Photos by TASB Media Services
Kendra Estes interacts with members at a Fund event last year. She oversees the Risk Management 101 Training Program.
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ehind every safe bus ride, every well-maintained playground, and every sturdy gymnasium roof is a risk manager focused on the next challenge.
For many Texas school districts, particularly smaller and fast-growing ones, the role of risk manager is often added to an already full plate. A director of maintenance, for example, may find themselves responsible for navigating safety protocols, loss prevention, or emergency response plans. Those responsibilities can feel overwhelming. Kendra Estes remembers wishing for some kind of roadmap to navigate the sprawling responsibilities of school health, safety, and risk management when she started her role at Hutto ISD, a growing district northeast of Austin. “I distinctly remember the first day at Hutto and sitting down at the desk thinking, ‘Where’s the manual?’” Estes said. “There wasn’t a framework there.” A risk manager may be tasked with a range of duties, including managing property and transportation risks, navigating workers’ compensation, coordinating safety programs, and analyzing data to uncover risk trends in their district.
Like many risk managers stepping into the role for the first time, Estes felt the weight of responsibility immediately. The importance of this role in Texas school districts and other educational settings inspired Estes to develop a solution to help new risk managers when she joined TASB Risk Management Services and became the manager of risk management resources in October 2024. The Risk Management 101 Training Program was launched last year to specifically support district employees who are new to the complex world of risk management and who work in districts that are members of the TASB Risk Management Fund (Fund). The program aims to help the cohort build foundational skills and professional confidence. Modeled after Grow Your Own teacher apprenticeships, Risk Management 101 is designed to meet people where they are, regardless of job title, to give them a framework. The program also gives them guidance on building a network of supportive staff throughout their districts because risk can be anywhere.
Creating an opportunity
Before joining TASB’s Risk Solutions division, Estes spent years in healthcare risk management as a nurse in Illinois. When her
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