Who is Rice CISD’s new Superintendent?

Q&A with Kendall Center

Rice Consolidated Independent School District had a changing of the guard Sept. 1, with 11-year former Superintendent Bill Hefner retiring and a new face taking charge.

In comes in new Rice CISD Superintendent Kendall “Kenny” Center, who has been as busy as one might expect taking on the head position of a school district.

The Citizen sat down with Center to get some insight on the roles and responsibilities of his new position, and how taking the step up has been for the newly appointed Superintendent. Q: Who is Kenny Center? What are some general hobbies you have? What drove you to pursue a career in education? What led you to Rice CISD?

A: “That is always a tough question to answer when talking about who you are as a person. I am a family-oriented person, as family is most important to me. I believe that if you asked anyone that I worked with that they would truly say this. I am blessed to have such an amazing wife, Julie (who is also in education) who is so supportive of me and stands behind me no matter what I might be wanting to do. We have two amazing kids, Shelby who is at Texas Tech, and Easton who is a junior at Rice High School. Without the support and love of these three, I would not be where I am today. I am an individual that believes in integrity, as this can define who you are. Are you willing to do the right thing even when nobody’s looking, this is what integrity is about. I am someone who is committed, once I have decided to do something, I am all in and will work to get that accomplished. I am also a very competitive person that just doesn’t like to lose, my family can definitely tell you that. I love sports as that is my background, hunting, going outdoors, spending time with my family, and running. I have completed two full marathons with another seven half-marathons. My wife is from Columbus and when we got married, we had always said that we would buy some land in the area, build our dream house, and retire in the country. Our original plan was to wait for our kids to graduate high school and then make the move, but about two years ago, I had decided that if I wanted to become Superintendent one day, that I would need some administration experience at the secondary level. My wife and I talked about it in depth and saw that the Rice High School Principal position opened and thought why not apply as this was the direction we always wanted to go. Things worked out with the position being offered to me and little did I know that I would become Superintendent soon after.”

Q: How does it feel to be the new Rice CISD Superintendent? How has the job been like for you so far?

A: “I truly feel blessed with this opportunity. To have the trust of the Board of Trustees to give me this opportunity is just amazing, and I am grateful for it. The job has been great as the first month on the job has really been spent getting to see the operations from a district level and not just at the campus level. One thing that has been beneficial, is that I have been in the district for a year, so community members have been able to see me and get to know who I am and what I am about.”

Q: What has the journey been like for you to get to this stage in your career as Rice CISD Superintendent?

A: “For an individual that went into college not thinking he would be in education and then to be a Superintendent is pretty amazing to me. As I was nearing the end of my college career and getting closer to graduation, I felt like something was missing. I had played college baseball, so sports were extremely important to me and the relationships that I had developed through the years between my teammates and coaches really spoke to me, so I decided that after I graduated, I would get my alternative teaching certification. As I began that process by enrolling in a program, I was able to be hired by a school district at the same time. I remember as I had just begun the program and having to do some pre-assignments, that a professor mentioned that maybe education wasn’t for me and to think about doing something different. Well, that resonated with me, as for one, I do not like to be told I cannot do something or “lose.” I took that comment to heart, and it helped motivate me to where I am today as a Superintendent. I have loved everything about my educational career, from building relationships with my coworkers, parents, and most importantly students.”

Q: Give me some of your background experience, where all have you worked?

A: “I started my teaching career in Premont ISD where I was a High School Biology teacher and a coach for football and baseball. I was there for three years and then my wife and I decided we needed to move closer to family as we had our daughter Shelby and just thought that would be best. We moved to Lockhart where I taught for one year in Lockhart ISD as a Junior high science teacher and coach. I then moved to Luling ISD where I was a biology teacher and coach for two years. I then decided to get out of coaching to be able to spend more time with my two kids. I taught one more year at Luling before we moved to San Antonio and began teaching at Medina Valley ISD as a Middle School Science teacher for 2 years. At this time I began working on my Masters in Education in School Administration. I then became the Assistant Principal at Castroville Elementary for one year and then became the Principal at Castroville for 10 years, which is in the Medina Valley ISD school district. This is when we made the decision to possibly relocate and was hired to be the Rice CISD High School Principal and then became the Superintendent.”

Q: How long have you been in education? Did you always envision becoming a Superintendent at some point?

A: “I am in my 22nd year of Education and honestly, when I first started teaching and coaching, I always thought I would be a Head Baseball coach somewhere and never thought of administration. As I got further into my educational career and talking with my wife Julie, I began to pursue my master’s and strived to be an administrator. After being a principal for several years, I had been talking to my current Superintendent at the time Dr. Kenneth Rohrbach, he really began to push me about exploring the options of being a Superintendent. I got to really watch him in his position and begin learning more and more and decided to get my Superintendent certification with the idea of becoming one at some point and here I am, fulfilling a dream.”

Q: What are your goals and ambitions as the new Rice CISD Superintendent?

A: “I want to continue to build upon the great things that have been going on at Rice CISD and showcase these to the surrounding areas. During my first year I would like to see how the district operates as a whole, because as of right now I have had most of my dealings at the high school level, and I want to get out and see the elementary schools, the intermediate schools, and the junior high in action. This will allow me to see the great things happening at these schools and to also see where areas we can improve upon. I also believe in trying to streamline processes so I will be evaluating ways to do this and to help alleviate items from teachers as they have a tough enough job already and if we can pull some items off their plates, I would love to be able to do that.”

Q: What have you learned from the previous Superintendent, Bill Hefner, as someone who was chosen directly by him?

A: “First of all, I have big shoes to fill when it comes to replacing Mr. Hefner. He has been with the district for a number of years and knows the ins and outs of the district, which is something that I will have to learn. I am fortunate to have worked with him for a year and got to see his approach to different situations, from working with parents to working with the Board of Trustees. This has been a great benefit for me, especially with being new to the area and district. On his last official day as being the superintendent, he left me a letter that included a “go to list of wisdom” that I will keep between me and him, but what he mentions in this list is the knowledge that he has gathered throughout his career and wanting to pass it along says great things about him and how he feels about this District. I am fortunate to have Mr. Hefner available to take my phone calls and his willingness to provide any advice or assistance as needed provides great comfort for myself.”