On Jan. 5, the Sundown ISD board of trustees unanimously approved and hired Dr. Miguel Salazar to be the next superintendent of schools for Sundown ISD starting the 2026-2027 school year. Dr. Miguel Salazar is currently serving in his fifth year as the principal of Sundown Middle School, where he has led with purpose, vision, and a deep commitment to students and staff.
Salazar is a product of Sundown ISD; his parents immigrated to Sundown from Mexico where his grandfather started their journey in Ralls. In high school Salazar realized because of the educators in his life, he was capable of going to college to do something with his life.
In sixth grade, Salazar got in trouble for burglary where he and some of his cousins broke into a building in Sundown and in eighth grade he was accused of being a gang leader. “That was eye opening, and now that I can reflect on it, it was a very derogatory term for the name of our gang. It was called Los Mujas, which means wetback, and in my culture is very derogatory,” said Salazar. “That was my first telltale that I was a natural born leader and that people were willing to follow me.”
Salazar graduated from high school with honors and shortly after graduation, he started a family. From there he went to SPC for two years and went on to get his bachelor's degree in mathematics in 2004 from Texas Tech University. He began an internship through an internship emergency certification with Ralls High School. He spent 17 years at Rawls, where he learned to be an educator and a coach. “I was very blessed and fortunate to be a part of a community and a school like that,” said Salazar. When he left Ralls, he came back to Sundown and became the principal of Sundown Middle School. “I realized I was actually trying to make roles what I always knew Sundown to be, which is a place of really high standards and consistency,” said Salazar.
Throughout his educational career, he said he had so many people to thank for giving him confidence that he could be something. “Throughtout my journey, I’ve obviously taken the same path that a lot of my educators did. I want to be that educator for as many kids as possible,” said Salazar. “Now I’m at the point in my leadership position where I get to instill that knowledge in my teachers so that they can become that educator for more kids.”
Throughout his 14 years of teaching, he has so much credit to give to his church and his late brother Daniel. Salazar lost his brother in 2020 to health difficulties; Salazar decided to lead his legacy with Daniel’s Christmas Blessing, which is an opportunity each year to give back to our community. “My church raised almost $9,000 this past year and we were able to provide for 62 students,” said Salazar. “We were able to buy shoes and everybody got a crew neck or a hoodie that said Sundown on the front and on the back it said God is in Sundown. It’s just an awesome opportunity to show them God’s love and to show them that they have value and they have worth and they are seen.”
Salazar was also named the Regent 17 Middle School Principle of the Year and Regent 17 High School of the Year during his time at Ralls. When he got to Sundown, he received a phone call telling him he was named the Texas Middle School Principal of the Year. “It was unreal. I’m glad I started trusting God. I went to the national level and got it and was a finalist for National Principle of the Year,” said Salazar. “I could have never imagined getting to that level all on my own.” When he was named superintender, Salazar gathered his kids up and told them the amazing news and said their reactions couldn’t have been more sincere. “My kids were so happy for me, I wasn’t expecting them to start clapping and cheering,” said Salazar. “They know how hard I work and I appreciate them for how hard they work.” Salazar said he is beyond blessed to have accomplished so much in his years of teaching and he wants to continue his legacy leading up to his position as superintendent.
“I just want people to know that I’m a firm believer that the best years are yet to come,” said Salazar. “I love this community and I’m here to do everything to make sure that the best years of Sundown are ahead of us and that we’re going to provide our students every opportunity to help them be successful in life.”