Ryder Warren, superintendent of Northwest ISD since 2016, formally submitted his retirement notice, effective June 30, 2022, to school board members at their Sept. 27 meeting. With the announcement, the board will soon begin a search for a new district leader.
Since arriving at Northwest ISD, Warren, who holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership degree from Texas Tech University, has championed initiatives that empower students to achieve personal success in their futures, the school system said in a news release.
Under his leadership, Northwest ISD has focused on key academic areas such as literacy as well as college, career, military and life readiness and continued to expand with successful bond packages passed in 2017 and 2020. The district has added between about 1,000 to 2,000 students a year during his tenure as superintendent.
At their meeting, the Northwest ISD Board of Trustees expressed their appreciation to Warren for his commitment to district students and the community at large.
“There is no way to express enough thanks to you for giving my family and me the opportunity to serve the children, the staff and the families of NISD,” Warren wrote in his retirement letter to the board.
Warren came to Northwest ISD after serving as superintendent of Midland ISD, Marble Falls ISD, Crane ISD and Thorndale ISD. He was previously a teacher, coach and principal before advancing into district administration ranks.
With Warren’s retirement effective at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, trustees will soon search for the next superintendent of Northwest ISD. A tentative timeline includes selecting a search firm at an upcoming board meeting before interviewing applicants in the second semester. A lone finalist will be named in the spring, with a state-mandated 21-day waiting period to follow before that person is officially hired.
Northwest ISD will post details of the superintendent search as decisions are made. A superintendent search section of the district website will be created when more information is released by trustees about their process, the news release said.