Debra Cantú serves as an Associate Professor of Practice and Co-Director of the Texas Principal Leadership Academy at the University of Texas in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy. She serves as Special Assistant for District Partnerships to support the College of Education, as she collaborates with district partners to recruit and develop well- prepared educators. Cantú serves as an advisor for graduate students and supports authentic experiences, which provides an optimal blend of theory and practice. She is the chair of the Texas Program Improvement Network in collaboration with principal preparation programs across the state to foster practices to improve program design and implementation aligned to Quality Measures Domains and Texas Principal Standards to positively impact principal preparation.
In 2024, Cantú became the holder of the Maxine Foreman Zarrow Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Education. In 2022, Cantú earned the Dean's Distinguished Career Faculty Award and was nominated for the President's Associates Graduate Teaching Excellence Award. She is the recipient of the UT Principal Program Servant Leadership Award in 2018, 2020 and 2021, 2023 given to a faculty member who demonstrates exemplary service and committed leadership to the principal program.
Prior to joining the UT College of Education faculty, she supervised principals and identified critical areas regarding leadership development that is addressed in the UTAPP program. She is a former teacher, assistant principal, principal, Director of Middle Schools, Director of PK-8 and Chief Academic Officer. She served as a Regional Director and valued this experience to engage in national practices regarding school governance, hiring practices, school finance, leadership development, aspiring principal programs, curriculum and instruction and assessment (Common Core and Texas accountability) and outside resource agency partnerships.
Cantú is a first generation college graduate and attended the University of Texas at Austin with the opportunity to earn her Bachelors, Masters in Educational Administration and Ph. D. in Policy and Planning. Her interests include leadership implications, social justice, American race policy, English Language Learners, leadership development and instructional improvement systems. She joined the UT Austin faculty in 2015 and enjoys outdoor adventures with her husband Robert Henning.
Ph.D.
in Policy and Planning in Educational Administration, University of Texas at Austin, 2013
Ed.M.
in M. Ed. - Masters in Educational Administration, University of Texas at Austin, 2001
B.M.
in Bachelors of Music Education, University of Texas at Austin, 1992
Leadership Development
*Develops PK-12 school leaders. Designs and coordinates learning objectives, knowledge development, and effective practices for graduate students to apply theory into practice in their internship based on the following learning outcomes:
*Develop Capacity for Teaching and Learning Excellence
*Advocate for and Ensuring Equitable Support Systems for All
*Build Executive Leaders to Promote Ethical Policies and Practices
*Partner Authentically and Equitably with Families and Communities
Curriculum and School Improvement
*Leads and develops curriculum content, scope and sequence, standards alignment and performance assessments for higher education and school district curriculum.
*Diagnose problems and challenges using school data, research and planning, implementation and progress monitoring and reflection.
Improvement Science
*Identify the Problem
*Analyze the Problem and Diagnose Its Causes
*Develop a Theory of Action
*Design the Strategy
*Plan for Implementation
*Implement the Strategy
*Assess Progress
*Adapt and Modify for Continuous Improvement
Certification
*Leads policies, practices and designs systems required by Texas Education Agency for admissions, clinical experiences and certification for the program and department.
School District Partnerships
*Building a Partnership
*Co-designing curriculum
*Collaboration and Planning
*Implementation and Progress Monitoring
Executive Coaching
*Design
*Implementation
*Strategic Planning
*Progress Monitoring
Chair,
UT High School Advisory Board, UT High School Special Purpose District (2024 - 2026)
Affiliate,
Texas Center for Equity Promotion, College of Education (2024)
Committee Member,
Dean's Promising Scholars Committee, College of Education (2024)
Coach and Facilitator for Quality Measures Facilitators,
Team of Facilitators, Quality Measures Center (2024)
Special Assistant for District Partnerships,
College of Education, University of Texas at Austin (2023)
Committee Member,
ELP Dept Faculty Search Committee, College of Education (2023 - 2024)
Chair,
Texas Quality Measures Program Improvement Network, (2022)
Committee Member,
COE Faculty Development Award Committee, College of Education (2022 - 2024)
Advisory Board Member,
UT High School District Advisory Board, UT High School District (2022)
Management Board Member,
UT Elementary School Management Board, UT Elementary School (2022)
Project Coordinator,
Carnegie Corporation of NY and Gates Foundation Grant Committee, College of Education, UT Austin (2021 - 2022)
Leadership Fellow,
Leadership Team, College of Education, UT Austin (2021 - 2022)
Faculty Co-Chair,
Executive Board, Hispanic Faculty and Staff Association, UT Austin (2021 - 2022)
Committee Member,
Ethics Flag Committee, The School of Undergraduate Studies (2021 - 2023)
Co-Chair,
Professional Schools and MA programs and Continuing Education, University of Texas at Austin (2020)
Faculty Co-Chair Elect,
Executive Board, Hispanic Faculty and Staff Association, UT Austin (2020 - 2021)
Plenum Session Representative,
PSR Committee, University Council for Education Administration (2020 - Present)
Project Manager,
UT Early Career Fellowship Task Force, College of Education, UT Austin (2020 - Present)
Recorder,
Executive Board, Hispanic Faculty and Staff Association, UT Austin (2019 - 2020)
Co-Director,
Texas Principal Leadership Academy, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy (2018 - Present)
Maxine Foreman Zarrow Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Education
- College of Education (2024)
Nominee for President's Associates Graduate Teaching Excellent Award
- University of Texas at Austin (2023 - 2023)
Excellence in Education Award
- Greater Southwest Optimist (2023)
Dean's Distinguished Career Faculty Award
- College of Education, UT Austin (2022)
Servant Leadership Award
- Texas Principal Leadership Academy (2021)
Servant Leadership Award
- Texas Principal Leadership Academy (2020)
Servant Leadership Award
- Texas Principal Leadership Academy (2018)
