About NSPRA
The Superintendents to Watch award recognizes 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.
Superintendent Vasquez took on district leadership at a pivotal moment for Socorro Independent School District. Appointed interim superintendent in April 2024 and named permanent superintendent in August 2025, he assumed responsibility during a period marked by financial instability, declining enrollment, and public uncertainty. His leadership since then has focused on stabilizing the organization, strengthening communication, and keeping the district aligned around student success.
Vasquez led a districtwide financial recovery effort that addressed a $42 million budget deficit through budget realignments, hiring freezes, and workforce reductions, culminating in a balanced budget by June 2025. At the same time, the district saw academic performance strengthen, with students outperforming regional and state averages, an increase in A-rated campuses, no D- or F-rated campuses, and the largest Texas district earning a postsecondary distinction designation.
Communication During Crisis and Change
From the beginning of his tenure, Vasquez made communication a leadership responsibility rather than a support function. As Socorro ISD faced difficult issues including financial shortfalls, staffing reductions, and operational restructuring, he led with frequent, direct, and compassionate messaging across multiple channels.
He used emails, press briefings, interviews, videos, and social media to explain decisions, provide updates, and keep families and employees informed. Alongside districtwide communication, he also prioritized in-person engagement, visiting all 51 campuses three separate times to speak directly with staff, answer questions, and create space for candid dialogue.
Community meetings held in spring and fall 2025 allowed parents, students, and residents to hear directly from district leadership about progress and future plans. Vasquez also created committees focused on enrollment, health benefits, finances, and district operations, ensuring that stakeholder input helped shape key decisions.
Building Trust
Under Vasquez’s leadership, communication became both a tool for crisis management and a way to reinforce district pride and connection.
Key elements of his approach include:
Even during periods of uncertainty, the district maintained a strong focus on celebrating success. Over a 17-month period, the communications team produced dozens of press releases and videos, hundreds of social media posts, and extensive visual storytelling to keep student and staff achievement front and center.
Aligning Communication With Strategy
As Socorro ISD developed a refreshed strategic plan in 2025, Vasquez and the Board of Trustees led a six-week engagement process that included surveys and nine in-person community listening sessions. More than 1,100 people participated, helping define district priorities around financial stability, student outcomes, health benefits, operations, and rebuilding trust.
The process reinforced a model of leadership grounded in openness, visibility, and shared ownership. Those priorities continue to be communicated through community meetings, board updates, and ongoing outreach that connects feedback to action.
Leading the Next Chapter
Vasquez’s leadership blends operational rigor with a deep commitment to people. A longtime educator and administrator in Socorro ISD, he brings decades of experience and community roots to the role, guiding the district through recovery while laying the groundwork for long-term growth.
“His leadership is not only about overcoming challenges but about building a resilient, innovative, and inclusive future for all. Vasquez is leading Socorro ISD students, staff and community to write the next chapter of success together.” — Daniel Escobar, Chief Communications Officer, Socorro Independent School District
Through steady communication, visible leadership, and a focus on both stability and innovation, James Vasquez has positioned Socorro ISD to move forward with clarity, confidence, and shared purpose.
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.