Dr. Abelardo Saavedra, Senior Advisor, The District Management Council

Abelardo Saavedra was appointed superintendent of schools for the Houston Independent School District in December 2004. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Saavedra joined HISD in February 2001 as the superintendent of the Southeast District. Beginning in August 2002, until his appointment as interim superintendent in June 2004, he served as the district's executive deputy superintendent for School Support Services. Prior to joining HISD he was the superintendent of schools in his native Corpus Christi from 1993 to 2000. He retired from HISD on August 31, 2009.

In his first year as superintendent of America's seventh-largest school district, Dr. Saavedra and the HISD Board of Education led HISD to enact a new pay-for-performance program for teachers, streamlined district administration, and built and equipped science labs in more than 100 elementary schools. In 2004, Dr. Saavedra also spearheaded Reach Out to Dropouts, a campaign that recovers scores of students each year, and has been replicated in other cities. In 2006, Dr. Saavedra committed HISD to preparing students academically, socially, and emotionally for college and the workforce by creating a college-bound culture in every school. HISD prepares students for higher education throughout their academic careers by laying a solid educational foundation in the earliest grades, promoting Advanced Placement and dual-credit courses in secondary school, and emphasizing to students and their parents at all grade levels that college is both possible and essential. As a result of Dr. Saavedra's efforts to increase both student achievement and fiscal responsibility throughout the district, HISD won the Greater Houston Partnership's "Houston's Greatest" award in the nonprofit business organization category for its role in advancing the greater Houston region as a business magnet.

Dr. Saavedra earned bachelor of science and master of science degrees at Texas A&I University in Kingsville in 1972 and 1974, respectively, and completed his doctorate in school administration at the University of Michigan in 1976. He serves on several community boards and was in the American Leadership Forum's 2004-2005 class. In 2008, he was named Superintendent of the Year by the Region 4 Education Service Center, and in 2009, he was named the Public School Educator of the Year by the Texas Association of Bilingual Education.

Dr. Saavedra's wife, Myrna, is a former school teacher. He has two daughters. Elizabeth is a graduate of the University of the Incarnate Word, and Lisa attends the University of Texas-San Antonio.