Shawn Lucena will be the next principal at Nacogdoches High School.
The Director of NISD’s Career and Technical Education Department said student achievement in the classroom will remain the cornerstone for NHS.
“The focus is student learning,” said Lucena, who takes over immediately at NHS. “Everything that we do – extra-curriculars, certifications – will be gauged by that.”
Lucena emphasized that the ultimate goal at NHS will be preparing students for success after graduation, something influenced by his time immersed in the district’s CTE program.
“Every student should have the opportunity to make more money than we do,” Lucena said. “So that means diplomas and certificates are not the end; they have to be the beginning.
“So, coming from the experience of CTE, we have to ask ourselves ‘What are we training them for and what are we sending out into the world?’ You cannot deny the finished product.
“And what I’m really focused on are these two questions: What are we providing them with, what are they going to be able to do with that?”
NISD Superintendent Grey Burton said Lucena is a great fit for Nacogdoches High School.
“Mr. Lucena will do an outstanding job leading NHS,” Burton said. “He’s been a great fit for our career and technical education department, and he knows our staff as well as the strengths of our student body.”
Lucena’s involvement with NISD began earlier when he spent 15 years with the district, first as a middle school science teacher and later on as an assistant principal at then Mike Moses Middle School. He left for two years to be principal at Mount Enterprise ISD, then returned in 2024 to take over the district’s CTE program.
Lucena is a 2007 graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He received a Master of Science degree in 2016 from the University of Texas-Arlington.