New Mansfield ISD superintendent has a plan for the district's future

By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

When Tiffanie King started third grade at Glenn Harmon Elementary in 1989, she never imagined that she would one day be the superintendent of the Mansfield ISD.

“She would probably think it was hilarious,” said Dr. Tiffanie King Spencer, who was named the district’s superintendent in February and took over the position March 1. “I only wanted to play basketball. What was happening in the classroom wasn’t that interesting. She would be surprised that I taught second- and third-grade reading in the Fort Worth ISD.”

That little girl who moved from Arlington to start the third grade went on to be an instructional coach in the Fort Worth ISD, assistant principal at Elizabeth Smith Elementary, academic associate principal at Glenn Harmon Elementary, principal at Erma Nash Elementary, executive director of teaching and learning in the Duncanville ISD and area superintendent of accountability and special populations in Mansfield before being named superintendent.

She replaces Dr. Kimberley Cantu, who had served as superintendent since January 2020 and announced in the fall of 2025 that she would be leaving the district in February.

The first few months as superintendent have brought her some surprises, Spencer said.

“The outpouring of support makes my heart happy,” she said. “You never know how the teachers and administrators feel. Just the excitement about what is to come has been humbling.”

Spencer had her priorities and knows what she wants to accomplish while leading the district, which has almost 36,000 students and close to 5,000 employees.

“No. 1, take care of people,” she said. “The work that we do is really hard. What we ask of people, we can’t pay them enough.

“No. 2, provide an equitable learning environment for all of our kids,” Spencer said. “We have been a great district for many years. Education is changing. Innovation is important. We have to think outside the box.”

So how does she see the school district that she inherited?

“We’re in stable shape,” Spencer said. “We are stagnant. There are things we do well: college and career readiness, the high schools are doing amazing. Third through eighth grade is very stagnant. We are still better than the region and state, but are we moving the needle for us? For the past four years, the needle hasn’t moved up or down for 3-8 grades.

“We are still performing better than most comparable school districts,” she said. “We can do more. I want the best for our kids. How do we get there? We’re not bad, we can just do better.”

And she has a plan.

“We had a curriculum audit a few years ago,” Spencer said “We are going to look at the recommendations from that audit and see what we are missing. We are building professional learning for the district staff so that we can support the teachers and principals.

“It’s not a quick fix,” she admitted. “We are two years out before we will see fruit. When you make an intentional plan, it will work.”

Spencer plans to see it through. Her 5-year-old son, Sterling, will start kindergarten this fall at Erma Nash Elementary. She likes the idea of shaking his hand when he walks across the stage to accept his high school diploma from the Mansfield ISD.

“I want to be here for 10-12 years,” she said. “It would be cool to see him through high school. We have a good community.”

She also has the support of her husband, Chauncey, who is an IT consultant, and her mother.

“My husband is amazing and my mom is five minutes away,” she said. “It’s a village. They provide me the space to do what I need to do.”

So what is the best part of her new job?

“Being with kids when they’re excited,” Spencer said. “They’re all doing what we would want them to do, thinking for themselves, thinking outside the box and advocating for themselves and others.”