2000-2025: A New Vision Frames the Future
The past 25 years of TASA’s existence have been defined by transformation. The development of the Visioning Document in the early 2000s and of the TASA Strategic Framework in the late 2010s inspired many changes and new additions to TASA’s offerings for its members. Through member engagement, professional development, and advocacy, TASA continues to empower our members to lead effectively. 2025 is our year to celebrate the achievement of the aspirations outlined by TASA’s Strategic Framework, 100 years of TASA, and the remarkable leaders who make the organization what it is today!
TASA established its Corporate Partner program, providing an organized structure for generating non-dues revenue for the association. In the first year, 21 companies contributed $300,000+ in support of TASA programs and services. Today, these contributions, including monetary and in-kind support, exceed $2 million annually.
Cover of First TASA Midwinter Conference Program
TEA turned over to TASA the “Administrators’ Midwinter Conference on Education” (founded in 1934 by the last elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction L.A. Woods), and it officially became the TASA Midwinter Conference.
TASA launched the TASA Daily e-newsletter. We estimate that since that time, TASA has sent nearly 5,000 issues of TASA Daily!
TASA’s focus on school transformation began when 35 superintendents from across the state were inspired to come together to create a new vision for public education in Texas. Meeting for two years as the Public Education Visioning Institute, they shared ideas on how to transform Texas public education to meet the needs of 21st-century students.
Thomas E. Randle, superintendent of Lamar CISD, became TASA’s first African American president. During his TASA presidency, Randle was a member of the Public Education Visioning Institute and co-author of the TASA Visioning Document. In 2021, Randle retired from the LCISD superintendency, a position in which he served for 20 years. Today, he supports TASA members as a TASA Executive Superintendent.
The TASA Visioning Document, Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas, was published as a result of two years of work by the Public Education Visioning Institute.
Program Cover for the First Texas Teacher of the Awards Ceremony Hosted by TASA
Commissioner of Education Robert Scott invited TASA to take over facilitation of the Texas Teacher of the Year Program, and TASA assumed leadership of the program. In October, TASA held its first annual Texas Teacher of the Year awards ceremony and luncheon.
TASA created the original School Transformation Network, giving member districts access to resources to further their school transformation efforts. That same year, TASA also established the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium.
The TASA Executive Committee established the Johnny L. Veselka Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to outstanding doctoral students pursuing careers in educational leadership, in honor of then-Executive Director Johnny L. Veselka, who had served on the TASA staff since 1974.
TASA completed a strategic planning process initiated the year before, drafted new marketing priorities, and unveiled a new logo. A 22-member Vision, Mission, and Goals Committee developed statements on the association’s vision, mission, and goals that still guide TASA today.
TASA purchased Texas School Business magazine, which debuted in 1954 as “A Magazine Edited and Published Exclusively for Texas School Management.” The March 2014 issue was the first one published under TASA ownership.
TASA established the Future-Ready Superintendents Leadership Network (FRSLN), a superintendent-designed and superintendent-led group of future-focused school leaders who still gather today for events that provide authentic learning and rich networking experiences, help FRSLN members expand their leadership beyond the local level, and advance the principles of the TASA Visioning Document.
Recognizing the important role that the Texas Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents plays in our state, TASA began a partnership to support the work of TALAS.
TASA organized the Texas Performance Assessment Consortium — now the Texas Public Accountability Consortium (TPAC) — a district-led network of school leaders working to build on the success of community-based accountability systems already in use in districts across the state by developing next-generation measures and assessments to enable wider use of such systems.
TASA entered into a partnership with the Texas Alliance of Black School Educators (TABSE), an affiliate of the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE), to host the Texas Educational Policy Institute (TEPI), TABSE Superintendent Think Tank, and a concurrent session strand at the TASA Midwinter Conference. TASA also supports TABSE’s membership by allowing individuals to join TABSE when they join TASA.
As a result of the work of the TASA 2025 Task Force, TASA launched a Strategic Framework that laid out TASA’s aspirations and outlined the long-term strategies the association would use to reach them by TASA’s centennial year. During the opening session of the 2018 TASA Midwinter Conference, TASA officers unveiled the framework, a new logo, and the current “Inspiring Leaders” tagline.
The TASA Executive Committee named the association’s headquarters building in honor of Johnny L. Veselka, who retired in 2018 after 32 years as executive director and nearly 44 years on the staff.
Kevin Brown became TASA’s fourth executive director upon the retirement of Johnny Veselka. Brown was the superintendent of Alamo Heights ISD and served as TASA president in 2016-17, chairing the TASA 2025 Task Force that developed the TASA Strategic Framework.
TASA held the association’s first-ever virtual conference, TASA Virtual SummerCon, in the midst of global pandemic. During the 2020-21 school year, TASA continued to hold all events virtually, including the 2020 TASA|TASB Convention and the 2021 TASA Midwinter Conference. TASA also offered a series of Live Virtual Events to assist members with timely issues, including one on teacher morale.
TASA held its first-ever TASA txedFest summer conference at the Hyatt Austin near downtown with a focus on helping school leaders learn more about grassroots advocacy and become more active as public education champions.
As the pandemic wound down, TASA responded to an especially stressful couple of years for school leaders by creating the Breakaway Leadership program. The program continues to help TASA members develop and improve all aspects of their well-being — mental, social-emotional, and physical — to enable them to be the best leaders they can be.
TASA honored Past President John Horn (1987-88) for the instrumental part he played over the years in TASA and specifically TASA’s summer Leadership Summit, by announcing a renaming of the event to the John D. Horn Leadership Summit.
LaTonya Goffney, superintendent of Aldine ISD, became TASA’s first female African American president. The 2017 Texas Superintendent of the Year and 2018 Texas nominee for National Superintendent of the Year, Goffney served as the president of the Texas Council of Women School Executives in 2014-15 and more recently as the president of the National Alliance of Black School Educators.
TASA moved toward fulfilling its Strategic Framework aspirations by launching several new networks of participants engaged in participant-led experiences: the Small Schools Network, the redesigned School Transformation Network, and the TASA Executive Coaching Network. In the years following the launch of the Strategic Framework, TASA also redesigned the First-Time Superintendents Academy and Superintendent Mentoring Program, as well as the Aspiring Superintendents Academy. A new Aspiring Superintendents Virtual Summer Series was launched in 2020.
To fulfill the Strategic Framework aspiration of a “diverse and extensive collaborative of champions equipped to advocate for an educated citizenry,” TASA established a grassroots advocacy initiative.
Tomball ISD Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora became TASA’s first female Hispanic president. She was the 2023 Texas Superintendent of the Year and one of four finalists for 2024 National Superintendent of the Year. She also served on the AASA Executive Committee and in 2025, is the president of the Texas Council of Women School Executives.
TASA fulfilled its final “TASA 2025” Strategic Framework aspiration by launching a “Living Library” called TASA Connect on a pilot basis. Access to the online community platform will be extended to all TASA members in the near future.
TASA celebrates the association’s centennial anniversary!