Octaviano Trevino has been selected as the new principal of Red Elementary School. He began his career with HISD in 1991, where he has served as a bilingual teacher assistant, LEP clerk, registrar, administrative assistant, bilingual teacher, and literacy coach at Looscan Elementary School. Trevino also served as the bilingual/ESL specialist, supporting schools in the West area of the district. He most recently served as assistant principal at Red Elementary School. Trevino holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Houston Downtown and his principal certification from Region IV.
Category Archives: Staff updates
Tiffany Guillory named new principal of Yates High School
Tiffany Guillory has been selected as the new principal of Yates High School. Guillory began her career as an elementary teacher in Goose Creek ISD and as a middle school mathematics teacher in Fort Bend ISD. Guillory has served as an instructional coordinator, dean of students, lead administrator and associate principal of Westbury High School and Fondren Middle School. For the last three years, Guillory has served as the dean of instruction at Yates. She graduated from Lamar University with her Bachelor of Science and has a master’s degree from LeTourneau University. She also completed the Rice University REEP Program.
Orlando Reyna named new principal of Sugar Grove Academy Middle School
Orlando Reyna has been selected as the new principal of Sugar Grove Academy Middle School. Reyna is a veteran HISD educator who began his career as a Physics and Chemistry teacher before becoming an instructional coordinator and assistant principal in HISD. Reyna previously served as principal of Deady Middle School, where he lead turnaround efforts in moving the school from Improvement Required to a Met Standard rating, with distinctions. He most recently served as principal of Madison High School. Reyna earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision from Prairie View A&M University.
Interim assistant chief tapped to serve as second in command of HISD PD
Interim Assistant Police Chief Lucretia Rogers
Lucretia L. Rogers selected as HISD Police Department Assistant Chief
Interim Assistant Police Chief Lucretia Rogers has been selected to serve as the second in command of the Houston Independent School District Police Department.
A former detective, Rogers has been serving as interim assistant chief since February 2018. She permanently assumes the role on May 22.
Rogers was selected by HISD Police Chief Paul Cordova, who also was recently named to his position. Both Cordova and Rogers have been tasked with building a new culture within the police department while also improving the agency’s reputation and strengthening its relationships with the community. Continue reading
HISD names chief of staff, chief human resources officer
Silvia Saenz Trinh
The Houston Independent School District is announcing two leadership promotions, naming Silvia Saenz Trinh as chief of staff and Julia Dimmitt as chief human resources officer.
Trinh, who previously served as director of Academic Services, has more than 20 years of experience in public schools. A native of El Salvador, she came to the U.S. at 10 years old, was enrolled at HISD’s Rusk Elementary School and later attended Jackson Middle School.
Trinh served as a bilingual teacher, ESL specialist, and assistant principal in surrounding districts before joining Team HISD, where she moved into principal positions at Gordon and Park Place elementary schools. She also served as director of Elementary Transformation Schools before moving into her current role.
“I am so honored to work alongside Ms. Trinh and to have her serving in this new role,” Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “With her leadership, we were able to get 22 schools out of IR in one year. I know she will continue to support and promote efforts to improve student achievement.”
Julia Dimmitt
Trinh has a deep understanding of the needs of HISD students and the role education plays in breaking the cycle of poverty. She was inspired to serve as an educator after experiencing firsthand the challenges of learning a new language in a new country – and later witnessing students who were facing that same adversity.
“I knew from a very early age that education was the key to success,” Trinh said. “The road out of poverty goes right through our public schools.”
Trinh earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Houston and has received multiple awards for her work, including Fort Bend ISD’s Bilingual Teacher of the Year Award and the National Excellence in Urban Education Award from the National Center for Urban School Transformation. She was featured in the U.S. Department of Education publication “K-8 Charter Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap.” Trinh was also selected by the TEA to take part in a best practices case study for her work at Park Place Elementary School. Continue reading
Interim police chief appointed to lead department
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Paul Cordova has been appointed to Chief of the HISD Police Department.
Cordova has served as interim police chief since February, working to develop a new culture within the department while improving the agency’s perception. He and his officers were specifically tasked with finding better ways to serve our students and communities.
“In just a short period of time, he has been able to lead the police department through several major initiatives, including establishing a substation in the northwest area of the district to better serve schools located in that area, reorganizing the department to make better use of budgetary resources, and reviewing and revising existing policies to ensure consistency with industry best practices,” Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. Continue reading
HISD names EMERGE founder Rick Cruz chief of strategy and innovation
Rick Cruz, the founder of the successful EMERGE program and HISD’s officer of college and career readiness, has been named as HISD’s new chief of strategy and innovation.
“In his 10 years at HISD, Dr. Cruz has proven his commitment to helping students from underserved communities succeed through his work with the EMERGE program and college and career readiness,” said HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan. “He is the right person to lead our strategic and innovative thinking about supporting our underserved communities.”
Cruz left a career at Baker Botts in 2008 to join HISD as a bilingual fifth-grade teacher at Moreno Elementary School, where he was twice named Teacher of the Year. He joined HISD’s central leadership team in 2013 as an assistant superintendent over expansion of the EMERGE program, which he founded in 2010, and he also served as officer and chief officer of major projects before his current role as officer of college and career readiness. In all of these roles, Dr. Cruz has implemented districtwide initiatives focused on ensuring that all students graduate college and career ready. Continue reading
Assistant superintendent of School Choice named interim chief academic officer
Noelia Longoria, HISD’s assistant superintendent of the Office of School Choice, has been named interim chief academic officer of the Houston Independent School District.
Longoria assumes her new role immediately, reporting to Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan.
“Ms. Longoria has more than 25 years of experience in urban education and a proven record of turning around underperforming schools,” Lathan said. “I am confident that she will have a positive impact in helping to guide instruction across our district.” Continue reading
Paolo Castagnoli named new principal of Madison High School
Paolo Castagnoli has been selected as the new principal of Madison High School. Most recently, Castagnoli was the principal of Black Middle School. He has been with HISD for 12 years, serving as teacher and assistant principal at Scarborough and East Early College high schools. Prior to coming to HISD, Castagnoli taught social studies and served as department chair for six years at YES Prep Southeast Campus. During his tenure at Black Middle, the school has received its first five distinctions, was named to the Texas Honor Roll, and earned awards for academics, athletics, and fine arts, including first place in district academic UIL in 2016 and first place in UIL one-act play in 2017. Castagnoli holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in education from the University of Houston.
HISD Board of Education names Chief Academic Officer Grenita Lathan as acting superintendent
Grenita Lathan
The Houston Independent School District Board of Education unanimously voted to name Chief Academic Officer Grenita Lathan as interim superintendent of the state’s largest school district.
Lathan was tapped to serve as the interim leader of HISD while trustees search for a permanent replacement for outgoing Superintendent Richard Carranza, who is stepping down after nearly a year and a half with the district.
Lathan will assume the role of acting superintendent immediately, and she will become interim superintendent on April 1. Continue reading