Shanica Mitchell has been selected as the new principal of Young Elementary School. Since joining HISD nine years ago, she has served as a dean of instruction at Frost Elementary School, as well as a teacher and instructional specialist. Under her instructional leadership, Frost earned three or more TEA distinctions for four consecutive years. She holds a bachelor’s in Elementary Education and a master’s in Educational Administration from University of Houston.
Jorge Ortiz has been selected as the new principal of Pugh Elementary School. Since joining HISD from Aldine ISD, Ortiz has served as a teacher specialist and most recently an assistant principal at Pugh, where he led the campus out of IR status and meeting state standards during the 2017–2018 academic school year. Ortiz holds a bachelor’s in Communication Studies from University of Texas at Austin and a master’s in Educational Leadership from Sam Houston State University.
John Flowers has been selected as the new principal of Highland Heights Elementary School. Flowers began his teaching career at Hohl Elementary School in 2001 and has served as an instructional coordinator at DeChaumes and Roosevelt Elementary Schools. As an assistant principal at Kashmere High School, Flowers’ turnaround efforts have produced increased student achievement and engagement. He holds a bachelor’s in Business Administration from Prairie View A&M University and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Lamar University.
Jason Davila has been selected as the new principal of Henry Middle School. Davila began his career at HISD as an assistant principal at McReynolds Middle School in 2015 and previously served as a principal at Pugh Elementary School. While at Pugh, he focused on building a strong academic program and support system that focused on the care of students, parents, and teachers. Davila’s biggest achievement at Pugh was leading the campus out of IR status to earning a Met Standard rating with Distinctions in science and comparative growth during the first year of his leadership. Pugh was also rated a B campus by the Texas Education Agency. Davila holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and a master’s degree from Lamar University.
Enedith Silerio has been selected as the new principal of DeChaumes Elementary School. She has served as a teacher, magnet coordinator and an assistant principal. In her most recent role as an assistant principal at Burbank Elementary School, she helped the campus achieve 16 TEA distinctions during the 2015–2018 school years, as well as receiving the Best Urban School Award in 2017 from the National Center for Urban School Transformation. This year, she was named the North Area Assistant Principal of the Year. Silerio holds a bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies Bilingual Education from University of Houston–Downtown and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from University of St. Thomas.
Pablo Resendiz has been selected as the new principal of Holland Middle School. He has served as a teacher, teacher specialist and an assistant principal at McReynolds Middle School, where he was instrumental in leading the campus to six out of seven state distinctions. Prior to his principalship, Resendiz was voted Teacher of the Year in 2016 at McReynolds. Most recently, he served as assistant principal at Furr High School. Resendiz holds a bachelor’s in Education from University of Texas at Austin and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Ethical Leadership at University of St. Thomas.
Shanda Walker has been selected as the new principal of Kelso Elementary School. As an educator for 18 years, she has served as a teacher, Title I coordinator, dual-language curriculum writer, and school administrator. She joins Kelso after serving as the assistant principal at Reynolds Elementary School. Walker holds a bachelor’s in Sociology and Pre-Law from Spelman College and a master’s in Supervision and Administration from University of Phoenix.
Stacy Garcia has been selected as the new principal of High School for Law and Justice. She began her career in education 15 years ago as a bilingual teacher at Davila Elementary School and has also served as an instructional specialist at Law Elementary School, assistant principal and dean of students at Chavez High School. During the last five years, she has served as a secondary assistant principal at the middle and high school levels, including at Lanier Middle School, where she was responsible for providing instructional support to the science department that led to academic gains. She holds a bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies from University of Houston-Downtown and a master’s in Educational Administration from University of Houston-Clear Lake.
Thomas Cotter has been selected as the new principal of Wesley Elementary School. Cotter began as a teacher at Gregory-Lincoln Education Center and has since served as an instructional specialist, dean of students, and assistant principal at Woodson PK-5 Leadership Academy, where he assisted with the school moving from Improvement Required (IR) to meeting state accountability standards. Cotter earned a bachelor’s in business administration in marketing from Texas Southern University and a Master’s in Administration and Policy Studies from the University of Houston. He is currently working to earn a Doctorate’s in professional leadership and policy studies at the University of Houston.
Margarita Tovar has been selected as the new principal of Dogan Elementary School. Tovar began as a teacher aide at Farias Early Childhood Center and has also served as a teacher, teacher specialist and most recently assistant principal at Dogan. She was instrumental in leading Dogan out of Improvement Required (IR) status to meet state standard in May 2018. Tovar has a bachelor’s degree from University of Houston-Downtown and a master’s degree from Houston Baptist University. Tovar is also currently pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of Houston.