Dr. Dana Arreola hired as GISD superintendent in historic vote

History was made Monday, March 10, when the Gonzales Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 6-0 to hire Dr. Dana Arreola as the new superintendent of schools at their regular meeting.

Dr. Arreola, a Houston native, will be the first African-American — man or woman — to ever serve in the top post for Gonzales ISD since the district first became integrated in the 1960s. A packed house of well-wishers and supporters applauded after the vote was taken and again after Dr. Arreola and Board President Ross Hendershot III signed her new contract with the district and was presented flowers to welcome her to GISD.

“I am honored to be named the new superintendent of Gonzales ISD! My top priority is to build strong relationships with our students, staff, and community, and to foster a culture of camaraderie among our educators and leaders that will drive student success,” Dr. Arreola told the Inquirer. “As we approach the graduation season for the Class of 2025, I’m excited to celebrate this milestone and look forward to working alongside Team GISD to create a bright future for all students in Gonzales ISD!”

A statement released by the district indicated that the vote by the board “affirmed their confidence in Dr. Arreola’s leadership and vision for the future of our district.”

“With a passion for student success, a commitment to excellence, and a proven track record of educational leadership, Dr. Arreola is ready to lead Gonzales ISD forward,” the statement read. “We are excited to welcome Dr. Arreola and her family to our Apache community, and we look forward to her official start date on April 15 as she leads us in Growing Greatness for our students, staff, and community. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Dana Arreola as the new Superintendent of Gonzales ISD!”

The board met in executive session for about 29 minutes with Dr. Arreola before coming back into open session to take formal action on her hiring. One board member, Justin Schwausch, was unable to attend the meeting Monday night.

The contract term is from April 15, 2025 through June 28, 2028 and will pay Dr. Arreola an annual salary of $195,000 and calls for her to reside within the district’s boundaries within 180 days of her hiring. It also will pay her $7,500 on Friday, March 14, to help with relocation expenses.

Dr. Arreola, 55, had been the lone superintendent finalist selected by the board on Feb. 17 after holding six days of interviews with candidates brought to them by search firm Walsh Gallegos Kyle Robinson & Roalson, P.C. She suceeds Dr. Elmer Avellenada, who resigned last December citing personal reasons.

She comes to Gonzales after serving a 20-month stint as the superintendent for Bessemer City Schools in Bessemer, Alabama. Her last day on the job in Bessemer was Feb. 28 with her last official day of employment with that school district being March 7.

State officials took over the Bessemer City Schools in August 2024 and assigned a chief administrative officer to oversee district personnel, financial matters, and operations decisions as a result of an 18-month special examination audit conducted by State of Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts.

That audit period included nine months that preceded Dr. Arreola’s June 2023 hiring by BCS. The audit found fault with the Bessemer Board of Education in four counts of noncompliance with state and local laws.

Before going to Bessemer for her first-ever superintendent job in June 2023, Arreola was the executive director of leadership development for Aldine ISD, where she was involved in the creation of a $1 million partnership between Aldine ISD and the  University of Houston College of Education for an immersive principal training program.

Participants in the program get real-world experience during a yearlong internship while being employed full time as school leaders. They receive a scholarship that covers tuition and fees while they pursue a master’s degree in administration and supervision before they earn their state certification as principals. Similar programs exist with Houston ISD and Angleton ISD.

Under Arreola’s leadership, six schools which had been ranked as Improvement Required rose to a Met Standard accountability by TEA over the course of a two-year period after some had been ranked as low-performing for as long as 10 consecutive years.

Arreola also collaborated with non-profit organizations as well as community members and business partners to meet five strategic priorities identified by Aldine ISD. She also led the implementation of the district’s leadership academies, which are single-gender educational settings (separate for boys and girls) where students learn civic engagement, including social justice and advocacy work. These academies especially seek to serve young Black and Hispanic students by instilling within them self-awareness, a sense of purpose and an expanded view of the world.

Arreola also served as a school support officer for Houston ISD in the Northeast area and she was a former principal at Clark Intermediate in Spring ISD, McGowen Elementary School in Houston ISD, an assistant principal at Hogg Middle School, a literacy coach and secondary curriculum specialist for the Davis and Washington high school feeder patterns and a classroom teacher at Hilliard Elementary.

She holds a B.S. in criminal justice and an M.Ed. in counseling from Prairie View A&M, as well as a doctorate in professional leadership from the University of Houston.