Jesus G. Gomez, Sr., has served in public education for more than 23 years—and has a proven track record in building leadership capacity and establishing collaborative community relations.  Before joining Hays CISD in July 2018, Mr. Gomez’s previous administrative experience included 11 years in the private business sector followed by 20 years of administrative involvement with Lufkin ISD.

Mr. Gomez received his Bachelors and Masters of Education from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, with an emphasis on Instructional Leadership and Superintendent Certification.  He began his teaching career as a fourth grade bilingual teacher at Slack Elementary in 1996—where he was named “Teacher of the Year” in his second year of teaching. Immediately afterward, he served as an assistant principal at Lufkin High School assisting in opening up a new campus and Lufkin Middle School as a grade level principal.  By his fifth year in public education, he was selected as the principal at Garrett Primary where he increased the reading levels of students.  Garrett Primary housed GT students, bilingual, and academic programs. Mr. Gomez was soon selected as the principal for Slack Elementary where he served 850 students in the Magnet Dual Language, Bilingual, academic programs, and led the campus to state recognition as a “Recognized Campus.”  Before coming to Hays CISD, Mr. Gomez had most recently served for eight years as the principal of Lufkin Middle School, one of the largest middle schools in the state of Texas with over 1850 students.  Under his leadership the campus has been a “Recognized” campus and earned academic designations for Academic Achievement in English Language Arts, Academic Achievement in Mathematics, Academic Achievement in Social Studies, and Top 25 Percent: Student Progress.

Service to others has been a defining hallmark of Mr. Gomez’s career.  During his years as a campus administrator, Mr. Gomez worked diligently toward mentoring aspiring leaders and developing their leadership capacity.  Five current principals and three assistant principals started out as teachers on his campuses.  Likewise, Mr. Gomez has invested ample time in establishing educational partnerships with local community leaders and civic organizations to provide educational opportunities for students.  Mr. Gomez has served on the Woodland Heights Hospital Executive Board, Angelina Teacher Credit Union Board, Communities Cinco de Mayo Board, Lufkin Youth Baseball Board, and the City of Lufkin Bond Election Committee.

Mr. Gomez shares his passion for education with his family. His wife, Kathy, is a counselor at Lehman High School and his children (both graduates of Texas A&M-College Station) are educators. His son, Jesus Jr. is a teacher in Lewisville ISD, and daughter, Kirsten is a teacher in Garland ISD.