Canutillo Independent School District

Dr. Pedro Galaviz

Dr. Pedro Galaviz is a committed educator who cares deeply for the greater Canutillo and El Paso communities. Upon his appointment as Superintendent of the Canutillo Independent School District in May 2013, he immediately relocated his family from the Round Rock Independent School District in the Austin area where he served as Director of Secondary Education. Since then, he has overseen the successful completion of $32 million in capital improvement projects, including the new Congressman Silvestre and Carolina Reyes Elementary School, the new Gymnasium and Fine Arts Center at Alderete Middle School, the new Auxiliary Gymnasium at Canutillo High School, and the new cafeteria at Northwest Early College High School.

Recently, under Dr. Galaviz’s vision and direction, Canutillo ISD has made great strides in its mission to provide high quality educational experiences that will inspire and prepare all students to apply the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective leaders and productive citizens. In 2017, Canutillo ISD made the Educational Results Partnership and the Institute for Productivity in Education, Honor Roll District list, as one of only 11 school districts in the state of Texas and the only one in El Paso County. And, Northwest Early College High School, Alderete Middle School and Reyes Elementary School were also honored as Star Honor Roll Schools.

Academically, Canutillo schools soared to success. The District received 28 distinction designations in the latest report from the state accountability system. Canutillo High School and Canutillo Middle School achieved T-STEM Academy designations making the District one of only a few in the state of Texas to have a 6th-12th grade T-STEM track. The newly formed Medical Academy at Alderete Middle School began preparing 6th-8th grade students for success in the medical field of study.

Students have reaped the rewards of the District’s success. The CHS and Northwest Class of 2018 will signed their commitments to universities and colleges across the nation receiving more than $10 million dollars in academic scholarships and aid. Northwest boasted El Paso’s only semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship Program in 2016 and one Canutillo High School senior was selected as a Gates Scholar and became a member of the Gates Scholarship Inaugural class of 2018.

Northwest Early College High School made the U.S. News & World Report's list of Best High Schools in the country 2016 and 2017. And, most recently, Northwest has been nominated by the Texas Education Agency for the 2018 National Blue Ribbon School honor in the Exemplary High-Performing category. The Blue Ribbon School nomination represents yet another achievement that places Canutillo ISD and its schools among the best in the nation.

Dr. Galaviz began his career as an elementary bilingual teacher in the Dallas Independent School District. During his 10 years at DISD, he served as an elementary assistant principal for two years, an elementary principal for five years, and a high school principal for one year. He has a strong knowledge of current research and applies this research in his practices. His leadership skills were honed during his effort to restructure two elementary schools and one high school due to unsatisfactory academic performance at DISD.

During his five-year tenure at Round Rock ISD, 12 of the 13 Round Rock secondary campuses earned recognized and exemplary ratings for the 2009-2010 school year, two high schools earned spots in the annual Best High School list compiled by U.S. News & World Report and eight middle schools and four high schools received gold performances for high achievement on state assessments.

Dr. Galaviz’s professional certifications include Superintendent, Mid-Management Administrator, Elementary Bilingual/ESL-Spanish, Elementary Self-Contained, and Texas Teacher Appraisal System. His professional organizations include the American Association of School Administrators, Association for Latino Administrators and Superintendents, Texas Association of School Administrators, International Reading Association, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. He is also the author of, “Principals’ Perceptions of Their Own Professional Development,” published by the University of Texas at Austin, May 2011.

Dr. Galaviz earned a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in elementary education from Texas State University in San Marcos and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin.




Dr. Pedro Galaviz
Superintendent of Schools
pgalaviz@canutillo-isd.org