Dr. Wright will end nearly 4-decade long career as a teacher & school district leader after reaching a milestone achievement in Hays CISD.
Dr. Eric Wright, a career educator with nearly four decades of experience, has announced he will retire in February 2027, after working as the superintendent for Hays Consolidated Independent School District (Hays CISD) for more than nine years. This tenure makes him the second-longest serving superintendent in Hays CISD history, second only to the district's founding superintendent and namesake for Johnson High School, Moe Johnson, who served from 1968 to 1984.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve as your superintendent,” said Dr. Wright in a farewell email to staff, parents, and the community. (Link to Full Email: www.hayscisd.net/ewretiresemail)
“We are so lucky as a district to have found Dr. Wright and benefited from his leadership for the past decade,” said Board Secretary Esperanza Orosco, who was on the school board when the district hired Dr. Wright. “It will always be a point of pride for me to have been part of the school board team that select Dr. Wright to lead the district. At the time, we had failing schools, low staff morale, and high turnover. That all changed with Dr. Wright as a key factor. Now, we enjoy academic success; benefit from sound, thoughtful, and genuine servant leadership; and we’ve become the most employee-friendly school district in Texas.”
“During Dr. Wright’s tenure, Hays CISD has enjoyed tremendous growth and success,” said Board President Byron Severance. “He has so many wonderful qualities, both personally and professionally, that they are impossible to list. Qualities that stand out, in terms of huge benefits for the district, are his loyalty to our community and longevity in service. He made a decision to stay in Hays CISD for the last quarter of his career.”
“Before Dr. Wright, with the exception of our first superintendent, we saw other superintendents kind of come and go after relatively short periods of time,” said Severance. “That led to systems and leadership goals that were sometimes disconnected or constantly changing. His steady north star approach provided continuity to really design the infrastructure and long-term goals we need to have to continue to be focused on, and to manage our rapid growth and the needs of our students.”
Efforts & Achievements
The Hays CISD Board of Trustees hired Dr. Wright in December 2017, and he began leading the district on January 1, 2018. At the time three elementary schools and one middle school were either failing or in danger of failing the state accountability. Now, the district is a B-rated school district with no failing campuses.
One of the first programs Dr. Wright implemented at Hays CISD was one that emphasized the importance of teaching students how to read on grade level using phonics as a base. When he started, reading scores in the district were in a deficit, and now they exceed state and regional averages. Additionally, he focused on individualized, districtwide assessments to ensure that the district was seeing academic growth for each student.
Another program he started early in his tenure is the 100% Hays Initiative. It calls for the district to strive to have 100% of its middle and high school students involved in some type of extra or co-curricular program like fine arts, athletics, student council, CTE competition clubs, or another type of student group. These activities promote the skills of teamwork, solving problems, and building connections – all of which lead to happier, more well-rounded and prepared students. Using the same philosophy of engagement, Dr. Wright and the Board also adopted a requirement for Hays CISD students to earn at least 40 hours of community service in order to graduate high school, a provision that takes effect this school year with the Class of 2027.
Initially, the 100% Hays Initiative was part of a greater school safety and security effort. Students who are involved and included are less likely to commit acts of violence and are more willing to reach out to a trusted coach or adult in times of crisis. A few months before Dr. Wright was hired at Hays CISD, 26 people were shot and killed at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, just 60 miles from the district. Then, during Dr. Wright’s first semester at Hays CISD, ten people – eight students and two teachers – were shot and killed at Santa Fe High School near Houston. Recognizing the need to centralize school safety efforts under an employee who had no other responsibilities, Dr. Wright created what would quickly become the district’s chief safety and security officer position (a superintendent’s cabinet position), which later expanded to an entire safety and security team.
Growth has been a consistent challenge, but also an opportunity for Hays CISD. When Dr. Wright started, Hays CISD had 19,125 students. It now has more than 25,000, with projections of continued rapid growth for the foreseeable future. To manage the student growth and leverage it to create new opportunities for students – everything from a districtwide firefighter academy to orchestra, wrestling, rocketry, aviation, and competitive water polo teams – Dr. Wright has successfully participated in the preparation and delivery of more than $1.5 billion in bond projects approved by the district’s voters. These projects include four new elementary schools, the district’s fourth comprehensive high school, expansions at multiple campuses, including all six middle schools, and countless other infrastructure needs like building maintenance, new school buses, safety and security improvements, and technology enhancements.
Other challenges the district, along with most others in the state, has endured during Dr. Wright’s tenure at Hays CISD have been the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting inflationary school finance pressures. During the 2022 fentanyl crisis, which claimed the lives of six Hays CISD students, Dr. Wright directed the district to publicly lead the difficult conversations – locally and nationally – surrounding the dangers of fentanyl and realistic potential solutions to the problem so that young lives could be saved. When a now-convicted, intoxicated concrete pumper truck driver drove head-on into a Hays CISD school bus killing two people, including a precious pre-K student; Dr. Wright led the effort to make all school buses in Hays CISD immediately safer than the law requires, even though the district was not at fault in the crash.
