Superintendent

I am honored to serve as superintendent of the Arlington ISD. Our collective work is of the utmost importance in the lives of our students as we work every day to shape the future of every student. It is our primary responsibility to be of service to our students in order to ensure that all students are prepared for their college or career of choice. This preparation occurs day in and day out in classrooms from prekindergarten through high school, and every day is critical.

The opportunities for our students are greater today than ever before. It is my hope that whether you are a student, parent, employee or community member you
will partner with us to meet the bold goal in our Achieve Today. Excel Tomorrow. strategic plan: 100 percent of AISD students will graduate exceptionally prepared for college, career and citizenship.

With your support, we can realize our vision to be premier school district and a leader in education. It's what we want, and what our students deserve.

About Our Superintendent

It’s a story Arlington ISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos likes to tell when he’s visiting one of the district’s 55 elementary schools.

He talks about growing up in South Texas and picking okra in the summer. The money he earned doing that was used for school supplies and clothes for school, but work stopped once school began. That’s because once the school year started education became the priority for Cavazos.

Flash forward to now and education is still his focus, although the scope for Cavazos is much larger. He’s spent the last seven-plus years as the superintendent of a district of nearly 60,000 students that has undergone massive changes under his leadership.

One thing that hasn’t changed since his okra days is his love for education and his goal to shape the future of every student in the Arlington ISD.

“It is our primary responsibility to be of service to our students in order to ensure that all students are prepared for their college or career of choice,” Cavazos said. “This preparation occurs day in and day out in classrooms from prekindergarten through high school, and every day is critical. The opportunities for our students are greater today than ever before.”

The opportunities students in the Arlington ISD have under Cavazos are endless. Since he became superintendent two major bonds have passed, the 2014 Bond and a $966 million bond that passed in the fall of 2019 that will continue the Arlington ISD on its bold Achieve Today. Excel Tomorrow. strategic plan of having 100 percent of the students graduating exceptionally prepared for college, career and citizenship.

There’s proof of that throughout the district as two fine arts and dual language elementary schools have opened as well as an elementary leadership academy, a world language academy and a nationally certified STEM elementary school. There are also two early college high schools, a high school STEM academy and the Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center. 

Cavazos has also shown how adaptable the Arlington ISD is under his leadership. The first day the district was closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic student meals were distributed at 23 locations. The next day students were able to begin online lessons as part of the At-Home Learning Hub. The district also was able to distribute more than 20,000 pieces of technology to students who didn’t have access to it. 

While Cavazos has been the superintendent since 2012, his ties to the Arlington ISD go back more than 20 years. He joined the district in 1999 as the associate superintendent for instruction and served as the interim deputy superintendent for seven months before being named the deputy superintendent in February of 2009. He previously served as a lecturer for the University of Texas at Arlington’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

The Arlington ISD’s belief is that part of its success depends on an engaged community and it starts at the top. Here are a few of the ways Cavazos is involved in the community:

• TASB Risk Management Fund Board
• SafeHaven of Tarrant County Board
• United Way of Tarrant County Board Executive Committee
• Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County Board
• River Legacy Foundation Board
• Arlington ISD Education Foundation Board

If that wasn’t enough, Cavazos is also an ex-officio member of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce Board. Cavazos is a member of the Rotary Club of Arlington, an associate member of the Greater Arlington Lions Club, a Lifetime Supporting Member of the Texas Lions Camp, a Melvin Jones Fellow with Lions Club International Foundation, a member of the Knights of Columbus and active at St. Matthew Catholic Church.

Cavazos likes to give praise to the students and more than 8,000 employees the district has for everything the district has accomplished since he came to Arlington. But several accolades have come his way including: 

• 2009 Arlington MLK Celebration Sharing the Dream Award for Education
• 2012 YMCA Citizen of the Year Award
• 2012 Educator Award from the Asian-American Chamber of Commerce
• 2013-2014 Elks Distinguished Citizenship Award from the Arlington Elks Lodge No. 2114
• Seat 21 Honoree by the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation
• 2016 Texas Superintendent of the Year
• Texas nominee for the 2017 AASA Superintendent of the Year Award.

Cavazos started his teaching career as an English teacher in the Mission Consolidated ISD in 1990. In 1992, he moved to McAllen ISD where he taught English and government. He was named the secondary language arts supervisor for Mercedes ISD in 1993 and became associate adviser for San Benito Consolidated ISD in 1995. Cavazos went to work for the Texas Education Agency Department of School Finance and Support in 1998.

He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Texas – Pan American and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.

He has been married to Nora for more than 20 years; his children, Theresa and Diego, attend school at Arlington High School and Gunn Junior High.