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The Superintendents to Watch award recognizes up to 25 school district leaders each year who have fewer than five years of experience as a superintendent and who demonstrate dynamic, fast-paced leadership with strong communication at its core.
Dr. McCall’s impressive leadership style comes straight from the heart. He is passionate about public education, inspiring students, growing leaders, strengthening community partnerships and motivating staff. It is that same passion that guides his leadership through a visionary and genuine approach. For example, when he returned to work in Sheldon in 2023 as the Superintendent, he established “Be the Village” as the theme for the year. His Convocation message to staff shared his excitement to return home. He had previously worked in Sheldon as a high school principal and assistant superintendent. The African proverb “it takes a village” reminded him of his childhood. He shared a video where he was able to connect with one of his former teachers earlier that month to thank her for the difference she made in his life. His message to staff encouraged them to thank their village and support system, but to also be the village for their students, for each other and for the greater community. This guidance inspired leaders and educators throughout the year as Dr. McCall worked to create a culture that centered around the heart.
Dr. McCall’s returned to Sheldon ISD in his first year with the understanding that although he had only been gone three years serving in another school district, Sheldon ISD was not the same. He understood the importance of active listening and re-establishing and building relationships. This started with employees as Dr. McCall made school visits to introduce himself, share his forecast for the year and commit to a culture of collaboration and support. He desires to pour into faculty started with the front-lines by providing customer service training for school support and receptionist staff as well as operations staff at administration buildings. Equipping these employees with quality professional development to enhance the experience for stakeholders in Sheldon ISD is critical to establishing a positive environment. He leads the Caught Acting and Responding with Excellence award program by partnering with the local Chick-fil-a to recognize employees nominated for exemplary customer service.
His leadership is seen throughout the community with the committees he has established such as the staff ambassador program. This program is a partnership with Friends of Texas Public Schools and two neighboring school districts. His goal to join forces has empowered Sheldon ISD employees to learn the importance of partnerships and stand as advocates for their important work in the community and in the state.
Additionally, Dr. McCall has high expectations and holds himself accountable to maintain professional growth as a leader. He has recently been accepted into the Holdsworth Superintendent Leadership Program which is an 18-month program for leaders in their first five years of superintendency. The program provides support to build high-performing executive teams, lead with strategy and purpose and navigate unprecedented challenges the role may face.
His servant leadership style is a model for staff and students and exemplifies the vision Sheldon has to create a legacy of leaders in our community.
As a moderate-growing school community, the support of stakeholders is critical to student achievement. Dr. McCall prioritized his first year with creating opportunities to engage with families, businesses, residents and community partners to build trust, provide transparent communication and encourage two-way dialogue through a Be the Village communication campaign.
In his first six months of superintendency, he implemented ParentSquare as a way to provide direct engagement with parents and teachers. This two-way communication tool serves as the district’s mass notifications system and classroom communications. As a parent in Sheldon ISD, Dr. McCall understands the importance of streamlining communication as a one-stop-shop for families to receive all information in one application. Dr. McCall was able to collect feedback about the usage of the application directly from parents in his Ambassador Academy. Parents explained it would be helpful to receive weekly updates with lesson plans for the week so they could better partner with the school to help their children prepare at home. Dr. McCall was able to make this a strategy in the district’s 2024-25 improvement plan to strengthen parent engagement and improve academic performance. ParentSquare has positively impacted families through reachability and consolidation of multiple communication platforms.
Dr. McCall supported the communication department's goal to implement a newly-designed website platform using a new content management solution - Final Site. In April 2024, Sheldon ISD revealed a brand new website after eight years. Dr. McCall encouraged a site that was compatible with all users, visually appealing with videos, photo highlights, and equipped with a standard photo of all teaching staff so families could put a face to the name.
When Dr. McCall returned to Sheldon, building culture, relationships and uniting the community was one of his goals. Sheldon ISD is a one high school community with all students graduating as a Panther, and as the previous high school principal, he is well-aware of the importance of establishing a cohesive environment. One communication channel he uses frequently is social media. He has an X and Facebook account that he uses to share professional development ideas, connect with the community and unite through the use of hashtags such as #Bethevillage in 2023 and #OneSheldon in 2024. This allows him to engage with photos and posts from teachers, administrators and the community. Dr. McCall expressed a desire to recognize alumni in Sheldon ISD to better track graduates and recognize their efforts while in school and as adults in the workforce. The communications department began a social media campaign at his request called Started in Sheldon that features an alumni weekly.
