Andrea Lopez Fernandez started her career as an educator as a teacher with Lockhart ISD in 2004 before moving to the Rio Grande Valley to continue her work as an educator. She has been with IDEA Public Schools since 2009 and has served in multiple roles within the organization. She began as a founding teacher at IDEA San Juan CP before transitioning to be an Assistant Principal at IDEA’s flagship campus, IDEA Donna (2010-2012). After those two years, she transitioned back to IDEA San Juan College Prep, where she served as principal from 2012-2017. During her tenure there, her team accomplished 5 straight years of 100% college acceptance and matriculation for 400+ students. Additionally, IDEA San Juan achieved multiple state and national rankings including being named the 10th Most Challenging High School in the US by the Washington Post and multiple years of state and national rankings by U.S. News and World Report.
Andrea transitioned to San Antonio and became principal at IDEA Walzem College Prep to launch their high school in 2017. She then became Executive Principal of grades K-11 for the 2019-2020 school year, leading increases in teacher retention, student achievement, and organizational health during her tenure there. At both IDEA San Juan and IDEA Walzem under her leadership, her teams received Most Improved College Preparatory recognitions. Further, she has also been recognized for leadership development as she worked as a mentor principal for 9 principals in residence during her 8 years in principalship. Andrea then served as Vice President of Schools for IDEA San Antonio working with school leadership of 10 large and full-scale schools.
In 2022, Andrea transitioned to IDEA Austin to serve as Executive Director of a robust regional team and to support all operational and instructional leadership for the 16 schools in the Greater Austin area. Currently, she serves as the Area Superintendent, where she oversees a portfolio of IDEA Academy and College Preparatory schools in Central Texas (IDEA Austin and IDEA SanAntonio) in the pursuit of academic excellence.
Andrea lives in the Austin area with her husband and their two dogs. Andrea’s educational journey includes a Bachelor of Arts from Southwestern University and a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from the University of CA, San Diego. Andrea is also a proud Bobcat graduate holding both a MEd in Curriculum and Instruction and a PhD in School Improvement from Texas State University.
