Have you ever started a new position only to find adversity and challenges? This week’s guest, Dr. Jill Siler, shares how, as a new superintendent, she fought through fear and failure to build a vision and discover new solutions for her district.   

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Dr. Jill Siler has been serving as the Superintendent of Gunter ISD, a growing school district an hour north of Dallas, since 2012. Jill grew up in Rochester & Buffalo, NY and completed her undergraduate work at the University of Pittsburgh where she was a collegiate swimmer. She moved to Austin in 1996 and began serving as a high school World Geography teacher and swim coach at John B. Connally High School in Pflugerville ISD. Jill earned her Masters from Texas State University and began her administrative career in Marble Falls ISD where she served as the Assistant Principal for Instruction. In 2004, Jill went to Lake Travis ISD where she served as a campus and district leader for 8 years. During that time, she completed her doctorate at the University of Texas.

In her first months as a superintendent, Jill faced financial crisis along with many other challenges that leadership brings. In 2015, her school board was named a TASA Honor Board as one of the top 5 school boards in the state and one of her campuses was named a 2017 National Blue Ribbon School. Jill is the Chair of the Future-Ready Superintendent Leadership Network (FRSLN) Design Team through the Texas Association of school Administrators (TASA) where innovative leaders from across the state gather to learn, share and grow together.

Jill has a passion for helping others reach their goals and is the leader of TASA’s Aspiring Superintendent Academy, and a frequent speaker at Texas’ First-Time Superintendent Academy as well as other leadership and education conferences. Her writing can be found on her website, jillmsiler.com where the initial blog inspiring her upcoming book, Thrive Through the Five, was featured in the November 2019 edition of AASA School Administrator, the national school leadership organization’s publication.

Jill and her husband, William, have been married for 19 years and have two children: Caitlyn who is 14 years old and in 9th grade and Caleb who is 10 years old and in 5th grade. 

 

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As we continue through this journey of distant learning, I wanted to bring you some content specific to our current struggle. Instead of asking one person, I asked many of my friends to share their insight and wisdom. Since I had so many submissions, I'm going to break this up into several short bonus episodes. I asked these amazing educators one question: what tips or strategies would you suggest during this unprecedented time? I hope their responses provide value and strength during your distant learning experience.