After 14 years of service in Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD and 31 years serving public education in Texas, Dr. Jim F. Chadwell announced today that he will retire as Superintendent of Schools.

“Throughout my 31-year career, I have enjoyed each part of my journey and have always been thankful to serve the children and communities in which I have worked,” Chadwell said. “I love serving the next generation as an educator and I am so proud that my family has had the opportunity to be a part of this remarkable school district community. I also have learned that you should listen to your heart when you feel you need to make a life change. After much reflection and prayer, I know this is the right decision at the right time.”

Chadwell will continue executing the full role and responsibilities of superintendent throughout the fall 2024 semester. At the request of the EMS ISD Board of Trustees, he will continue to work collaboratively with them throughout the search process for a new superintendent and will assist with the transition of leadership to ensure continuity with district goals and initiatives already in process. He will remain an employee of the district through January 31, 2025.

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank Dr. Chadwell for his many years of accomplished service, but also for the way he has led our district with bold purpose, heartfelt compassion, fearless advocacy, and a sincere desire to do what is right for our students, staff, families, and community,” said Dr. Marilyn Tolbert, Board President. “As one of the longest, consecutively serving superintendents in Texas, Dr. Chadwell is leaving a legacy of service that has positively impacted every facet of our district and touched lives throughout our community. He will be greatly missed.”

The Board is in the beginning phase of discussion about the superintendent search process. As the search plan is developed, it is their intention to provide opportunities for staff and community members to share input for consideration into their search for the next district leader. More details on the search process and input opportunities will be shared in the coming weeks.

As district teachers and staff prepare to welcome students to the 2024-2025 school year, the focus on meeting the educational needs of every child remains at the forefront of EMS ISD leaders.

“As a district, we have much to celebrate and much work to continue,” Tolbert said. “As we enjoy these next few months with Dr. Chadwell, the Board of Trustees is committed to working alongside him, the district’s Leadership Team, and our entire community to continue building the culture of excellence we strive for across EMS ISD.”

Opportunities to connect and celebrate the career of Dr. Chadwell will be provided later this fall.

About Dr. Jim F. Chadwell

Dr. Chadwell was born in Fort Worth and attended the Fort Worth and Birdville school districts, graduating from Richland High School. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees all from Texas Christian University. During his 31-year career in public education, he has served in various teaching and administrative roles including teacher, coach, high school principal, and executive director for elementary and secondary instruction in Northwest ISD. Prior to coming to EMS ISD as superintendent, he served as deputy superintendent for Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. His education leadership experiences also include a teaching internship in Hamburg, Germany, and Fulbright Scholarship in Altötting, Germany.

Chadwell has earned many honors during his career, including being selected as the 2023 Region 11 Superintendent of the Year and a top five state finalist, High School Principal of the Year by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals, TCU Excellence in Education Alumni Award recipient, Excellence in Educational Leadership Award recipient by the University Council for Educational Administration, and the Saginaw Citizen of the Year. Early in his career, he also was named the Star-Telegram Girls Soccer Coach of the Year for Dallas/Fort Worth and the District 11-5A Girls Soccer Coach of the Year. Throughout his service, he has been active with various civic and professional organizations. He currently serves as secretary of the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Education Foundation, board member of Blue Ribbon Schools, Inc., board member for Junior Achievement, board member for The Equity Center, advisory board member for Community Link Mission, and chairperson of the Board of Visitors of the College of Education at Texas Christian University. In addition, he holds a Lifetime membership in the Texas PTA and is an honorary member of the EMS Retired School Employee Association.

Chadwell is a lifelong education leader who believes in the power of public education as a great equalizer for all children, regardless of backgrounds or circumstances. He is a tireless advocate for Texas public schools and a champion for the 5.7-plus million children it serves. He and his wife, Julie, have been married for 26 years and they have two children, Graeson and Emerson, who both graduated from EMS ISD and now attend Texas A&M University.

