Belen native has been named Superintendent of the Year

The Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents awarded Dr. Arsenio Romero, superintendent of Deming Public Schools and Belen native, the National ALAS Superintendent of the Year Award.

“I am very honored to be recognized by my peers for this award. This was possible because of the hard work of the Deming Public Schools teachers, principals, community, and students. Deming Public Schools is being recognized on a national level for our work with Latinx students. I look forward to what the future brings,” said Romero.

ALAS is a national coalition of public school leaders from around the country. The focus of ALAS is to provide leadership that assures every school in America effectively serves the educational needs of all students with an emphasis on Latinx youth, by building capacity, promoting best practices, and transforming educational institutions.

Romero was nominated by his peers and competed with nominees from across the nation. All nominees were required to meet the qualification for Latinx Superintendent and or Latinx Serving School District Superintendent.

The requirements are as follows: 25 percent or more of the student population in the school district must be Latinx in order to qualify, as a nominee. An ALAS state affiliate is required to make the nomination on behalf of the superintendent, they select. Nominations are submitted to the National Level Organization in Washington, D.C.

“ALAS seeks to bring recognition and highlight those superintendents who are making a strong impact in closing the achievement and opportunity gaps for all Latinx students,” said Cynthia Pandurini, of national ALAS organization. “Dr. Romero has been instrumental in making this happen.”

The nominees were scored by a selection committee based on their work and evidence. The selected superintendent must show evidence in each of the following areas.

1. Be committed to student excellence;

2. Have programs designed to meet the academic and social needs of all students, with an emphasis on Latinx students; and

3. Have firm ties to parents and the community.

Romero graduated from Belen High School in 1992. He taught in Belen for a few years at Rio Grande Elementary while working on his master’s degree at The University of New Mexico, and one year at Gil Sanchez Elementary. He received his PhD from New Mexico State University.

Previous to becoming superintendent in Deming in the summer of 2017, Romero was the assistant superintendent in the Roswell Independent School District.

Romero’s parents are Frank Romero and Mary Romero, who was a teacher at H.T. Jaramillo Elementary in Belen for more than 20 years. Romero and his wife, Amber, have four children, Taylor, 20, Joseph, 16, Adeline, 9, and Andru, 8.