Tara Mays, Beverly Lusk, Richie Heffernan, Connie Wallace and Nicky Niewinski
The new school year begins Aug. 26 in Dallas ISD, and with it comes a new batch of principals for several of our neighborhood schools.
We already told you about Connie Wallace, replacing Andrea Cockrell at Withers Elementary. Wallace served as Director of External Relations with Teaching Trust where she oversaw program recruitment and selection efforts, nurtured relationships with partner districts, and co-designed the Residency Mentor Program for teacher leaders. Right before coming to Withers, she was the inaugural principal at Jack Lowe Sr. Elementary, where she led student achievement gains as evidenced by the Campus Effective Indices and the state accountability system. Wallace has a bachelor’s from Texas A&M and a master’s from the University of Houston.
At DeGolyer Elementary, Tara L. Mays is taking over as principal this year. She was an English teacher at Molina High School in Oak Cliff where she also worked in administration. She has a master’s in education from the University of Texas.
Richie Heffernan was DISD’s 2013 Principal of the Year, while serving at Caillet Elementary. Now, he’s bringing his skills to E.D. Walker Middle School. He graduated from UT-Austin with a bachelor’s in government and received his master’s in education from UT-Arlington. He spent six years teaching the two-way dual language program at Walnut Hill Elementary. Beverly Lusk is the new principal for Caillet Elementary.
Marsh Middle School lost principal Kyle Richardson to Woodrow Wilson in 2011. Now, Nicky Niewinski takes the helm. Last year, she served as coordinator of DISD’s School Leadership Development Fellows Academy. She has several years teaching experience.
