Del Valle ISD superintendent shares entry plan for first 100 days

DEL VALLE, Texas - Del Valle ISD named Matthew Gutierrez as superintendent back in October after a months-long search. 

Gutierrez was announced as the lone finalist for the position in September.

FOX 7 Austin's education reporter Jessica Rivera sat down with the superintendent to discuss his plans for the school district.

"I am coming from Leander ISD, where I served as the deputy superintendent of schools. But it is not the first time that I have served as superintendent. I was superintendent for Seguin Independent School District in the San Antonio area for about six and a half years," said Dr. Gutierrez.

As superintendent Dr. Gutierrez approaches his first 100 days in office, he says it's important for him that members in the community see him be a part of the Del Valle family and by doing so he's hosted multiple open house events to allow members to ask questions they may have.

"It gives me a lot of qualitative data to give me a good understanding of really what our culture is, what are those hopes and dreams? What are the points of pride for our school district? What are the areas of opportunity," said Gutierrez.

READ MORE

• 35 Del Valle ISD current and former employees sue district
• Central Texas school districts approve raises for teachers, staff
• Del Valle ISD to offer free breakfast, lunch to all students

Being a new face for the district, many people may question what style of leadership Dr. Gutierrez may have.

"I'm a very different type of leader and one who is going to be actively engaged with our communities, working hand in hand with all of our stakeholders, and especially when it comes to really developing a strategic plan for the future over the course of the next semester," says Gutierrez.

And when it comes to communication:

"First and foremost, I pride myself on transparency and proactive communication. That's very important that as we are experiencing challenges, that I am communicating with our community throughout that challenging time period. And if for some reason there is not an opportunity to communicate proactively and we have some type of issue that arises," says Gutierrez.

Gutierrez has outlined his entry plan as new superintendent for Del Valle ISD. The plan is available in English and Spanish.