{"id":18450,"date":"2025-12-10T23:41:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T05:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/2025\/12\/10\/brian-lusk-dallas-isd-deputy-superintendent-tapped-to-lead-el-paso-isd\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T23:41:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T05:41:37","slug":"brian-lusk-dallas-isd-deputy-superintendent-tapped-to-lead-el-paso-isd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/2025\/12\/10\/brian-lusk-dallas-isd-deputy-superintendent-tapped-to-lead-el-paso-isd\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Lusk, Dallas ISD deputy superintendent, tapped to lead El Paso ISD"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction to Brian Lusk, the New Superintendent of El Paso ISD<\/h1>\n

Brian Lusk, Dallas ISD\u2019s deputy superintendent of schools and academics, will be El Paso ISD\u2019s next superintendent after the school board there approved his selection Tuesday night. The veteran educator leaves DISD after three decades. He started his education career as an elementary school teacher in South Dallas and held multiple teacher, principal and administrative roles in the district, including chief of strategic initiatives. In recent years, Lusk spearheaded the expansion of DISD\u2019s ambitious career preparation and college readiness programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the opportunity I had in Dallas to work in an urban setting, and I think there are so many things that align to the work that is being done here in El Paso,\u201d Lusk said. \u201cI feel like the experience that I\u2019ve had and the leadership I\u2019ve been able to engage in has prepared me for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his new role, Lusk will lead the largest district in El Paso, which serves over 48,000 students. His first day is Dec. 10.<\/p>\n

Background and Experience<\/h2>\n

EPISD\u2019s board of trustees selected Lusk as the sole finalist in November, months after former superintendent Diana Sayavedra suddenly resigned in June. Board members highlighted his track record in achieving student outcomes in a large, urban school district similar to El Paso. Nearly 35,000 students in El Paso, about 73%, are economically disadvantaged, compared with 90% of DISD\u2019s 140,000 students.<\/p>\n

El Paso made significant academic gains over the past year and received a B in this year\u2019s state accountability ratings. Like other districts across Texas, EPISD is facing declining enrollment, campus closures and a $6 million budget shortfall.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Lusk has spent his entire career serving students and school communities, and that commitment resonates deeply with who we are as a district,\u201d Board President Leah Hanany said in a release. \u201cWe warmly welcome both him and his wife to El Paso and look forward to the exciting work ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Education and Career<\/h3>\n

Lusk, who grew up in Pennsylvania, said he knew he wanted to be an educator when he was 10 years old and coached younger kids in soccer. He holds a degree in elementary education, a master\u2019s degree in educational administration and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy from the University of Texas at Austin.<\/p>\n

He said he was drawn to the El Paso district because of its board\u2019s high expectations and the investments the district has made in career and technical education and early childhood education.<\/p>\n

DISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said Lusk\u2019s work in Dallas to expand those types of programs, as well as his efforts to help significantly reduce the number of D- and F-rated schools, prepared him to lead EPISD.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Leadership Style and Initiatives<\/h4>\n

\u201cI think what El Paso is going to see is that he\u2019s going to be able to come around and bring people into a united vision around the things they value,\u201d Elizalde said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to get them to continue to stay focused on kids, but at a new level.\u201d<\/p>\n

As deputy superintendent at DISD, Lusk oversaw 228 schools and led the district\u2019s academics, college and career readiness, counseling services, innovation and athletics. Under his leadership, the district opened two new career institutes, which provide high schoolers hands-on training in areas such as health science, manufacturing and aviation, which may not be available on their home campus.<\/p>\n

The district has taken a multipronged approach to readying students for life after high school, recognizing that, while many will thrive in college, others want to enter directly into the workforce and earn a livable wage.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Plumbing<\/p>\n

Impact and Achievements<\/h5>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of kids who weren\u2019t really connected to school, and we weren\u2019t meeting the needs of them, and so we\u2019ve done a much better job of meeting the needs of all of our learners,\u201d Lusk said of the career institutes.<\/p>\n

He has said he believes DISD needs to be the \u201ceconomic engine for the city\u201d and align programs and pathways with the local job market.<\/p>\n

Children born in Dallas County have a 2 in 3 chance of not earning a living wage when they grow up, according to the Commit Partnership.<\/p>\n

The numbers show DISD\u2019s approach is getting students on track. Under Lusk\u2019s leadership, roughly 91% of graduates were deemed ready for college, a career or the military based on state standards last year. Before the pandemic, that figure sat at roughly half.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h6>\n

Over 900 juniors and seniors held internships this year, which helps students realize that careers after high school or college are possible, Lusk said. Hundreds of students earn associate\u2019s degrees each year when<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction to Brian Lusk, the New Superintendent of El Paso ISD Brian Lusk, Dallas ISD\u2019s deputy superintendent of schools and academics, will be El Paso ISD\u2019s next superintendent after the school board there approved his selection Tuesday night. The veteran educator leaves DISD after three decades. He started his education career as an elementary school […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":18452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18450","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/O37TEGK5GFHK3FVF2K7H4ZFQUE.jpg?auth=5e98da4f0b6322d26f22fd093b4ebae05f040768d7c9e9a7806be8e60e6a384d&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18450"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18453,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18450\/revisions\/18453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}