Principals of the Year announced for 2014
HISD officials have announced the principals of the year for 2014, and two of those campus leaders will be representing HISD at the regional level of the contest.
One honoree was chosen from each campus level this year. They are:
- Hilarion Martinez (Marshall ES)
- Noelia Longoria (Ortíz MS)
- Melissa Jacobs (Houston Academy for International Studies)
Hilarion Martinez first joined HISD as a teaching assistant at Sutton ES in 1997. He has also served as a bilingual teacher at Ketelsen ES and the principal of Browning ES and Burbank ES. When the district absorbed the former North Forest ISD in 2013, Martinez became Marshall Elementary School’s first new principal under HISD.
Noelia Longoria, who was also named Principal of the Year in 2012, had her school selected to showcase the great things going on at HISD during last year’s Broad Prize committee visits. She was also one of the first principals to be chosen for the Lead Principals Initiative in 2013, which pairs highly effective principals with other campus leaders at similar schools to spread the district’s best practices more effectively.
Melissa Jacobs has been the principal of the Houston Academy of International Studies since that school first opened in 2006. Her campus is known both for the global focus of its specialized instruction and the outstanding opportunities it provides students for learning through travel.
The 2014 Principals of the Year were chosen through a new, data-driven process, which was employed to identify the district’s most effective principals. They will be formally recognized at the district’s annual Celebration of Excellence on May 1. Martinez and Longoria will also represent HISD at the Region IV Principal of the Year banquet later this spring.
