HISD officials announced the district’s top campus leaders during a principals’ meeting held on April 8, and two veteran educators have earned the honors for 2015.

Sandy Gaw

Sandy Gaw from DeChaumes Elementary School was named the Elementary Principal of the Year, while Angela Lundy-Jackson from North Houston Early College High School was named the Secondary Principal of the Year.

Sandy Gaw came to HISD in 1993 as a substitute teacher, but she has also served as a teacher at Herrera Elementary School, an assistant principal at Smith Elementary School and Hohl Elementary School, and a dean at Grady Middle School. She became the principal at DeChaumes in 2007.

Angela Lundy Jackson

Angela Lundy-Jackson came to her career in education through Teach for America in 1991. She has served HISD as a new teacher mentor, an English department chairperson, an instructional coordinator, a magnet coordinator, and the dean of instruction/assistant principal. Lundy-Jackson was also the education program manager for HISD’s South Region. She has been the principal of NHECHS since 2010.

“Just as we did last year, cabinet members used a data-driven process to identify nominees and finalists,” said Chief School Support Officer Shonda Huery Hardman. “At the elementary level, data points included TEA accountability ratings, the number of distinctions earned, high levels of achievement and growth, and overall leadership and commitment to the district’s key initiatives. At the secondary level, data points included academic ratings from last year, the number of distinctions earned, overall student performance (both achievement and growth), AP and SAT participation, and strong commitment and leadership with alignment to the district’s key initiatives.”

Gaw and Lundy-Jackson will now advance to the next level of the competition through Region 4.