AUSTIN. Texas – Temple ISD Superintendent Bobby Ott, Ed.D., has been selected by the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) as Texas’ nominee for 2023 National Superintendent of the Year, an award given by AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
Ott has served as superintendent of Temple ISD, a district of 8,600 students near Waco, since 2018. Prior to that, he served the district as assistant superintendent.
“[Temple] is a place where diversity is a given, inclusion is a deliberate choice, and our service is defined by compassion, love and innovation, and I am so proud to be there,” Ott says. “The number-one service you can provide your community, and that everyone in your community should know about their superintendent, is that you love their children. It’s that simple. If you love their children, you can bring people to the table.”
Ott’s prior administrative experience includes service in both Killeen and Copperas Cove ISDs as deputy superintendent and as director of literacy initiatives for The University of Texas System and director of statewide initiatives for the Texas Education Agency. He has also served as a middle school principal in Anson, Texas.
Ott earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Angelo State University and his doctorate of education in school administration from The University of Texas at Austin.
He currently serves on the TASA Executive Committee and has been a member of the association since 2013, serving on the TASA 2025 Task Force and several other committees. Ott is also part of the Holdsworth Center Leadership Academy and a member of the Texas Music Educators Association. Locally he serves as a board member for the Temple Economic Corp., Central Texas Workforce, Temple Education Foundation, Baylor Scott & White McLane Children’s Hospital and Temple Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Temple Chapter NAACP, Temple South Rotary Club and Temple Business League. Ott says he is most proud of serving as a Temple Wildcat Mentor.
In September 2022, following Ott’s selection as Region 12 Superintendent of the Year, the Texas Association of School Boards named him the 2022 Texas Superintendent of the Year. Now, as a state nominee for AASA National Superintendent of the Year, Ott will be considered by a panel of judges from across the U.S. that will select four finalists to be interviewed in January. The 2023 National Superintendent of the Year will be announced, and the state nominees honored, at AASA’s National Conference on Education, February 16-18, 2023, in San Antonio.
TASA is the professional association for Texas school superintendents and other administrators. The mission of the organization, which focuses on professional learning, advocacy and member engagement, is to promote, provide and develop leaders who create and sustain student-centered schools and develop future-ready students.