School Board names lone finalist for superintendent post 

The McAllen ISD Board of Trustees has named James Ponce a finalist for the superintendent position at McAllen ISD. Ponce is Deputy Chief of Staff with the Dallas Independent School District, as well as a national and state presenter on topics of transformation and performance management.   

The announcement was made at a Special Board meeting Friday (April 3) afternoon. 

A public educator who has devoted 16 years to the Dallas ISD community, Ponce has served as a bilingual teacher, Adamson High School Assistant Principal, James Bowie Elementary School Principal, Director of Reading First under Curriculum and Instruction, Area VI Superintendent, and Executive Director for the Transformation Management Office. Aside from currently serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Ponce is part of a team leading the Dallas Achieves! 

McAllen ISD school board members devoted mornings, afternoons, evenings, and even entire days to reading every single document submitted by people applying for superintendent and then conducting the interviews, the firm hired to assist in the national search was clearly impressed. 
 

 “This board interviewed more applicants than any board that I have ever worked with before,” Dr. Jess Butler, Senior Partner for Waterford School Services, said. The Board selected Waterford to assist with a nationwide search for a new superintendent.

 “The McAllen ISD school board is the hardest working school board in Texas,” Dr. Butler said.  “They insisted on seeing every document and being very thorough with all matters related to the selection process.”     

 
Ponce is poised to replace Yolanda Chapa who announced her intention to retire last August. The School Board began the search process shortly afterward. Chapa stepped down on Jan. 31 after six years at the helm.

In Texas, a school board must publicly name a “lone finalist” for 21days before the signing of a contract.  

As deputy chief of staff, Mr. Ponce has provided leadership for the district Transformation Management Office, Emergency Management and Operations, Police and Security Services, Parent Services and School Choice, and Athletics.  Prior to being named to the Transformation Management Office, Mr. Ponce served as the Area VI superintendent, which consisted of 36 campuses serving approximately 30,000 students. 

Ponce was born and raised in Hurley, New Mexico, and moved to Dallas, Texas in 1982.  Upon graduation from Dallas ISD’s Seagoville High School in 1985, he enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree.  He subsequently received a Master of Education degree from the University of Texas at Austin’s Principal Preparation Program.  

He is scheduled to receive his doctorate degree in May 2009 from the University of Texas at Austin’s Cooperative Superintendency Program (CSP) and the university has confirmed that he has met the requirements for certification.  His doctoral dissertation is titled, “The Initial and Sustaining Actions of the Transformation Leadership Group in the Development of the Dallas Achieves! Transformational Framework.” 

Ponce is married to Katherine, his wife of 16 years.  The couple has three sons, Julian, a second grade student, Mathew, a first grade student, and Gabriel, a student in Pre-Kindergarten. He is a member of the Texas Association of School Administrators and is active with his local Boy Scout Pack.