Cedar Hill Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Gerald Hudson grew up in Dallas, attended Skyline High (one of the first Dallas area schools to have an Engineering Academy) and originally planned to become an Engineer. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and a minor in Electrical Engineering.

Public education appealed to him because he saw the positive impact that he could have on scholars, and that “lightbulb, a-ha” moment when a scholar grasps a concept or lesson.

When he began his educational career as a math teacher and basketball coach in Garland ISD, becoming a Superintendent wasn’t on Hudson’s radar. 

Two factors influenced his current career choice – he realized the opportunity to positively affect more and more scholars and educators. Secondly, he received encouragement from principals and district-level administrators along the way.

He served as a principal at Lakeview Centennial High School College and Career Magnet and as an assistant principal at both Naaman Forest High School and Hudson Middle School. He became an Area Director at Garland ISD, supervising 20 campuses and more than 11,000 scholars.

For 2.5 years, he was the superintendent of Jasper ISD, a Class 4A district in southeast Texas before becoming CHISD’s Superintendent in July 2019.

Along the way, he received Master’s and Doctorate Degrees from Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Hudson takes the same encouragement he received from mentors and applies it to teachers, principals and administrators within the district.

His leadership philosophy emphasizes “coaching people to excellence, supporting them and ensuring that there’s no gap between his expectations and their performance.”

Hudson firmly believes that the “Superintendency” – the Superintendent’s Executive Cabinet’s accomplishments are more important than the individual “Superintendent.” He is a strong proponent of teamwork.

That is why he is so enthusiastic about the five-year partnership with the Holdsworth Center. It is about leadership development and ensuring that every employee in the district has a path to leadership.

Hudson has worked closely with the CHISD Board of Trustees on Lone Star Governance (LSG) and ensuring that the district is achieving scholar outcome goals, in turning scholars’ dreams into reality.

Several developments have helped toward those goals – Cedar Hill ISD recently received a nearly $2 Million Grant from the Texas Instruments (TI) Foundation and Educate Texas that will transform the District and community through STEMSpired.

During Hudson’s time, Cedar Hill ISD has signed historic partnerships with local universities – Tarleton State University and Texas A&M-Commerce.

Earlier this year, Hudson was presented with the Humanitarian Award by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).

Hudson was recently elected to the AASA, The School Superintendents Association and the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) Advocacy Committee.

Hudson enjoys playing golf, running and spending time with his wife, SchRhonda, and seven children.