A veteran administrator and former teacher with nearly three decades of history in Taylor Independent School District has been promoted to assistant superintendent.
At the Jan. 23 meeting, the Taylor ISD trustees unanimously approved Jennifer Patschke to Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Federal Programs with a salary of $111,000.
“Jennifer truly loves Taylor and is committed to helping our district recruit and retain high-quality teachers,” said Superintendent Devin Padavil.
“She has deep roots in our community and is committed to supporting teachers and improving student success.”
Patschke, who began her career with the district as a third-grade teacher at T.H.
Johnson Elementary School and moved up the ranks to assistant principal and then principal at Pasemann Elementary School before moving to the central office, said this new position was a dream come true.
“I am really excited,” Patschke said. “When this page 1 opportunity came up, to me it was a bucket list opportunity to be able to move into HR. This was something I have always wanted to do, but I didn’t think it was in the cards. And to be able to do it in Taylor is really special to me.”
Most recently, Patschke served as the director of elementary schools and federal programs, overseeing T.H. Johnson Elementary, Naomi Pasemann Elementary and Main Street Intermediate schools. In addition, Patschke was responsible for evaluating all federal legislation, projects and programs for grant entitlement.
In her current role, Patschke is taking over many of the duties of Tiffany Whitsel, the former assistant superintendent of organizational management, who left the district in November for personal reasons. Patschke said her position will have a focus on recruiting and retaining more teachers to the district during this period of growth.
“Our number one goal is to recruit the best and the brightest to come to Taylor and to expand the opportunities we have for current employees,” she said.
Board President Marco Ortiz said she is well suited for the task.
“Ms. Patschke brings a wealth of experience to the district,” Ortiz said. “And to me she is the epitome of growing your own. She started teaching in Taylor, she became an assistant principal, a principal, she works in central office, she brings a lot of experience and knowledge that can assist not only in our HR department but also with our existing elementary campus principals as well.”
