Dr. James McSwain (West Area)   

 James McSwain most recently served as principal of Lamar High School and has served as a lead principal in HISD. Lamar is an International Baccalaureate World School with an enrollment of over 3,300 students. McSwain has worked for 31 years as a high school principal and 36 years in education. His experience includes rural, suburban, and urban settings with a wide range of youths, including severely at-risk and impoverished students.

 McSwain is a past president of the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals, one of the nation’s largest principal organizations. He has been honored as the Principal of the Year on separate occasions for TASSP Region VIII and the Texas Region IV Education Service Center. Additionally, he was named a Texas State Principal of the Year and was the Texas nominee for National Principal of the Year.

 McSwain holds a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Texas at Arlington, a master of arts in education administration from Tarleton State University, and a doctorate of education in educational leadership from Texas Tech University. His doctoral research focused on at-risk minority youth in an alternative setting. He has been recognized by Tarleton State University as an Outstanding Alumni and has worked as a principal mentor for the Texas Education Agency. He currently serves as an International Baccalaureate Site Visit Team Leader and Workshop Leader. McSwain has worked as an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University–Texarkana, University of Houston, and Tarleton State University. He currently teaches at the University of St. Thomas.