Lamar CISD’s Dr. Roosevelt Nivens Named Finalist for 2025 Texas Superintendent of the Year
Lamar CISD Superintendent Dr. Roosevelt Nivens has been named one of five statewide finalists for the 2025 Texas Superintendent of the Year award, a prestigious honor presented by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) to recognize exceptional leadership in public education.
Dr. Nivens, who has served as superintendent of Lamar CISD since 2021, was nominated by the Region 4 Education Service Center and surprised with the regional award at the district’s June School Board meeting. His selection as a state finalist follows interviews with school board members from across Texas who serve on the TASB selection committee. This committee highlighted Dr. Nivens’s student-centered approach and steady leadership through the unique challenges of hypergrowth—an experience that has defined Lamar CISD’s recent trajectory.
Under Dr. Nivens’s leadership, the district has grown to more than 47,000 students across 50+ campuses, becoming the fastest-growing district of its size in the state. In 2024, Lamar CISD was officially classified as a “hypergrowth” district due to an unprecedented number of housing starts and new families relocating to the area. Just two years earlier, voters approved the largest bond in the district’s history—$1.5 billion—to help meet the demand for new schools and updated facilities.
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“There’s so much amazing work going on in our Lamar CISD schools and classrooms, and all across our district, and it’s a tremendous honor to be able to represent Lamar CISD as a finalist in this year’s Texas Superintendent of the Year Awards,” Dr. Nivens said.
Originally from a family of educators, Dr. Nivens began his career in Dallas ISD as a teacher and has served as a principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent before coming to Lamar CISD. His commitment to creating opportunity for every student has remained a constant across nearly 30 years in public education. That vision has been reinforced by national and state honors throughout his career, including being named the 2019 National Superintendent of the Year by the National Alliance of Black School Educators and the 2022 Latino Serving Superintendent of the Year by the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS). Most recently, he was elected Vice President of the Texas Association of School Administrators in 2024.
“Our district theme for this school year is ‘We Are Lamar CISD,’ and it’s something I think about every day as I travel the district and spend time with our teachers and other employees, students, trustees, parents, and community members,” he said. “Our success as a district comes as the result of our common drive and shared commitment. I’m grateful to my Board for their support and proud of what we’re accomplishing in the lives of our students and in our community.”
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Each fall, TASB honors one public school leader from across the state with the Superintendent of the Year award. Established in 1984, the award celebrates visionary leadership, community involvement, and a dedication to academic excellence. Finalists are first nominated by their regional Education Service Center and then selected by a committee of school board members following an extensive interview process. The final selection will be made during a special session at the annual txEDCON conference in Houston, where the 2025 winner will be announced on Friday, September 12.
As Lamar CISD continues to expand and evolve, the district’s selection of Dr. Nivens to lead the charge—backed by his deep understanding of both instructional leadership and organizational management—has proven to be a defining asset.
Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for updates from the 2025 Texas Superintendent of the Year awards and continuing coverage of Lamar CISD’s growth, success, and leadership.
Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.
