Congratulations Michael Hinojosa, Superintendent of Dallas Independent Schools
Inclusive Leader Award Winner for K-12
Michael Hinojosa was born in Mexico and immigrated to Lubbock, Texas and later Dallas, Texas when he was in second grade. In an interview with Commit Partnership, Superintendent Hinojosa shares more about his personal story and what brought him to where he is today.
He grew up in the segregated West Dallas housing project, living in a house with 10 others. A year later, his family moved to Oak Cliff, where he was a part of a more mixed community. In August of 1971, education in Dallas took a turn when the federal judge forced schools to integrate immediately (as a result of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education that had little impact on Dallas schools). What did this mean for Hinojosa? As a Latino, he fell into the unclear middle ground as to how he should be identified. Schools were completely reorganized and teachers and students moved around to adjust for the new integration of students. Hinojosa went from the hot shot at his school, to starting over and having to re-create a name for himself. But, in Hinojosa’s own words, “it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you respond”.
After facing harsh feedback from a football coach, Hinojosa focused his efforts on improving in basketball, where he later excelled. He had to work hard and use his personal agency to continue pursuing his goals; meanwhile, he watched as some of his friends were drawn into the gangs or were taken over by the system. All throughout his life, Hinojosa’s father instilled in him the importance of education, something that inspired Hinojosa to attend college and later become the Superintendent of Dallas Independent Schools.
In an interview with The Policy Matters team, Hinojosa describes his journey to superintendent. It all started with a scholarship for the Future Teachers of America. This allowed Hinojosa to attend Texas Tech University where he studied education. Hinojosa received his doctorate degree in education from the University of Texas at Austin. He then went on to be a teacher at Stockard Middle School in Dallas. While there he was highly involved in the school community and coached basketball, baseball and football.
Upon encouragement from colleagues, Hinojosa decided to enter administration. He served as an Assistant Principal and then Assistant Superintendent in Grand Prairie, Texas. Hinojosa continued climbing the ladder of leadership and has served as a Superintendent in various areas and counties. He is in his second term as Superintendent of Dallas ISD.
In an interview with Commit Partnership, Hinojosa described his experience in supporting a diverse community as a Superintendent and what he has learned: “I learned when I was superintendent in one district about this leadership triangle: that the students are in the middle, at the top is the board, and they’re very diverse, over here is the staff, they’re very diverse, and over here is the community, it's very diverse. But in a lot of those communities, there's not always a lot of different diversity. But check out here in Dallas: I have nine board members, three black, three white, three brown. So everything is tri-ethnic with my board. And then we actually- people don’t know this but our staff’s tri-ethnic. If you look at our data, we have about a third, a third, a third.”
Join us at the Inclusive Leader Awards June 22 and at GlobalMindED conference June 23-24 to meet inspiring leaders like Michael. Program and registration below.
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Join us for 7th Annual GlobalMindED in Denver
June 22 Pre-Conferences and Inclusive Leader Award Dinner
June 23 Conference and Author Signing
June 24 Conference and Industry Marketplace Career Exploration Event
What is special about this conference?
- 300+ global speakers, 100+ first gen student leaders
- 100+ sessions with honest, authentic conversations dealing with current realities across 9 tracks
- 6 plenary sessions, opening receptions with live music, idea cafes every morning with live music by students
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Author signing and networking reception
- Strong Student Voice- Students will be participating in the majority of panels
- 65% of speakers and attendees are diverse, representing Native American, African/American, Hispanic, Asian-Pacific Islander, Ability Status, LBGTQIA+, Veteran and Military inclusive leaders
- Sponsors dedicated to creating a capable, diverse talent pipeline
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First Gen Leadership Program |
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Networking Reception and Author Signing |
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Industry Marketplace, Career Exploration Arena June 24 |
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Featured PhD Project speakers: |
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