This superintendent is on track to open 12 schools by 2030
In a district that gains 2,000 students per year, opening new schools is a necessity, says Lamar Consolidated ISD Superintendent Dr. Roosevelt Nivens.
Since taking the helm in 2021, Nivens, who was named AASA, The School Superintendents Association’s 2026 National Superintendent of the Year, has opened 15 new schools. Enrollment is projected to jump from 49,000 to more than 67,000 by the 2034-35 school year. The district passed a $2 billion bond in November, which helps cover the cost of new buildings.
Growth is being fueled, in part, by parents who recommend the district to other families and teachers who encourage their peers to join the system.
“Everybody’s individual experience in our district has to be an exceptional experience,” Nivens says. “I want my teachers to be so happy, because education is a small world, and I want them constantly bragging about how well we take care of them.”
Building relationships with his community is a crucial aspect of his leadership philosophy, which took shape early in his career. Ten years ago, Nivens met former U.S. education secretary and Houston ISD superintendent Rod Paige, who told Nivens, “culture whoops strategy every single day.”
“He told me that in my first year as a superintendent, and I never forgot about that,” he says. “I think my job is to have my fingerprints on the culture in this district and make sure everybody is treated with the utmost dignity and respect.”
Opening new schools is a pledge to the success of students who aren’t born yet, Nivens adds. Another way he’s building for the future is through the “Innovative School Day,” where students learn essential life skills, including managing finances, earning credit, physical and mental wellness planning, and more.
Teachers who aren’t leading the innovation sessions use the extra time to grade assignments, plan coursework and perform other administrative tasks. So far, it’s had a tremendous impact on teachers’ job satisfaction.
“Last year was our full implementation of the Innovative School Day. Of the campuses that implemented it, our retention rate jumped from 89% to 95%,” Nivens says. “Teachers just need time to get their work done.”
‘The work is bigger than you’
From a young age, Nivens was taught by his father, a former educator of 50 years, what it meant to be a great, kind man, and that relationships matter. Superintendents must commit to improving the lives of those in their communities.
He often asks his employees where they see themselves in five years and what he can do to help.
“If you want to be a principal, if you want to be a superintendent, let me help you do that,” he tells his employees. “Ideas will bloom where you plant them.”
Ultimately, a superintendent’s potential for impact starts with receiving feedback, he adds.
“Make sure you understand your purpose in this role,” Nivens advises fellow superintendents. “It’s bigger than you. If you don’t know who you are as a person, you’ll make decisions that will upset you, and they’ll tell you who you are.”
“If you don’t know who you are, it can have an adverse effect on your mental and physical health. Know who you are and understand that your job is to help other people be successful.”
