Karen Rue Retiring from TASA Executive Superintendent Team

Former TASA President Karen Rue is retiring from her work as a TASA executive superintendent as of June 30 but continuing to serve as an executive coach as part of the TASA Executive Coaching Network.

Rue has been part of TASA since the 1990s, when she joined the organization while working as an administrator in Katy ISD. Over the years her engagement in TASA made her a founding member of the Public Education Visioning Institute and the co-chair of the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium, and her leadership ability took her all the way to the top - she served as TASA's state president in 2015-16.

In 2019, three years after retiring from Northwest ISD, where she had served as superintendent for 11 years, Rue joined TASA as part of the "Superintendent-in-Residence" program, which evolved into the executive superintendent program in 2021.

Since then she has served as the TASA executive superintendent for Region 11, a part-time position through which she has continued to support public education and lend her experience and expertise to those who need it. She has said that the role has allowed her to give back to the organization that supported her during her years as an administrator.

Rue has been recognized many times during her 40-year career in education, which included several years as a professor of Educational Leadership at the University of North Texas and in the Baylor University School of Education. In 2016, she was named a finalist for AASA's Women in School Leadership Award. In 2014, she was named the Region 11 Superintendent of the Year, and she was selected to participate in Classroom Connectivity in Texas at the Governor's Mansion and in the Connected Superintendents Summit at the White House. She was also chosen as a finalist in the eSchool News Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards program, and named one of the nation's Top 50 Innovators in Education by the Center for Digital Education.

In addition to her involvement with TASA, Rue has served as president of the Urban Superintendents of America Association, the Fast Growth Schools Coalition, and the Texas Association of Suburban/Mid-Urban Schools. She also served as vice president for the Texas School Coalition.

"It has been an honor to work with such a strong leader as Karen Rue for more than two decades," said TASA Executive Director Kevin Brown. "Her work as a inspirational superintendent in multiple districts, as well as her leadership as president of TASA, and most recently, as a TASA executive superintendent, will have a ripple effect that will be felt for many years to come. Karen is a class act, a complete leader, and a dear friend. She deserves a happy and long retirement!"

Read more about Rue's continuing work as an executive coach.