San Angelo ISD Names Dethloff the Sole Finalist for Superintendent

An air of excitement rose in the board room of the SAISD Administration building on Monday evening, when after a brief pause in executive session, the board of trustees announced the sole finalist for the superintendent position that has been occupied by Dr. Carol Ann Bonds for the past eight years.

Many rising to their feet with smiles and applause, Dr. Carl Dethloff was introduced as the board’s selection, one of three internal applicants seeking to fill the job.

Emphasizing that all of the applicants were highly qualified, board member Lanny Layman explained how Dethloth was chosen as the finalist.

“We decided to have Dr. Dethloff as the sole finalist because of his combined expertise of central office familiarity, his experience at other districts, and his facilitation of new programs while at San Angelo ISD,” he said. “While all three candidates are highly qualified for this position, the board feels at this time that Dr. Dethloff’s qualifications make him our best choice."

Beaming from the announcement and the gratulatory hugs and handshakes that followed, Dethloff said he was excited about the prospect of becoming the district’s new superintendant and continuing to build upon the progress facilitated by Dr. Carol Ann Bonds.

But those shoes, he said, will be hard to fill. “And I certainly know that I’m a ‘green horn’ superintendent. But our focus on student achievement will not change and we will continue the upward trajectory of moving things forward for kids.”

Dethloth has 23 years experience teaching in Texas schools, and has been with the SAISD for the past six years and is currently serving as the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Staff Development. He’s worked closely with Dr. Bonds over the years and will continue to do so for the next four months until he officially takes the helm on Sept. 1, the day following her official retirement.

A College Station native, Dethloff met Dr. Bonds 16 years ago when she interviewed him for to be one of her high school principals in Rogers. His oldest daughter, who is 16 now, was only two weeks old at the time.

“We went to the interview with baby in hand,” he said. The experience persuaded Dethloff and his wife that that moment was not a good time to relocate with a two-week-old baby.

Dr. Bonds liked Dethloff from that interview and kept in contact throughout the years.

“We shared our own educational experiences with each other, and I knew that eventually I wanted to be under her leadership and vision some day,” he said. That opportunity occurred six years ago when Bonds hired Dethloff at San Angelo ISD, he said.

During his tenure here, he has conducted over 2,200 documented class-room walk-through observations and has designed and facilitated the District's New Teacher Academy.

Prior to coming to San Angelo, Dr. Dethloff served as principal of three different campuses in College Station, garnering such awards as the Texas Business and Education Coalition Honor Roll award and the Texas Monthly Top Performing Schools in Texas award, while leading two campuses to a Texas Education Agency exemplary rating.

Dr. Dethloff holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree from Austin College.  He earned his doctorate at Texas A & M University.

Dr. Dethloff is a member of First United Methodist Church, where he serves on the Board of Trustees and is also a board member of San Angelo Civic Ballet.  He and his wife, Judy, have two daughters, Abbey and Caroline, who are students in San Angelo ISD.