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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. Marco Villegas’ leadership is exemplary, as he consistently works to ensure that every staff member—no matter their position—understands how vital they are to student success. By cultivating a culture of trust and empowerment, Dr. Villegas unlocks the full potential of his team, encouraging innovation and growth at every level. One example of Dr. Villegas' visionary leadership is his dedication to ensuring school principals set high standards with bold, measurable goals for school improvement. He trusts them to take the reins and develop creative solutions, which in turn fuels their confidence and ability to drive meaningful, positive change across their schools. Even more notable is his leadership in spearheading a district-wide initiative to redefine the district vision, mission and graduate profile. Dr. Villegas brought together 80 diverse stakeholders—students, union representatives, community members and more— throughout the year for collaborative sessions. His ability to engage and unite these voices under a common purpose was nothing short of extraordinary. This inclusive process inspired a powerful, collective vision that resonates with the entire community. Thanks to his leadership, this initiative produced a clear and compelling roadmap that continues to guide the district’s strategic direction, shaping the future of student success with enthusiasm and unity. Through his guidance and leadership, Dr. Villegas has created cohesion and a shared sense of purpose amongst members of the Board of Education. This unity fosters transparent decision-making and has been instrumental in moving the district forward and achieving collective goals. Dr. Villegas' exceptional leadership has also included his ability to unite stakeholders in advancing the long-anticipated athletic complex at El Rancho High School. His commitment to delivering on promises has instilled a renewed sense of belief that real progress is being made. As his motto "Promises made, promises delivered" resonates throughout the district, the athletic complex is inching closer to completion, with additional projects on the horizon that will further enrich the lives of students. Under his leadership, this investment is more than just a construction project—it is a symbol of hope, trust and tangible progress for the entire community. Exceptional leaders recognize achievements of students and staff, and Dr. Villegas consistently acknowledges achievements on various platforms such as board meetings, newsletters and social media posts. He often solicits feedback through surveys and personal encounters and openly discusses what changes need to be made for improvement.
In his quest to build trust and a cohesive team, Dr. Villegas is highly visible and proactive in conveying the message that students are the district's top priority and capable of achieving the highest standards.
Dr. Villegas has been exceptional in building a dynamic communication program in El Rancho Unified School District (ERUSD), ensuring that both the community and staff are well-informed. He employs a variety of communication methods that cater to different audiences and needs. One key vehicle is the district-wide newsletter, which is distributed to all parents, keeping them up to date on important events and initiatives. Dr. Villegas uses videos extensively—he creates engaging content to highlight each of the district’s schools, provide updates on major projects and even welcome students back to school. A notable example is a video series that tracks construction projects, keeping the community informed on progress. Last year, Dr. Villegas launched a podcast series that features students discussing key events and topics, such as the impact of artificial intelligence on education. This platform not only amplifies student voices but also strengthens engagement with the wider community. The podcast complements social platforms already in place. In addition to leveraging modern communication tools, Dr. Villegas also emphasizes the importance of more traditional methods to ensure that every voice is heard and that engagement is accessible to all. He frequently uses phone messages to relay critical updates directly to parents, ensuring timely communication. His "Coffee with the Superintendent" events provide an informal, yet impactful space for parents and community members to discuss issues and share their concerns directly with him, fostering a sense of openness and trust. Dr. Villegas also spearheaded the development of the annual Parent Summit, designed to increase parent engagement and deepen their involvement in the district's educational initiatives. To stay connected with students, he established a student advisory group, where he listens to their concerns, insights and ideas, ensuring that student voices play a key role in helping to shape district decisions. These traditional methods complement his broader communication strategy, creating a well-rounded, inclusive approach to keeping all stakeholders informed and engaged.
Dr. Villegas has effectively woven communication goals and strategies into the fabric of the district’s strategic vision, and the district's communication plan is aligned closely with the district's strategic plan. One of the primary goals of the communication plan is to promote and reinforce the district’s mission and vision, ensuring that they are not just words on a wall or in a handbook, but living principles that shape the district’s direction and decision-making. The communication plan enables the district to share critical information and updates with the community, such as details about its fiscal solvency, highlighting available resources and transparently identifying potential risks. Dr. Villegas places great importance on making sure every stakeholder—whether they are students, staff, parents or community members—understands and embraces the district’s goals. To ensure this, the mission and vision are highly visible and communicated consistently through various vehicles, including parent and community engagement platforms that provide school and district updates. Through collaboration and strategic coordination, Dr. Villegas employs a customer-facing approach to improve communication and responsiveness, deliver programs to students, and provide information and services to parents and the community. This approach has enhanced transparency and builds trust, and at the same time stakeholders feel valued. This strategy is extremely effective in advancing student academic achievement and growth, which helps improve safety and security and fosters a positive learning environment. The district’s website also plays a vital role in keeping the public informed. The website is used to publish updates, showcase milestones and provide full transparency, ensuring the community is always aware of key developments and progress toward the district’s strategic goals. Through these efforts, Dr. Villegas ensures that communication is not only a priority but a powerful tool in guiding the district forward, promoting transparency and community support of the district’s mission and vision.
Dr. Villegas demonstrates exceptional commitment to district communication through various high-impact initiatives. His participation in face-to-face engagement activities highlights his hands-on approach to staying connected with students, parents and staff. Dr. Villegas regularly sponsors workshops with staff to brainstorm and develop new strategies to enhance the learning environment. These interactions foster transparency, trust and a sense of community. Dr. Villegas' strong relationships with local media have led to the district's successes being featured in various newspaper articles and newsletters over the past two years. In addition, Dr. Villegas is responsive to requests to appear on podcasts, where he has discussed crucial topics like the use of AI in education and the challenges of post-pandemic schooling. Beyond traditional media, Dr. Villegas models excellent communication within the district by creating motivational videos for staff and celebratory videos that highlight achievements across the district. His visibility at school sites and district events is constant and his leadership in all major events provides a platform to advance the district's mission and vision effectively. Dr. Villegas also works to foster a strong partnership with the City of Pico Rivera to help increase communication. He is invited to city events, local community clubs and the Chamber of Commerce, where he serves on the Board and speaks about the school district's vision and elicits input for making schools better. Dr. Villegas has an unrelenting commitment to communication. To ensure that every member of the El Rancho USD and the community feels informed and engaged he uses both traditional and modern methods through in-person meetings, digital platforms and media interactions. Such practices have fostered an environment of transparency and trust. Dr. Villegas’ approach has strengthened internal and external relationships by modeling excellent communication practices for staff and stakeholders alike.
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.