Victoria Independent School District Superintendent Sheila Collazo appeared on the City of Victoria’s Town Talk podcast to discuss her goals and priorities for the district and how strong schools help to create a strong community.
Collazo, who previously served as a deputy superintendent in the San Antonio area, has found Victoria to be “an amazing community with a big heart” and is enjoying many aspects of her new home, from the shorter commute to the variety of local activities and fine arts programs.
“Sometimes when you live in a community, you don’t understand all the great things that are happening and all the positive things that Victoria has,” Collazo said. “Such great history, amazing people—Just embrace it.”
Since arriving in Victoria, Collazo has held a series of town hall meetings to better understand the community’s priorities for the district.
In addition to expanding dual credit and college/career readiness programs, Collazo looks forward to promoting good citizenship and discipline through the newly adopted “10 VISD Values”: excellence, respect, honesty, perseverance, gratitude, responsibility, courage, integrity, accountability and law abidance/civic duty.
“It starts at home, quite honestly—all of this work starts at home,” Collazo said. “So, for us, the citizenship-ready plan begins with every stakeholder, every partner … How do we roll this out systematically across the city so that we’re all working together to emphasize and reinforce these expectations?”
Collazo highlighted the crucial role of school districts in helping communities grow and thrive.
“Anytime we talk about growing a community and we want to bring in people from the outside, particularly young families with children, they’re looking at the school systems,” Collazo said. “A strong school system is synonymous with a strong Victoria.”
To learn more, watch or listen to the latest episode of Town Talk on YouTube at Victoria Texas Videos or on Spotify at Town Talk (City of Victoria).