Wednesday’s LISD School Board meeting resulted in the official hiring of new Superintendent Dr. Donald Heseman.
Taking effect on August 25, Heseman will be seen patrolling the schools as LISD’s new superintendent.
“I just want to say thank you and I appreciate the trust you are investing in me,” said Heseman. “It’s going to be wonderful. We’re going to have a great time.”
Heseman’s father was an elementary school teacher and he grew up watching his mom teach classrooms. Heseman has always been around the school scene and he noticed that teachers never got a break.
“Teaching is a passion and it’s a calling. My mom kept on telling me that I was going to be a teacher, a principal then a superintendent one day and I kept on telling her no,” said Heseman.
When Heseman got into college he realized his mother was right all along. He went into teaching at Rawls ISD and even went on to be an assistant varsity basketball coach at Bastrop ISD near Austin. From there he went to Rockport ISD as a head basketball coach and teacher and around that time he and his wife had three kids and decided it was time to be around family so he moved his family to Abilene. While in Abilene he received mentorship where he was told he should look into administration.
“Instead of impacting 45 kids as a coach I could impact all of them. They started working me into the assistant principle role and then I moved out to Clyde where I worked with Dr.Kenny Berry, who was in Levelland a long time,” said Heseman. “From there I was the high school principal at Clyde and from there I went down to West Hardin as a superintendent.”
After being at West Hardin for a while Heseman and his wife decided to go move back to West Texas. When LISD put out they were looking for a new superintendent Heseman knew it was the right fit for his family.
“For my family we had a list of criteria and Levelland had all them so, I threw my name in the hat and they reached out and set up the interviews,” said Heseman.
Heseman has watched LISD for a long time in how they run their schools and care for their students.
“You can really see from their questions at these meetings that it comes from a place of what’s best for these kids. It’s just so nice to see and honestly you don’t see that everywhere,” Heseman said. “But they absolutely want what’s best for these kids.”
Heseman wants the best out of the school year not only for the kids but for the parents and the surrounding community.
He wants parents to know that their kids are in very good hands and any concerns are highly appreciated being known right away.
“For parents we have to build a partnership so they feel number one. Levelland loves their kids and we want the best for their education,” Heseman said. “I can admit when I’m wrong, so if something isn’t working, let’s work on it and move it in the right direction.”
Heseman is very eager to meet the community and students. He encourages everyone to meet with him with any issues and to just say hello.
“I think the best way to lead is through collaboration. I’m always open to conversations,” said Heseman. “I have a lot to learn about Levelland and I want what’s best for Levelland. I will never claim to know it all and I will always be open to new conversations. I am truly blessed to be here.”