Lamar Consolidated ISD’s Superintendent Roosevelt Nivens has been selected by the Texas Association of School Administrators as the Texas nominee for the 2026 National Superintendent of the Year, according to a Nov. 6 news release.

The award is given annually by The School Superintendents Association, or AASA.

“It really speaks to the phenomenal work of our young people, teachers and staff,” he said at the Nov. 6 Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce State of the Schools event. “I just appreciate them allowing me to share the story of the district.”

The background

In September, Nivens was named the 2025 Texas Superintendent of the Year by TASA, Community Impact reported. He received the same award for Region 10 in 2019 while serving as the Community ISD superintendent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Since his appointment in 2021, Nivens has overseen the district’s “hypergrowth” status through several initiatives, including:

• Overseeing the passage of billion-dollar bonds in November 2022 and November 2025 to open new campuses across the district
• Expanding career and technical education programming, including the district’s new center slated to open in fall 2026
• Strengthening professional learning communities to increase teacher retention, in particular with the innovative school day
• Exceeding state peers in career, college and military readiness

During his tenure at LCISD, he has been recognized by the National Alliance of Black School Educators and the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, per the release.

In 2024, he was elected vice president of TASA, where he currently serves as president-elect and will lead the organization in 2026-27.

In his words

Nivens’ passion for ensuring that students have choices and opportunities stems from his belief in the power of “speaking life,” shaped by his own experience of having a teacher believe in him when he was struggling as a student, according to the release.

"Every day you walk into the boardroom, every day you walk into the office, every day you walk into the classroom, remember there’s a young person in there that is thirsty and hungry for you to see them and to help them,” he said. “That’s what we do as educators. This is our purpose. And our purpose isn’t what we do. Our purpose is what happens to others when we do what we do."

Moving forward

A national panel of judges will review state nominees and choose four finalists before the AASA National Conference on Education, taking place Feb. 12-14, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee, where the winner will be revealed, according to the release.