“The committee of school board members that selected this year’s Superintendent of the Year had a difficult task. There were eight terrific candidates nominated,” said Dr. Gordon Taylor, Region 10 ESC Executive Director. “To be selected from that group speaks very well of Kevin. He has been rock solid as the leader of Royse City for many years, is well respected by his peers regionally and statewide, and he will be a great representative of the superintendents in the region when he competes for the Texas Superintendent of the Year recognition.”
The Texas Superintendent of the Year (SOTY) award program is hosted by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). Since 1984, the SOTY program has recognized exemplary superintendents for excellence and achievement in educational leadership.
In nominating Worthy for this honor, Royse City ISD Board of Trustees shared that Worthy “remains steadfast and focused on important strategic goals and initiatives that matter most to our community.”
In an effort to address the teacher shortage that districts across the nation are experiencing, Worthy implemented a “Grow Your Own” teacher program, which is paid for by the district. By 2025 approximately 20 of the district’s non-teaching staff will gain teacher certification and employment. The district also implemented mentoring programs for both aspiring leaders and new teachers, as well as establishing an employee daycare center to help recruit and retain new staff.
Under Worthy’s leadership, the district has passed three bond elections totaling more than $1.15 billion, each with a zero tax rate increase. The Board of Trustees credits much of this success to Worthy and his leadership team’s strong relationships throughout the community, and the thoughtful ways the district seeks community involvement and authentically responds to their input.
In the past six years, Worthy has increased the district’s dual credit courses from 19 offerings in 2017 to 61 offerings this past school year. Royse City ISD also offers 38 industry certifications that mirror the job demand in their community. Worthy also created the district’s associate degree program, and to date nearly 180 students have earned their associate degree at the time of their high school graduation.
Worthy is committed to growing leaders, which is evident through his willingness to serve as part of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) Mentor Superintendent Program and as a guest speaker for the First Time Superintendent Academy. He has also served as a Google K-12 Advisory Board Member, TASA Executive Committee member, and is an original member of the design team that created the Texas Public Accountability Consortium for community-based accountability.
“Over the past 13 years, Superintendent Kevin Worthy transformed our school district into a culture-focused, academically successful, and fiscally responsible organization. He leads and hires competently and effectively. Our schools are in lock-step with our community. It takes years of intentionality, transparency, honesty, and hard work to have the trust of the community. I believe we owe that success to Mr. Worthy,” said Royse City ISD Board President Scott Muckensturm.
The state committee will interview all regional winners in late August and select five state finalists. The Superintendent of the Year will be announced at the 2023 TASA/TASB Convention.
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