Roberto Zárate, recently retired from Northside Independent School District (NISD) after a 36-year career in education. His leadership included serving as the principal at Mary Hull Elementary School for 16 years. Under Zarate’s guidance, Mary Hull Elementary has been honored as a Texas Recognized School, a Commended Title I School, a Texas Blue Ribbon School and a National Blue Ribbon School. The school also received the Hispanic Magazine Exemplary

Zárate previously served as principal at John Glenn Elementary and as a social studies supervisor for the NISD. His 36-year career in education also has included positions as director of curriculum and staff development for the Edgewood ISD, an education specialist for the LAU Desegregation Center, Intercultural Development Research Association, administrative assistant to the superintendent for the Edcouch-Elsa ISD and teaching eighth grade history in the Crystal City ISD. He is a lifetime member of the Texas and national PTA, and was recognized by the National Association of Elementary and Secondary Principals as a Blue Ribbon Principal. He also received the Yellow Rose of Texas Outstanding Educator Award.

Zárate brings considerable experience in community service to the ACCD. He has served on the board of directors of the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, the Community Guidance Center, the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, the Alamo Area Rape Crisis Center, the Taft High School Band Boosters, the Harvard Principal's Center Advisory Board and the city of San Antonio Commission on Literacy.

Zárate holds a masters from San Diego State University in California and a bachelor's from Howard Payne College in Brownwood, Texas. He and his wife Jane Ann are the parents of a daughter and three sons.