President Statement on Passing of Mayor McCowan

Mayor McCowanSometimes you meet someone who leaves an indelible impression on everyone with whom they come into contact. Our beloved Mayor Curtistene S. McCowan has been that for this great community in so many ways.

I taught one of her children during my time as a teacher at DeSoto High School and served alongside her as a member of various committees over the years. 


As a teacher, community member and member of the DeSoto ISD Board of Trustees, I always felt her support for DeSoto ISD schools as a result of her steadfast advocacy for progress, improvement and engagement in the district. Whether it was cheering on students at a UIL Academic Competition, rallying on our Eagles on the football field, or congratulating a graduate as he or she crossed the stage, Mayor McCowan never missed an opportunity to support our students.


Given her service and impact, I’m very proud that Mayor McCowan is a member of the DeSoto ISD Hall of Honor and that the district named a school in her honor. It is my hope that her legacy will live on at McCowan Middle School and across this community, that her namesake will inspire us all to aspire to excellence, service and leadership in our respective capacities in all that we do.


Even as I transitioned on the DeSoto ISD Board of Trustees, she and I had many conversations about strategy and areas of opportunity to better position DeSoto ISD to support students to successful outcomes. That was who she was. That was her way--to be accessible, to be solutions-oriented, to be collaborative and, most of all, leaderly. She was not one to focus on barriers or limitations and that is the part of her legacy that most inspires me.


While we are all saddened at the loss of our dear Mayor McCowan, let us hold more tightly to the opportunity to continue the work she started here in DeSoto. Let us lead with a heart of service, let us focus on serving our neighbors, let us extend ourselves as mentors to our youth. Whatever we choose to do, let us do it in the way that Mayor McCowan would have--with our whole hearts and the best possible outcomes in mind.

Karen Daniel

DeSoto ISD Board President