Round Rock ISD Names Hafedh Azaiez As New Superintendent

ROUND ROCK, TX — Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees has named Dr. Hafedh Azaiez as the district's next superintendent. He will begin his new role July 5, officials said.

The district board of trustees appointed and approved a contract with Azaiez in a Monday board meeting. Azaiez was named a sole finalist in the superintendent search on May 21, district officials said.

The district will host opportunities for the community to engage with Azaiez in July. More information on those events will be shared with the public soon, authorities said.

The decision comes after an expansive search process, which included focus groups with hundreds of stakeholders, five community-wide meetings, and a community survey available in five languages that yielded 5,000 responses to determine a candidate profile.

The nationwide search drew 48 candidates from across Texas and 19 other states, district officials said.

Azaiez has served as Superintendent of Donna ISD in the Rio Grande Valley since 2018. He is credited with spurring significant improvements in Donna ISD such as developing a five-year strategic plan for the district and expanding course offerings while streamlining business operations for maximum efficiency.

More recently, he worked with the district to invest $5.7 million in providing technology to allow students and teachers to continue remote instruction during the COVID-19 crisis, district officials said.

Azaiez' career in public education began in 2002 as a middle school science teacher with Houston ISD. He later moved on to administrative roles, including assistant principal, principal, and lead principal in Houston ISD and assistant superintendent of middle schools in Spring ISD.

“Round Rock ISD is a thriving, dynamic, large and diverse community and already home to exceptional programs and campuses. I could not be more excited about the opportunities to build upon this legacy of excellence and foster and grow Round Rock ISD’s reputation as a world-class, destination district,” Dr. Azaiez said. “ We will continue to focus on the whole child, broaden opportunities to pursue diverse programs of study, and will maintain a relentless focus on equity, diversity and inclusion issues, ensuring all truly means all.”