Dawson Orr was known as an articulate, thoughtful and respected leader. He has served as president of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), chairperson of TASA's legislative committee, and president of the Texas Leadership Center Board. He was named Superintendent of the Year by Communities in Schools in 2008 and Key Communicator of the Year by the Texas School Public Relations Association in 2005. He continues to serve as a member of TASA's legislative committee and the Visioning Institute, a study group made up of educational leaders focusing on school district redesign. Dr. Tom Trigg Dr. Tom Trigg became the eighth and current superintendent for Highland Park Independent School District on June 22, 2015. He replaced Dr. Dawson Orr, who retired after nearly eight years with the district. Dr. Trigg was previously the superintendent of Blue Valley Unified School District in Overland Park, Kansas for 11 years. Dr. Trigg was featured as one of Education Week's 2015 Leaders to Learn From, and he was also named the 2011 Kansas Superintendent of the Year and one of four finalists for the National Superintendent of the Year. Dr. Trigg's contract keeps him with HPISD through June 30, 2022. Academics In 2016, the Moody Foundation presented Highland Park ISD with a grant of $5.8 million () to fund Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education in the district. The district named the initiative the Moody Innovation Institute to bring a focus on STEAM education to all students in the district. HPISD hired Dr. Geoffrey Orsak, former Dean of SMU's Lyle School of Engineering, to serve as the Executive Director of the Moody Innovation Institute in March 2017. Currently, plans are in the offing to use part of the funds to create a redesigned internship experience for students at Highland Park High School. Teachers across the District have formed a joint Design Team to implement the Moody Innovation Institute's programs in classrooms. HPISD offers an elementary school Spanish learning program in each of its four elementary schools. The overall program is called Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES), but since Spanish is the main focus of the FLES program another name is often used: Passport to Spanish. Passport to Spanish begins second-language Spanish instruction for all HPISD students at the Kindergarten level and runs through fourth grade. During the 2016–2017 school year, Highland Park High School had 27 students named National Merit