The Waco ISD School Board voted Friday to officially offer Dr. Tiffany Spicer the position of superintendent following Dr. Susan Kincannon’s retirement. Spicer’s contract covers the next four school years and has an annual salary of $234,000.
When Dr. Tiffany Spicer was at UT Austin studying social work, she never imagined that she would one day be a teacher, let alone the future superintendent of Waco ISD. She just wanted to help people.
"I just knew I was going to be that person when I was in school," she said.
While in college, her mom suggested she get alternative teacher certification – just in case.
"I was like, no Mom, I’m good. So I didn’t listen and I probably should have because guess who went back and got alt certified … me," she said.
Spicer never actually became a social worker. She became a stay-at-home mom to her two daughters. Eventually, she did decide to get her alternative certification. Her goal was to be a principal – and be a good one too.
Until her superintendent suggested a different route.
"He called me into his office and he was like, ‘listen, you need to be a superintendent. I’m going to introduce you to some women superintendents that are doing the work'," Spicer said.
She was still a bit hesitant, but decided to go ahead and get her doctorate from Texas A&M University.
She started looking at Waco ISD just before Dr. Susan Kincannon was hired, but she wasn’t quite ready to be a superintendent. So she worked her way through various admin positions, Eventually, landing as the superintendent for Buna ISD in East Texas.
As a leader, she focused on listening to the needs of her students.
"For me there’s a statement: seek to understand, and that’s so important because it tells a story. If you ask questions and you listen, you’ll learn so much," she said. "Kiddos will tell you what they want. They’ll tell you what they need, right? And so we kind of didn’t use our voices like that back in the day."
But the whole time, she still kept an eye on Waco.
"But when the retirement of Dr. Kincannon was announced, I was like, 'should I consider it?'," she said. "I was like you know what I think I’m going to put my name in, all they can tell me is no right?"
Spicer said each of her previous positions came with its own diverse student population and unique challenges. But each of those challenges, she says, has made her a better leader.
"My lens is you look at the whole system and see how to make it kind of all the pieces in the puzzle come together to make it work for your staff, for your families," Spicer said.
And although a lot has changed in the twenty years she’s been an educator, she said the mission is still the same.
"Our job is to take care of the students," she said.
Dr. Spicer’s first day will be October 15. While most first days consist of paperwork and meetings, Spicer said she spend the day where she is happiest.
"I will be in somebody’s classroom, seeing the kiddos, seeing the teachers, seeing the work. That’s my happy place."