Career Accomplishments

Chadwell will retire after serving the past 14 years as superintendent in Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD. During his tenure, the district has grown from 23 schools and 16,600 students to 31 campuses and a student enrollment of more than 23,800. Under his leadership, the district has worked to strategically plan for future growth while increasing programs and opportunities for students at all grade levels through a community-designed strategic plan, first known as Aspire 2012, with strategic updates in the 2022, 2025, and 2027 plans.

• He oversaw the passage of the 2017 and 2023 bond programs, for a total of $525.7 million and $561.1 million, respectively. These bond programs resulted in four new elementary schools, one new middle school and a replacement middle school campus, the district’s third and fourth high schools, a standalone career and technology center serving all high school campuses, a new administration multipurpose facility that includes the Discovery Lab Learning Center, additions to Boswell High School and the John Price Operations Center, and renovations to every facility across the school district.
• He led the implementation of the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Police Department, growing the program to provide a school-based law enforcement officer at every EMS ISD school and comprehensive safety and security support across the district.
• He oversaw the implementation of the LiiNK project at all elementary campuses, which incorporates opportunities throughout each school day for students to have unstructured play time, leading to increased focus on learning and student success.
• Under his direction, EMS ISD implemented a comprehensive technology improvement plan resulting in wifi being added to every campus, a robust network infrastructure, 1:1 devices for students, and interactive learning boards added to every classroom to enhance instruction.
• His leadership supported the implementation of an EMS ISD Athletic Strategic Plan, leading to the creation of additional middle school athletic opportunities and programming such as 6th grade Pre-Athletics courses and middle school soccer.
• Through his role as superintendent, he built connections with the Junior Achievement program that led to JA programming being offered at every school in the district. He also represented the EMS ISD district and community on the Junior Achievement Board of Directors.
• A tireless advocate for strategic community development, he spearheaded the Connect4Safety initiative to bring awareness and support for safe roads and passageways and better connectivity for motorists and pedestrians throughout the greater EMS ISD community. This has led to improved networking and partnerships with governmental agencies, improved community infrastructure, and proactive zoning planning. In addition, he has worked closely with the Northwest HOA Alliance to support positive growth in our community.
• Under Chadwell’s tenure, EMS ISD has consistently remained fiscally conservative, maintaining a balanced budget for many years, sustaining a strong fund balance, and navigating operational funding challenges brought on by state and federal mandates. Through proactive and focused management, the district has been able to refinance bond interest and utilize other bond financing strategies to save taxpayers $136 million during his term of service. Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD has consistently earned the highest financial rating of Superior Achievement on the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas.
• Previous to his time in EMS ISD, he started his career at Northwest High School and began the girls’ soccer team, which had district and playoff championships. In addition, he started both the AP Psychology program and German for the district.
• Upon becoming Northwest High School principal, he led a partnership with the German American Partnership Program, creating a sister school with Winterberg, Germany. This partnership followed him from Northwest to Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and then to Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD. Since then, all EMS ISD high school German programs have been involved with visiting and/or hosting Winterberg students for the last 11 years.
• Under Chadwell’s leadership as high school principal, Northwest High School was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2000 and an Intel and Scholastic 21st Century School of Distinction in 2005.
• He served as Northwest ISD’s first executive director in curriculum and instruction. Among his accomplishments was initiating a program evaluation of the Gifted and Talented program leading to districtwide improvements.
• In Grapevine-Colleyville as deputy superintendent, he worked closely with City of Grapevine to establish the district’s relationship with Linlithgow, Scotland, through the city’s Sister City program.
• In GCISD, he led an evaluation of the Career and Technology program, which resulted in the hiring of the district’s first CTE director and districtwide program improvements.
•  In GCISD, he also led an evaluation of the dyslexia program, which resulted in program improvements including changing the standard to recruit, train, and hire Certified Academic Language Therapists (CALTS) for the district. He continued this standard at EMS ISD.
• Before coming to EMS ISD, he served as interim superintendent in GCISD.