About NSPRA
The Superintendents to Watch award recognizes school district leaders who have fewer than five years of experience as a superintendent and who demonstrate dynamic, fast-paced leadership with strong communication at its core.
Heath Rocha became superintendent of the Los Gatos–Saratoga Union High School District during one of the most difficult periods in the district’s recent history. From his first week in early 2025, Superintendent Rocha made himself visible and accessible. He launched open staff office hours, visited every department and brought lunch simply to listen: no agenda, no speeches, just authentic connection. He met with staff from teachers to custodians, affirming that every voice mattered, and personally sat down with parents who had raised strong concerns, modeling humility and courage in leadership. Through steady, relationship-centered leadership, Rocha has led the district toward healing, clarity and renewed engagement.
“Every so often, the right leader arrives at precisely the right moment—bringing with them the clarity, empathy, and resolve necessary to guide a community out of hardship and into renewal. Heath Rocha has proven to be that leader for our district.” — Alicia de Fuentes, President, Saratoga Music Boosters
Restoring Trust Through Presence and Dialogue
When Rocha took on the superintendency, he prioritized the voices of parents, educators and students. He immediately made communication personal, direct and responsive, meeting face-to-face with community members and listening closely to concerns that may have gone unaddressed in the past. Within months, Rocha established Superintendent Parent and Student Advisory Committees to ensure stakeholder voices guided district decisions. These forums became spaces for genuine two-way dialogue, directly addressing findings revealed in a 2024 communications survey. Comments like “Please listen to the community with open communication” and “The district communicates what looks good publicly but actions don’t match” became his call to action.
Key elements of his approach include:
"By blending innovation with accessibility, Superintendent Rocha has created a communication program that doesn’t just inform. It protects, empowers, and unites the entire district community." — Tanya De La Cruz, Public Information & Engagement Officer
A Superintendent Who Leads With Empathy and Action
Superintendent Rocha’s leadership is marked by his ability to listen, connect and follow through. His presence across campuses and in the community has helped restore confidence that district leadership is accessible and accountable.
Communication as a Standard of Excellence
When LGSUHSD launched its We INSPIRE Strategic Plan in 2023, one of the four focus areas was intentionally dedicated to communication and engagement, a vision Superintendent Rocha helped first shape as Assistant Superintendent and has since brought fully to life as Superintendent. From words on paper to measurable culture change, Rocha has turned communication from a concept into a cornerstone of district leadership.
During the plan’s development, findings from extensive interviews, focus groups, and surveys identified communication as both the district’s greatest challenge and greatest opportunity. Stakeholders emphasized the need for stronger relationships, clearer messaging and a more unified approach between the district office, schools and families. These insights led to the creation of Focus Area 4: Strategic Family & Community Alliances & Leadership, which centers on three core goals:
1. Strategic Partnerships & Alliances: Establish community, business, and foundation collaborations to support student success. 2. Family & Community Engagement: Strengthen two-way partnerships that promote student well-being and achievement. 3. Transparent Communications: Implement a comprehensive, systematic, and transparent communication plan that fosters trust, visibility, and consistency.
While these goals existed in writing, it was Superintendent Rocha’s leadership that brought them to life. He embedded communication into the district’s operational DNA, transforming it from a support function into a strategic driver of culture and performance. To ensure accountability, Rocha integrated the strategic plan’s communication metrics directly into his own annual Superintendent’s evaluation, dedicating 25 percent of his performance goals to measurable communication outcomes tied to Focus Area 4. This bold move signaled that communication was not just a leadership expectation; it was a leadership imperative. Rocha also made the district’s progress highly visible. Communication goals, survey results, and success indicators are now shared consistently through Board meeting reports, staff video updates, and housed on the district website, creating a living communication loop: feedback informs refinement, data validates progress and transparency fuels trust.
That feedback loop is working. Within one year of Rocha’s leadership, measurable growth has been achieved:
These results reflect more than improved metrics. They represent a culture shift.
“In my opinion, to be a successful district leader, one needs to have an engaging personality so that others are comfortable in sharing their concerns; one needs to be empathetic in order to understand and relate to others’ points of view; and one needs to be transparent and communicative in order to successfully work through the issues. Superintendent Rocha embodies and excels at these qualities.” — Steve Chen, Board President
“Our community is once again hopeful. We are engaged, collaborative, and mission-driven—and much of that is due to the steady leadership of Superintendent Rocha.” — Alicia de Fuentes, President, Saratoga Music Boosters
Rocha’s leadership extends beyond school walls. As a member of the Los Gatos Lions Club and Saratoga Rotary, he partners with civic organizations to strengthen ties between schools and the broader community. His belief that “education does not stop at the school gate” has become a defining philosophy of district culture.
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.