Jason Rowland was recently unanimously elected Superintendent by the Bossier Parish School Board. Rowland said he is excited about the opportunity to lead more than 1,560 teachers, 1,340 full-time staff and 22,400 students at Bossier’s 34 public schools.
During his 31 years as an educator, Rowland has been a coach, a teacher, an assistant principal, a principal and an assistant superintendent under former Bossier Superintendent Mitch Downey. His family has a long history of supporting public education.
“Both of my grandmothers worked in the Webster Parish School System (WPSS). My grandfather drove a school bus,” said Rowland. “My late uncle Richard Noles worked his way up from teacher to Superintendent of WPSS. My late mother Mary Nell Russell was a teacher, my brother Johnny Rowland is Superintendent of WPSS, and my sister Carrie Woodard teaches at Lakeside Junior/Senior High School.”
Rowland’s wife Marla teaches at Benton Intermediate School. The couple have two daughters, Madison (a physical therapist) and Rheagan (a registered nurse), and a granddaughter, Remi, with a second grandchild expected in February. He has a degree in history from the University of Arkansas, where he met his wife, and a master’s in educational leadership from Centenary College.
Rowland plans to “expand the brand that we are blessed to serve. Our ability to offer an awesome educational experience for students and staff is paramount. This will be paralleled with our effort to grow our schools internally by identifying where we can improve and what it will take to make this happen. There will not be a lot of visible change on the surface, but what is happening beneath the surface is already in motion. We want Bossier Schools to be the place to be.”
“My wife and I are fitness junkies,” he said. “We believe in a consistent workout program. I was a runner at one time before an Achilles tear that allowed me to get into other forms of exercise. I love to ride my bicycle in the hills of Rocky Mount and use an elliptical to stay in shape.”
Rowland teaches Sunday School at Cypress Baptist Church and has done missionary work in Romania, Honduras, and India. “My faith is the bedrock of who I am. This is the key to our success whether it be in our educational careers, our personal lives, and our ministry.”
“My hobbies revolve around deer hunting in the fall and working in my shop. I love to take old things and restore them. Several pieces are on display at our home. I have redone a ‘turning plow’ and a ‘cultivator’ used by my grandfather on his farm in the 1930s.”
“My educational career started in Pottsboro, Texas, where I taught Texas history and coached every sport that was offered,” said Rowland. “In 1995, I was named the head baseball coach at Airline High School where I also assisted with football, and taught civics, world history, and world geography. I moved into administration in 2001 as an assistant principal at Benton High School. My profession is the conduit I have been afforded to impact the lives of those that I serve.”