October 2009
Northside ISD’s John Folks steps up to lead TASA
By Jennifer LeClaire

John Folks heads one of the largest and fastest-growing school districts in Texas. Now, he’s heading one of the largest trade associations in Texas education: the Texas Association of School Administrators.

Folks brings 40 years of experience – and a big vision – to the TASA presidency. As the organization’s new leader, Folks is responsible for driving TASA’s mission to promote, provide and develop leadership that champions educational excellence.

“I want to keep the association at the forefront of helping superintendents do a better job. Right now, that means school funding, and testing and accountability issues,” says Folks, who has served as superintendent of San Antonio’s Northside ISD since July 2002.

Prior to his role at Northside ISD, Folks served as superintendent of Midwest City-Del City Public Schools in suburban Oklahoma City and as the Oklahoma State superintendent of public instruction. He also presided as the dean over the School of Education at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He was superintendent of Spring ISD before coming to Northside.

Folks says his overarching goals and objectives for TASA mirror the group’s mission: to ensure quality student learning, positive school climates, systemic school improvement, ongoing professional development for staff, proactive government relations, advanced educational technology, synergistic organizational relationships and effective member assistance for all TASA constituents. Yet, within that framework, Folks has a specific agenda.

“We’re going to be doing a lot of talking about how we should implement what our state Legislature is requiring of us and how we’re going to address the Legislature when it comes back into session with regard to school funding,” Folks says. “The other major issue we need to tackle is state testing and accountability. The Legislature made some major changes to the system.”

Under Folks’ leadership, TASA will focus on what school districts need to do to prepare for the new accountability system. Earlier this summer, Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation that mandated tougher high school graduation standards and eliminated a requirement that school districts spend 65 percent of their operating budgets on classroom instruction.

“The school accountability issue is 
very complicated; college readiness is going to be embedded within all state testing, and graduation requirements have changed,” Folks explains. “We need to talk through these issues with the Texas Education Agency and others to see how we can best implement the changes to our accountability system.”

A future-minded leader
Folks not only plans to tackle the tough challenges of today; he wants to help TASA prepare for the tough challenges of tomorrow. The big question on his mind is: What do we need to do to enhance public education and improve student achievement in Texas?

“We need to see a transformation of our schools so they become skills-centered learning environments rather than teacher-centered learning environments,” Folks says. “The school is not a platform for teaching. The school is a platform for learning — and that involves using all the new tools and technologies we have available to us to transform our schools.”

What Folks is proposing is a paradigm shift in the Texas school system. He points to TASA’s Public Education Visioning Institute as a guiding light. The institute, of which he is a participant, involves 30 superintendents from across Texas who regularly gather to challenge conventional thinking about public education and to improve their leadership capacities and their school systems. The institute explores ways of using resources such as people, time, space, technology and funding to realize a new vision for public education in the year 2020.

“The biggest challenge superintendents have is addressing the needs of the learner today and preparing for the transformation of tomorrow,” Folks says. “Texas has a great system of education. Right now, we’re tasked with making decisions about the future and where education really needs to go. We need more student engagement in the classrooms.”

As Folks sees it, considering the pervasiveness of video games, computers, iPods and all types of virtual communication, engaging today’s generation of students means incorporating these familiar and popular technological tools into instructional programs.

“I am at the point in my career – I’ve been a superintendent for 23 years – where I feel confident I can provide some leadership to the Texas Association of School Administrators,” Folk says. “I hope to make the state just a little bit stronger as far as education is concerned. My life is my work, and it was the same for my parents. My parents were both teachers.”

The man behind the title
Folks has followed in the footsteps of his father, who was a math teacher, then a principal and later a superintendent. Like his father, Folks believes in working hard and strong family values. When he isn’t on a mission to improve Texas public education, the Northside ISD superintendent enjoys golf, bicycling, reading and spending time with his two sons and five grandchildren. He’s also active in his church and teaches a Sunday school class.

Looking back over his career, Folks remembers a time when he thought leaving his role as a math teacher to be an administrator was the biggest mistake he ever made. But when an opportunity came knocking to advance the cause of education through administrative service, he answered the call. Today, Folks says he has no regrets.

He has gone on to serve in many capacities outside the school district. He has been a member of the legislative council of the University Interscholastic League, the steering committee of the Fast Growth School Coalition, and the board of directors for the Texas Academic Decathlon. He’s also past president of both the Texas School Alliance and the Texas Association of Suburban/Mid-Urban Schools.

Folks is active in the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and he serves on two of its Public Affairs Council committees — the state and federal legislative committee and the education committee. He also is a member of the P16Plus Council of Greater Bexar County and serves on the board for the Alamo Public Telecommunications Council.

The 61-year-old Folks says he plans to retire in the next few years, passing the mantle on to others who can take up the cause he has served so passionately.

“I’ve watched everybody else’s kids play ball,” Folks says. “I want to go watch my grandkids play ball. I don’t plan on just walking away though. I love teaching; I’ll continue to teach and write even after I retire. I love it.”

JENNIFER LECLAIRE is a freelance writer.