Jill Gaston

Jill Gaston is Deputy Superintendent of Lufkin ISD, bringing extensive experience in educational leadership and instruction. She has spent her career across every level of school district leadership, from the classroom to district administration.

At Lufkin ISD, she leads student academic strategy, district-wide leadership development and the community relationships that support both. She previously served as the district’s Chief Financial Officer and as Superintendent of Wells ISD. A lifelong Lufkin native, Gaston began her career as a teacher and holds degrees from Texas A&M University and Lamar University.

Leadership Beyond the Job Title

Gaston strongly believes that every job title is a starting point for excellence. According to her, leadership is less about positioning oneself for the next title and more about making the current seat better through the work done in it.

At Lufkin ISD, she approaches each day as a utility player—going where she is needed, filling the gap that needs filling and maintaining a high standard of work in every situation. No two days look the same, and that, in her view, is exactly how district leadership should work.

Her responsibilities span student academics, classroom observations, data review, project execution and support for leaders across the district. She operates across these areas with an understanding that none functions independently. A decision made for students can affect teachers. A change in operations can influence campus leadership. A shift in one part of the district can create consequences elsewhere.

The systems-level perspective has become central to how Gaston leads. Instead of viewing each challenge in isolation, she looks at how the pieces fit together and how they can be made to work more fluidly.

Leading Through Communication and Collaboration

Two principles guide Gaston: reliable communication and genuine stakeholder involvement.

Communication is more than a leadership courtesy for her. It is part of the infrastructure that allows a school district to function effectively. Whether she is working with principals, teachers, parents, students or members of the community, her objective is to create understanding before change occurs.

“Leadership is ultimately less about positioning oneself for the next title and more about making the current seat better through the work done in it.”

When people know what is happening and understand why decisions are being made, they are less likely to be caught off guard. They can anticipate how the district may respond and not simply react when something changes.

That same philosophy informs how Gaston approaches decision-making. Bringing the right stakeholders to the table—whether they are leaders, educators or students—helps ensure that decisions made in one area do not unintentionally undermine another.

Her approach is grounded in collaboration rather than compartmentalization. Instead of guessing whether an individual department or initiative is working on its own, Gaston looks at whether the broader system is working together.

Her holistic view is particularly important in education, where academic excellence, student well-being, staff development and operational effectiveness are closely linked. For Gaston, leadership means recognizing the domino effect that one decision can create and thinking through those consequences before they become challenges.

Designing Systems That Work Together

Gaston's role frequently requires her to move from the strategic to the practical. She may review academic data and consider whether adjustments are needed at the classroom level, participate in observations and feedback cycles, work with district leaders on their development or help move a project from planning to execution.

The variety reinforces her belief that effective district leadership requires adaptability. Accordingly, she sees leadership as the willingness to step into whatever the organization needs.

She applies the same mindset to how she evaluates systems. Every process should ultimately contribute to a district in which students, educators and other stakeholders can operate effectively. Stakeholder input becomes an important safeguard against decisions being made in isolation. Gaston therefore emphasizes that the district systems complement one another.   According to her, this is what turns district leadership from managing individual functions into stewarding the entire organization.

Keeping Public Education Relevant for Tomorrow

Gaston’s systems perspective is becoming increasingly important as public education faces a changing landscape.

Across Texas and the nation, enrollment patterns are shifting as online schools, alternative approaches, and different methods of academic delivery give students and families more choices. Gaston believes districts must acknowledge that public education is no longer automatically the only path available.

She believes public education can and should be the best choice, but being the best choice requires districts to earn that position. Customer service, in her view, has become an increasingly important part of that equation. Families should experience a district that listens, responds and adapts to what they need.

For Lufkin ISD, the challenge is therefore not simply maintaining enrollment. It is understanding how expectations around education are changing and ensuring the district remains relevant to the students and families it serves.

That requires attention to the complete experience. Academic offerings matter, but so do relationships, communication, responsiveness and the district's ability to adapt. The quality of the system is ultimately reflected in how those elements come together.

“Bringing the right stakeholders to the table helps ensure that decisions made in one area do not unintentionally undermine another.”

Gaston sees the next several years as an important period of adaptation for public education. As families gain more options, districts will have to demonstrate their value more clearly and continuously. Staying on the forefront means paying attention to changing expectations and not just assuming that yesterday's approach will remain sufficient tomorrow.

Lead the Seat You Currently Own

If there is one lesson Gaston's leadership journey has reinforced, it is that the next position should never become more important than the current one.

Throughout her career, she did not allow her aspirations for future roles to distract her from the responsibilities of the position she occupied. That does not mean abandoning ambition. Rather, it means expressing ambition through excellence in the present.

Gaston encourages emerging leaders to be willing to learn, particularly when an opportunity takes them somewhere they did not expect to go. A role that does not initially fit a career plan can still provide valuable perspective, skills and insight.

That is why she embraces the idea of being a utility player. Stepping into different responsibilities creates a broader understanding of how an organization works and develops the adaptability required to lead it effectively. It also reinforces a learner's mindset, one that is open to different perspectives, new responsibilities and unfamiliar challenges.