Trustees make super selection
After a lengthy 11-week replacement process, the Taylor Independent School District has selected its next leader.
The district’s school board announced Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen as the lone finalist for the superintendent position Tuesday, Oct. 24.
Garcia-Edwardsen, who currently serves as Chief of Schools for New Braunfels ISD, will begin her role Monday, Nov. 13 after the mandatory 21-day waiting period pending approval.
Garcia-Edwardsen
“I am truly thrilled and profoundly thankful for the opportunity to serve the Taylor ISD community,” Garcia-Edwardsen said. “Our family is enthusiastic about growing alongside Taylor as we embark on growth and development in the area.”
While she said her first 90 days would encompass a lot of different things, Garcia-Edwardsen plans to begin by listening and learning. She said she needs to be visible, get to know the fabric of the district and understand the systems that are in place.
“I want to go see classrooms,” Garcia-Edwardsen said. “I want to get to know our executive team and our district administrators, as well as our campus administrators. A lot of it is going to be listening, learning and understanding our partnerships in the town by meeting with local officials. That’s going to be the bulk of my work.”
She added that she would want to start building relationships and learn the district’s strengths and weaknesses.
Prior to her previous role, she served as a deputy academic officer at Hays Consolidated ISD, where she directed curriculum, instructional objectives and campus alignment, a press release said.
She has also served as principal and an assistant principal for Del Valle ISD.
Garcia-Edwardsen received the Austin Under 40 Award for Youth and Education in 2020 and has several distinctions in the H-E-B Excellence in Education category, a press release said.
“We believe Dr. Garcia-Edwardsen’s strong instructional leadership and high expectations will help every student achieve their unique potential,” Board President Marco Ortiz said. “We are excited for the future of our district and community.”
Garcia-Edwardsen, who said she also goes by Jen Garcia, said she chose to apply for the position after hearing Taylor ISD had an opening from other education leaders in the area.
She then camped out at Redbud Ranch RV Resort in Hutto, traveling to Taylor to see what the town was like. A mother of a two-yearold and a four-year-old, Garcia-Edwardsen said she spent time checking out the city’s parks before she applied.
“We were in the playground and our kids interacted with other kids,” she said. “That was the first thing I wanted to see, would this be a good place to raise my kids.”
Garcia-Edwardsen added that she saw the Samsung Austin Semiconductor plant, a local subsidiary of South Korean-based Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., during her visit.
She said Taylor’s forecasted growth is “right up her alley,” since she spent time in other fast growth hotspots situated around Interstate 35, like Del Valle, New Braunfels and Hays.
Garcia-Edwardsen was officially introduced as the lone finalist during the Taylor High School varsity football game against Canyon Lake Friday, Oct. 27.
“I’m just ready to start to get to know people,” Garcia-Edwardsen said. “I hear that Taylor is a very friendly place. I just can’t wait to jump right in with my family too and get situated.”
Garcia-Edwardsen received a doctorate in school improvement from Texas State
University.
