement. Under his leadership, family engagement programs expanded to provide significantly more services and community-integrated resources for early literacy, childhood education, and many others that help create more opportunities for students’ success. He was promoted to Area Superintendent, overseeing 43 schools with a population of 31,000 students in the city’s Northwest region dedicated to providing comprehensive wraparound services for students’ varying social and emotional needs and college-ready instruction and supports for all students.
During his first 100-days as PSJA ISD's Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Arredondo has been building relationships by visiting with students, parents and staff during listening tours throughout the district. As PSJA continues to celebrate its Centennial Celebration, under his leadership, the district has embarked on gathering feedback from all stakeholders to update its Mission and Vision that will help the district continue to excel in years to come. This work will also lead the district's new Strategic plan focused on taking PSJA ISD to the next level.
A graduate of Texas public schools, Dr. Arredondo received his Doctor of Education degree in Professional Leadership from the University of Houston. Dr. Arredondo is married to Veronica, a bilingual educator and college readiness coach. They have two sons, Jorge Antonio and Leonardo, and a daughter, Vivian. Their two younger children currently attend PSJA ISD Schools.
Leslie Fisher
Leslie Fisher
I am happily amazed how many people stumble onto my website and fire off an email to me. Many times it's who the heck are you? Or, the monthly "Are you the Leslie Fisher that went to so and so high school".
So, here are the basics.
As you may have already figured out, I am the Director of Fisher Technologies Inc, or lesliefisher.com. I specialize in K-12 Educational Technology conference and event presentation services as well as on site and online professional development.
I somewhat fell into starting my own company. I was at Apple Computer for 5 years as a K-12 Senior Systems Engineer. I had 1/3 of Los Angeles as my territory based out of the Irvine office. Apple hit some tough times in 1997 and I was let go. I am still amazed they chose to let me go, but, it all worked out wonderfully in the end.
At Apple, I worked closely with K-12 educators as well as Apple corporate on product information and direction. I was at Apple when the internet took off and I was smitten. I am a huge fan of efficiency and saw the web as a vehicle for that.
When I was let go, I sent an email out to my customer base simply saying goodbye and giving them my personal information in case they wanted to do lunch, etc. Within an hour of sending the email my phone rang off the hook with job offers in web development, training and more. Some even said tell me what you want to do and I will see if I can make it work. I created FTI and went to work for 3 different school districts providing web development services.
I then decided to add conference presenting to my company. Well, I fell into that as well. Someone was sick who was suppose to present at a conference and I went from Attendee to Presenter. The coordinator knew me from my days at Apple. I did some conference work for them and word of mouth and referrals now has conference presenting and professional development as the core of my company. I present at close to 30 - 40 conferences a year as well as offer on site professional development. United Airlines knows me well.
Even in college, I was not a geek. In fact, I was a music major. I honestly did not know what I wanted to do for a profession. I was a mean musician. I played flute and piccolo all through elementary, middle and high school in Southern California. In fact, I went to the first California Magnet School, USC 32nd Street Elementary. Its pretty simple to explain why I ended up going to USC, they brainwashed me young!
I started USC as a music major. While interning at a recording studio my Junior year, I watched as a Macintosh was used to run time code for a string section. I wanted to know more about this computer and the role it had in music. I bought a 300 baud modem and dived into the world of BBS's looking for music resources. I fell in love with the Macintosh so much that I thought it would be best to change my major seeing I wanted to spend the rest of my life being as geeky as possible. I switched to the USC Marshall School of Business and graduated with a BS in Marketing in 1990.
I struggled all through school. I read quite slowly with the exception of reading music. I constantly fell behind but never wanted to admit it. Content would become confusing to me and I would get frustrated and lose interest. It was not until the iPhone was released that I realized how much I enjoyed learning. I simply had to discover the best methods and tools to do so. Mobile technology and the variety of apps has enabled me to research more effectively and engage me in a way customized for my brain matter. I think it is one of the reasons I love presenting so much. I know one item can make such a difference to one person and when that person is a teacher or a teacher with a struggling student? It's pretty awesome to have an impact on them.
In case you are wondering if I am your childhood Leslie Fisher, I am probably not. My maiden name is Leslie Goldsmith. Fisher is simply the only leftover from a marriage which ended in 2000. I grew up mainly in Southern California and spent a few years of High School in Vermont.
