EARLY – The hiring of the new Early ISD Superintendent became official Wednesday morning during a special called meeting of the Board of Trustees, and Dr. Joan Otten is eager to begin her new role.

Otten’s career in education began in a small town at Class 2A Kerens, located about an hour southeast of Dallas, and returning to those roots is one of the reasons that Early appealed to her.

“I like small towns, I like small schools, I like the community and I like the way traditions and values are centered around the schools for the community and that drew me,” Otten said. “I grew up in small towns, I’ve always been in them so I wanted to get back to that.”

Otten is a 20-plus year veteran in education as she started teaching English at Kerens High School and then Corsicana High School. She has also served as the Associate Principal at Mabank High School and English and Social Studies Curriculum Director for Corsicana ISD. Recently, Dr. Otten has been in the Katy ISD in the role of GT and Advanced Academics Director.

As for why she believes Early was the right destination for her, Otten said, “I have a lot of experiences with all sizes of schools. Those experiences, along with my small town values, make me a really good fit here. I can bring in some new ideas and some thoughts from the bigger areas, but then keep those small town values.”

Otten’s first day on the job will be Monday, July 29, and her vision is to guide Early ISD, “into excellence.”

“We have a lot of good things going on here,” Otten said. “Just in the little time I’ve been here I’ve seen some things that are so wonderful that I would never change. There’s some really good people here and the school board loves this district. I want to continue on with that and grow into excellence and even better things.”

The highlights of Early ISD, for Otten, include, “The commitment that the people everywhere around here have for this school. They tell me we have great people and great staff and great, great kids. That excitement and positivity is really exciting for me.”

Regarding any potential areas for change or further development for Early ISD, Otten said, “We’re just going to love on our people and give them the confidence and the autonomy to do the job they know they can do and I know they can do or they would not be in the position they’re in, and support them in every way possible. But for the first bit I’m just going to be sitting back and watching and learning about Early and the processes and traditions here. Then we’ll get together as a team and decide what are the hot points, what do we need to change and what do we need to keep the same.”

On July 3, EISD announced Otten was the lone finalist for the position.

Lloyd Treadwell has served as Early’s interim superintendent since the departure of Dr. Dewayne Wilkins, who took a position with the Lubbock ISD, in February.