Texarkana ISD Leaders Help Shape Elementary Education Across Texas

Elodia Witterstaetter and Liliana Luna selected for Texas Elementary Principals
and Supervisors Association Region 8 leadership roles

A school leader's work rarely stops at the campus doors. For two Texarkana ISD educators, that work will now extend across Region 8 and connect them with school leaders throughout Texas.

Elodia witterstaetter

Elodia Witterstaetter has been selected to serve as the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA) Region 8 President for 2026–2027, while Liliana Luna will serve as a TEPSA Region 8 Leader during the same year.

The appointments provide Witterstaetter and Luna with an opportunity not only to represent Texarkana ISD, but also to learn alongside educational leaders from across the state, exchange ideas and innovative practices, and bring those experiences home to benefit TISD students, staff, and campuses.

“Leadership is about continuing to learn while also being willing to share what you have learned with others, ” said Christy Tidwell, Chief of Elementary Schools. “Elodia and Liliana exemplify that kind of leadership. We are proud that their colleagues recognize what we already know: their knowledge, commitment, and passion for students make them valuable voices in education.”

Their service also reflects something larger happening within TISD: educators growing as leaders while helping others grow alongside them. As Region 8 President, Witterstaetter will take on a leadership role within the professional organization, connecting with other elementary principals and supervisors and helping strengthen the network of educators serving Texas students.

Luna's service as a Region 8 Leader will similarly provide opportunities to collaborate with colleagues, develop leadership skills, and engage with current educational trends and practices. For TISD, those experiences come back to the district.

Liliana Luna

Ideas shared in a conversation with another principal, an innovative practice discovered through a statewide connection, or a new approach to an educational challenge can all find their way back into local schools, strengthening the work already happening for Texarkana students.

In notifying the district of the appointments, TEPSA Executive Director Harley Eckhart emphasized that the organization views professional engagement as a hallmark of instructional leadership and noted that Witterstaetter's and Luna's service will strengthen both TEPSA and Texarkana ISD.

For more than a century, TEPSA has worked to connect and support Texas PK–8 school leaders. The member-owned, member-governed association currently represents approximately 6,000 members who collectively serve more than 3 million Texas PK–8 students.

For Witterstaetter and Luna, the new roles provide an opportunity to contribute to that larger community while continuing the work that matters most at home. Their leadership may be reaching farther across Texas this year, but the lessons, relationships, and ideas they gain along the way will come right back to Texarkana ISD.