Bettina McKinney, the proud principal of Highland Heights Elementary School, has led her campus to unprecedented performance gains, and that dedication and hard work are why she’s being recognized as this week’s HISD Star Educator.

McKinney and her team have worked hard to improve student outcomes at Highland Heights over the past three years. They are proud to be able to celebrate gains of more than 20% in math and science scores. The students and teachers at Highland Heights, a New Education System (NES) campus, benefit from McKinney’s on-the-spot instructional coaching and her administration staff work closely with teachers to further improve the quality of instruction in every classroom. 

According to McKinney, her job is not done until 100% of her students are performing at or above grade level, and she commits every day to creating a culture of growth at Highland Heights.

McKinney earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Lamar University and a Master of Educational Administration from the University of St. Thomas. She began her teaching career at HISD’s Dogan Elementary School, where she later became assistant principal, and has served in teaching roles at Patterson Elementary, Whidby Elementary, and Key Middle School. 

Learn more about Principal McKinney and the positive changes she’s brought to Highland Heights below:

Favorite subject in school: Writing & Debate.

Favorite book: The Bible.

Favorite thing about Houston: The diversity of cultures and the abundant number of experiences the city provides.

Goal for your students and staff this upcoming school year: The goal for my students and staff is to make visible instructional progress daily. Each day should be better than the day before.