“I have worked with more than a dozen school and state agency top leaders during my 30-year communication career. Dr. Wright is at the top of the list of those who are responsive, transparent, and creative in solving problems,” said Hays CISD Chief Communication Officer Tim Savoy. “When it matters most – that’s when you need the best from your leader. Dr. Wright takes ownership of problems, he considers complex ramifications, and is nearly always able to figure out a path forward that turns into a win for the most people possible. He keeps people informed – with both good and bad news. And, most of all, he has the courage to act on decisions, even if he’s trying something new and risking failure or pushback. Dr. Wright’s mindset is that if it’s the right thing to do for people, it’s the right decision.”
Because of Dr. Wright, Hays CISD created programs to help students who need clothing and food – the Hays Clothes Closet and Hays Hope2Go. These programs have flourished, including seeing increases in donations and the number of contributing partners through the years, finding a permanent home in a Hays CISD building, and serving more students than ever.
“You can measure the quality of a leader, or a person, by how they treat those who are in the least powerful circumstances,” said Orosco, who founded the Hays Clothes Closet and Hays Hope2Go more than a decade ago. “Dr. Wright supports the programs that support the needs of our students and staff members – with an emphasis on removing barriers to success.”
Accolades
In 2021, as part of the “Team of Eight,” Dr. Wright and the seven members of the Hays CISD Board of Trustees were recognized statewide as one of the state’s four Honor Boards. The School Board Awards program annually recognizes school boards and superintendents who have demonstrated outstanding dedication and who have rendered ethical service to the children of Texas.
In 2024, Dr. Wright was nominated in the state’s superintendent of the year competition.
“Dr. Wright created a foundation of trust that has allowed our school board to become highly effective and laser-focused on student achievement,” said Orosco. “He is continuously sought after to mentor other superintendents and is regularly requested to present at leadership conferences across Texas, and even nationally.”
A Nearly 40-Year Career
Dr. Wright started his career as a student teacher in 1988, and then as a full-time classroom teacher and coach in 1989, at various school districts in Texas, including Terrell, Channelview, West Hardin, Hardin, Marshall, and Lufkin ISDs. He spent the early to mid-1990s developing his talents as an educator and embracing the fundamentals of instruction that would serve him well as he later earned progressively advanced leadership positions. In 1996, he became an assistant elementary school principal in Lufkin ISD. The following school year he was named principal of an elementary school in neighboring Huntington ISD. During the 2000-2001 school year, he served as principal of Huntington High School. From 2001 to 2004, he was the assistant superintendent for curriculum & instruction at Huntington ISD.
In 2004, Dr. Wright was named the superintendent of schools for Woodville ISD. He has been leading public school systems since then. From 2006 to 2014, he was the superintendent for Huntington ISD. From 2014 through 2017, he served as superintendent of schools for Fredericksburg ISD.
“My vision as an administrator is to equip all students with the knowledge and values to be successful,” said Dr. Wright, explaining his philosophy of education administration. “It is imperative that students learn from highly qualified role models and that their talents are recognized and used as a foundational cornerstone. Achievements are evident when you set a positive learning climate that is based on excellence, fairness, equity, justice, and trust. Managing a school district is not a solitary pursuit. People want to have a voice regarding their schools, including parents, students, employees, and community members. As an educational leader, my job is to communicate and challenge individuals. Working together, we are successful when our future graduates are well prepared to be happy, productive, and competitive in the global economy.”
Dr. Wright earned his superintendent certification from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2003, the same alma mater at which he earned a doctoral degree in educational leadership the year before. He also holds a master’s degree in educational leadership and a bachelor’s degree in education from Stephen F. Austin State University.
Education in His DNA
Dr. Wright has education in his DNA, and he is proud of his family. His father was a retired school superintendent, and his mother is a retired school nurse. His wife, Missy, is also retired from a career in Texas Public Education. In his retirement, Dr. Wright says he’s looking forward to spending time with his family, his children, his grandchildren, and his grand dogs.
“I shall miss the thousands of amazing teachers, staff, school board members, and administrators I am lucky enough to work with every day. I will miss our parents and community members who fiercely support our school district. And, yes, I too will miss our parents and community members who challenge us to do better with the same fervor and passion. We all come from a place of wanting what is best for Hays CISD, and it takes everyone – the full array of ideas – to make our magic happen,” said Dr. Wright. “Most of all, I will miss the students and their excitement as they begin to learn about and understand the world.”
“Though I will be retiring, I won’t be ending my advocacy for public education,” he said. “In some yet undefined form – that will continue.”