Two Spring ISD Board Trustees — one new and one incumbent — were administered the oath of office Thursday at the opening of the board work session.

Incumbent Rhonda Newhouse will continue to serve in Position 5, and Winford Adams, Jr., will fill Position 4, which was held by Rhonda Faust who retired this month. 

The ceremony drew family and friends of both the trustees, who took their seats right after the oath of office. “I’m just really excited about the opportunity to help the district improve outcomes for students and families,” Adams said earlier in the evening. “I’m anxious to get to work.”

Immediately following the swearing in ceremony, the seven-member panel elected their leadership team, voting to name Rhonda Newhouse as president, Jana Gonzalez as vice president, Donald Davis as secretary, and Justine Durant, as assistant secretary. The trustees will serve one-year terms in their leadership positions.

In assuming her new role as board president, Newhouse thanked her co-trustees for the honor. She also welcomed Adams to the board and thanked his friends and family for coming out to support him.

Adams joins the board as a professional educator with 15 years’ experience. He and his wife Angela are also the parents of three current Spring ISD students.

A first-generation college graduate, Adams received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley and then served two years as a Teach for America corps member in South Louisiana before embarking on his own professional teaching career at schools in Austin and, later, Houston. In his current role, he serves as Public Information and Policy Manager for the Harris County Department of Education.

Newhouse was sworn in for a full second term after being appointed to the Board of Trustees in July 2014 to fill a vacancy in Position 5.  She was first elected to the board in November 2014, and has over 40 years of experience in education, which includes serving as a teacher, counselor and campus administrator. She is a long-time supporter of Spring ISD and serves on the Spring ISD Education Foundation Board of Directors.

She currently works as the Field Supervisor of Principals and Counselor Certification Internship at Prairie View A&M University.