WACO, Texas — It has been one week since interim superintendent Dr. Hazel Rowe started her new position with Waco Independent School District. Rowe was appointed to the position after former superintendent Dr. Marcus Nelson resigned following arrested for possession of marijuana.
"I see myself as sort of the bridge between maintaining what we have now until the new superintendent gets here," Rowe said.
Rowe has 50 years of teaching experience under her belt. Twenty-three of those were spent working at Waco ISD. School Board members reached out to her after Nelson resigned. Rowe said when it comes to educational programs and initiatives, Nelson had a good plan in place so her goal is to keep the momentum going.
"It’s not my intent to make changes because I think we need to stay the course especially in this climate of STAAR testing, and getting ready for next school year, and hiring, and getting ready for summer school. there are a lot of initiatives on the table and we need to get ready to move ahead."
STAAR testing starts on Tuesday. Rowe said Waco ISD has an aggressive testing schedule, so she has a message for parents.
"I would like for parents to make sure their students are at school. We will feed them and give them everything they need to encourage students to try hard and finish the test. We want them to be successful when moving on next year," Rowe said.