A desire to show her siblings that anything is possible and education is the key to success, Melissa Skinner went all out.
Skinner, a new executive director of leadership at Ector County ISD, was the first in her family to graduate with a bachelor’s, master’s and PhD.
She earned her bachelor’s in elementary education from Northwestern University, her master’s in administration and supervision from Southeastern Louisiana University and her doctorate in curriculum and teaching from Northcentral University.
Skinner’s dad had a seventh-grade education and her mother graduated from high school. Her dad worked in radio and TV all over the country. She spent her high school years in East Texas.
She and her husband, Michael, have been married almost 29 years. They had two children. Their daughter, Brinkley, passed away at 18 in 2019 from a very rare aggressive cancer.
Their son, Carter, is 20 and plans to enter college at University of Texas Permian Basin.
Michael is the new principal at Austin Montessori School.
“When I decided to get my doctorate after being out a school for a long time, my focus changed to paving the way for my own children to know that they can do anything in life and to motivate them to shoot for the stars. As far as why I choose education specifically, I always wanted to be a teacher. I use to make my sister sit at the desk or line up my dolls and I would ‘play’ teacher for hours. My passion was teaching thriving readers how to be strategic independent readers,” Skinner said.
She has two brothers and one sister. Her sister became a nurse practitioner. One of my brothers went to barber school and other to welding school.
Skinner was deputy superintendent at Cleveland ISD before arriving in Odessa.
Cleveland is a district of about 12,000 students and was considered the fastest growing district in Texas.
A majority of Skinner’s experience is in curriculum and she has served in many roles for districts — teacher, assistant principal, principal, chief academic officer and many others.
Skinner also worked for the Texas Education Agency in school improvement.
What drew her to ECISD was Superintendent Scott Muri.
“… Dr. Muri has so many innovative ideas and partnerships. I am starting my 28th year in education and I wanted to come be a part of a progressive, innovative district to grow and learn. The job description sparked my interest because my passion is supporting principals to reach their goals so they can create a successful environment for our scholars,” Skinner said.
Her goals are go connect and build relationships with ECISD principals.
“I want to provide intentional and meaningful feedback, so that each principal can reach their prioritized goals they set for the year,” Skinner said.
Skinner will oversee 11 schools including two early childhood centers, elementary and high school. She doesn’t have a middle school.
Chief of Schools Keeley Boyer is pleased to have Skinner on board.
“Dr. Skinner has extensive leadership experience in districts across the state. Her background in school improvement and instruction will be great assets to our school leaders,” Boyer said.