Additionally, communication with the school board is necessary to keep them informed. Dr. McCall established a Google Site that he updates weekly with photos, links, information and upcoming events. School board members appreciate this internal website as a way to receive communication. Dr. McCall spent his first year listening and is now able to act on what he has heard to better meet the needs of our community while encouraging them to embrace the village.
In August 2023, Sheldon Independent School District embarked on a journey to shape our strategic roadmap. A dedicated steering committee evolved under the stewardship of Dr. Demetrius McCall and in collaboration with teachers, district and campus leaders, parents, and students. During the last10 months, with guidance from the Region 4 Education Service Center (Region 4) Texas Strategic Leadership (TSL) team, the Sheldon Steering Committee devised a plan to guide us into a future of excellence.
Our voyage began with a thorough landscape analysis, drawing insights from observations of more than 250 grade 6–12 classrooms, academic reviews, stakeholder surveys, focus group reports, and talent data. This analysis illuminated our strengths and highlighted areas prime for enhancement. Envisioning the ideal student experience, the steering committee crafted statements delineating the daily encounters every Sheldon student should have in our classrooms. Guided by our student-centric vision and enriched by the Effective District Framework, along with engaging discussions and reflections, we identified five priorities to propel SISD forward: academic excellence, talent management, family engagement/community outreach, operational excellence and ONE Sheldon.
To increase parent engagement, Sheldon will employ effective communication strategies to actively involve families, staff, and partners in supporting the learning community, strengthening family engagement with curriculum and branding with consistent communication. Another priority of the strategic plan focuses on building upon the long traditions and sense of achievement and pride of our community. Under Dr. McCall’s leadership, Sheldon will foster community pride through supportive, positive learning environments. This priority focuses on uniting our community through culture and pride of being a King Panther through initiatives like #OneSheldon communication campaign and Started in Sheldon, an alumni campaign to promote success stories of graduates.
Dr. McCall started the school year with presenting updates on the strategic plan to district leaders and to all staff during the annual Convocation staff assembly. This is where the concept of #OneSheldon originated with a purpose of encouraging staff to share their stories and build on the academic excellence and engagement that unites our district and community. The strategic plan has been communicated on the district’s website, in the annual report, to stakeholders at various meetings like the Blue Card Luncheon (an event for senior citizens in the district’s boundaries) and the annual State of District, a luncheon for community partners, faith-based organizations, realtors and donors to the Education Foundation.
Dr. McCall encourages innovation and new ideas and strategies for communicating and sharing information. The five-year strategic plan outlines a new communication plan to help teachers use ParentSquare to engage in curriculum and classroom expectations with families. Dr. McCall’s school board evaluation focuses on communication with the community, and the goals established in this strategic plan are shared with the school board during his end of year evaluation to share measurable achievements. He highlights these achievements through pictures and datapoints in presentation format. The culmination of the year's accomplishments from the District Improvement Plan are then showcased in the printed Annual Report each year.
It is important to Dr. McCall for families to see that his most important role in Sheldon ISD is that of a parent of children in Sheldon schools who can relate to the desires, feelings and needs of families in the school district. SISD hosts multiple opportunities to engage with families. Sheldon ISD is 83% economically disadvantaged, and district leadership is dedicated to finding partners to give back through donations and supplies to families. The Fall Festival and Back to School Bash provide free resources like food, clothing, school supplies to families and a Summer Movie Night at the stadium with free entry to watch a family movie on the field at Panther Stadium. Dr. McCall serves on the committees to plan, volunteers and most recently has included his student advisory committee in the process of giving back.
Last year, he established the Superintendent Scholar Squad which is a student advisory group of 4th-12th graders across the school district. The group meets monthly to discuss topics of importance like safety, bullying awareness, and even lunch menus. Students bring concerns and ideas to Dr. McCall. This gives him a way to listen and experience the buildings through a student perspective. The squad from 2023-24 developed a community project idea to raise awareness of the importance of recycling by collecting bottle caps across the district. The caps were transformed into a beautifully designed Panther paw piece of art that will hang in the Sheldon ISD Stadium press box.