And my slight accent that most people cannot place? A product of being born in Bucks County, PA in June of 1967.
I kid about my current life as work hard, play hard, nap hard. I am lucky to surround myself with a wonderful mom (pops said goodbye to us in December 2016) and a wonderful group of friends. Many I have met while presenting in education. If I am not on the road there is a good chance you will find me drinking wine with friends, beating the heck out of a little white golf ball and always wanting to educate and more importantly, learn in almost everything I do.
Dr. Rolando "Rudy" Trevino
Dr. Rolando "Rudy" Trevino
Dr. Rolando “Rudy” Treviño serves as the Chief Academic Officer (CAO) of Pharr-San Juan-Alamo (PSJA) ISD.
In the role of CAO, Dr. Trevino collaborates with a team of Executive Officers, Assistant Superintendents and Directors to supervise all 42 schools and serve as the executive educational leadership team that oversees all of the Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) priorities and the overall teaching and learning of all our PSJA students.
The Academics team ensures the effective implementation of our early college, dual language, P-TECH, STEM, International Baccalaureate, and many other programs that support our schools. The following team members are part of the CAO’s executive leadership team:
Rebeca Garza, Ed.D, Asst. Superintendent for Talent Development & Special Projects
Orlando Noyola, Ed.D, Asst. Superintendent for Student Services
Iris Alvarez, Executive Officer for Middle Schools
Nora Cantu, Ed.D, Executive Officer for High Schools
Joe Garza, Executive Officer for Elementary Schools
Corina Ramirez, Executive Officer for Elementary Schools
Nora Rivas-Garza, Executive Officer for Middle Schools
Linda Uribe, Executive Officer for College Readiness
Dr. Treviño is an experienced educational leader having spent over 20 years in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Dr. Treviño served as the East Area Chief Schools Officer, where he provided executive leadership to support, coach and develop leaders in 45 schools. He also led the HISD district-wide initiative designed to implement the Community Schools Model through a Wraparound Services Department titled, “Every Community. Every School."
Dr. Treviño is a former Elementary and High School principal and he served in several Houston ISD leadership positions of service such as Director, School Support Officer, School Improvement Officer, Chief Schools Officer, Secondary Schools Transformation Support Officer, Area Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent. Additionally, Dr. Trevino is the former School Superintendent of Lockhart ISD.
Dr. Treviño has a bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University (SHSU), a master’s in educational leadership and counseling from SHSU, a second master’s in Spanish literature and linguistics from the University of Houston, and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from SHSU. Dr. Treviño is a founding board member of the Texas Association of Latino School Administrators and Superintendents (TALAS) and past president of the Association of Hispanic School Administrators (AHSA) in Houston where he has mentored school leaders, principals and central office executive leaders.
Melissa Aguero Ramirez
Melissa Aguero Ramirez
Melissa Aguero Ramirez is the Chief of Human Resources with Pharr San Juan Alamo ISD. She has served in the education field as a Human Resources director for various school districts since 1999 spending the majority of her career at Region One ESC where she was instrumental in creating/implementing longstanding initiatives such as the ONE*APP (online application system), SubHub (sole program throughout the state where substitute teachers contribute to TRS), and a substitute teacher certification program for the region.Ms. Aguero Ramirez is also involved in various state level committees for the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Association of School Personnel Administrators. She has dedicated her career to lead and serve in the area of Human Resources and looks forward to continuing to contribute by working alongside the great leaders of the various departments under the Division of HR: ACTRGV, NTS, Professional Development, Employee Relations, Employee Wellness, and HR.
ACTRGV Director: Priscilla Salinas
New Teacher Support (NTS) Director: Angela Salinas-Oviedo
Professional Development Director: Stella Sanchez
Employee Relations Director: Jorge Medina, Sr.
Human Resources (HR) Manager: Adrian Karr
Employee Wellness Counselor: Valerie Garza
Ms. Aguero Ramirez is a UTPA alumni, having received her Bachelors in Business Administration in 1992 and Masters in Business Administration in 1999. Prior to commencing her professional career in education, she taught Business classes at STC and substitute taught. She also has 7 years of experience as a store manager and district manager for various retail stores.
Ms. Aguero Ramirez has a son and a daughter that she adores, both of whom attend UT-Austin. She truly believes that education is the key to a better tomorrow and feels blessed to be able to work in the area that she has a passion for (Human Resources) within the field of education – it’s the best of both worlds!
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