A new chapter of advocacy for Woods
As superintendent of Northside Independent School District for the past decade, Brian Woods has provided visionary leadership and demonstrated a relentless passion for the transformative power of public education.
His announced retirement from this district of more than 100,000 students is a monumental change. It’s impossible not to think of NISD without thinking of Woods, who has served the district for 30 years, rising from teacher to superintendent. But change is a constant in life. And with it comes opportunity. We are excited to see how the next chapters unfold for Woods and the district.
Ideally, the next superintendent will share many of the qualities that made Woods so dynamic.
His classroom experience grounded his leadership and fueled an expansive view of public education. Northside ISD’S next superintendent will oversee hundreds of construction projects as part of a $1 billion bond voters approved in May. That superintendent will also oversee the ongoing effort to address learning loss from the peak COVID years of 2020 and 2021.
There is also the challenge of enrollment. Northside ISD is massive, but enrollment has fallen, from 108,000 to 102,000. Given the high
growth in the district, it’s likely enrollment will increase again. But this is yet another challenge for the next superintendent.
As for Woods, he has emerged as a leading voice for public education and overhauling the state’s beleaguered school finance system, particularly at a time when schools and curricula have become politicized. Woods has said he plans to be an advocate for better education policies.
“The thing that really perhaps drove me to the decision is the toxicity of the environment with regards to politics and the distraction that it causes for people doing really important work in classrooms, certainly across Texas, and I suspect throughout the nation,” he said.
When the school year ends in the spring, we will miss Woods’ leadership at NISD. But we will welcome his advocacy for teachers and students, just as we will welcome the district’s next superintendent.