Advocacy groups are important to Dr. McCall to be able to meet face-to-face to listen and share information with the community. In addition to the Sheldon ISD Ambassador Academy, a parent group that meets monthly to receive a behind the scenes look at Sheldon ISD operations, he also established the Staff Ambassador program to ensure staff members are engaged with the work in Sheldon ISD as well as public education across the state of Texas.
He is a member of the North Shore Rotary and North Channel Area Chamber of Commerce participating in many engagement activities like the Superintendent State of Education address and fundraisers for both organizations.
He believes in visibility across the district and understands that to effectively communicate, he must be involved in the work and active in the community. You can find him participating in instructional walks with the academic team, engaged in principal PLCs or taping videos to connect with the larger community through social media sites. Last year, he shared a book with Facebook followers on Christmas Eve.
The district’s strategic plan includes a new tagline: Where Vision Becomes Legacy. Dr. McCall’s models excellence in leadership and communication by building a supportive, united community that takes care of one another. Sheldon ISD was hit incredibly hard by Hurricane Harvey years ago and the district formed the mindset of Sheldon Strong. Dr. McCall understands what this community has been through. He encourages remembrance of the past while embracing possibilities with endless opportunities to leave a legacy.
B.A. - Mississippi State University; MPA - University of Georgia
I believe school PR/communications is what I was born to do! One of the biggest decisions a parent can make is where to send their child to school, and it’s an honor to share with our parents the engaging work that their children are doing under the guidance of world-class teachers and leaders. On any given day, in any given school, there are many stories to be told and I take that charge seriously. As school communicators played a key role in COVID-19 communications, storytelling was more important than ever – not only did I share information with parents about our protocols, but I also made over 80 visits to schools last year and told a variety of stories about how students were thriving with both in-person and distance learning options. I also worked with principals to determine best mitigation practices and helped make those pervasive, because positive action must be the foundation of what we are ultimately communicating. School public relations is incredibly complex and I love that each day brings a new challenge.
My greatest school PR success was completing 11 nationally-innovative school communication audits using a process of research, planning, implementation, and evaluation. I am now in phase two of this project and am attending school council meetings to garner feedback from parents about school-level communication and how I can better support the work of their schools. One of the most significant findings is that as students take more ownership of their learning, they also take more ownership in parent communication. Therefore, next steps are to better prepare parents for this transition and to also determine best practices from exemplar teachers and coaches at the secondary level so we can strike the right balance with parents feeling informed and fostering student independence.
My greatest school PR challenge is overcoming rigidity. Like many PR professionals, I am detail-oriented and a self-described perfectionist. It’s a blessing and a curse to see when something is one pixel off, but the greatest challenge I have faced in my 13 years in this field is to learn to be more flexible. I might have an aversion to Comic Sans or Curlz, but it’s not the end of the world if those are a font favorite elsewhere. What’s more important is the bigger picture – staff and parents feeling well-informed and students growing and learning in positive school cultures. Instead of telling someone their website isn’t formatted properly, I now make a 2-3 minute screencast if I think there’s a quick tutorial I can offer to provide ongoing professional learning. By being much more flexible, I have deepened relationships and become better at supporting the most important job that occurs in our school system: teaching.
My favorite part of my job is the relationships. I often say that there is no substitute for showing up, and that’s why I make so many school visits each year. From getting to hold a gorgeous monarch butterfly to watching a vibrant student musical to seeing 3-D printing in action from engineering students, I have witnessed countless unique opportunities, and these experiences are just a small piece of what our students get to take part in each and every day. If I didn’t take the time to form relationships, I wouldn’t know that what students value is knowing that the photos I take may show up in their yearbooks. I wouldn’t know the myriad of annual activities that teachers do across our schools because I wouldn’t have witnessed them firsthand. I wouldn’t know about the families of our principals or what they believe makes their school unique. All of that is invaluable because at the end of the day and at the end of this career, relationships are what will remain – both professionally and personally.
The communication tool I use the most is Canva! I would be a brand ambassador if they asked! I am not very mathematically-minded and it can be challenging for someone with an eye for good design – but not an eye for rulers and gridlines – to be a graphic designer. However, Canva has made it possible and I am able to create aesthetically-pleasing graphics with short turn-around times. I have trained communication ambassadors at our schools how to use it as well. Right after Canva, the tool I most use is iMovie. I am completely self-taught in videography and using iMovie and Canva together has made me someone who can add “videographer” to their list of expertise.