These neighborhood school principals were nominated for principal of the year

The principals of Hillcrest High School and Nathan Adams Elementary school were nominated for Dallas ISD’s 2021 Principal of the Year award.

Joseph Sotelo

Joseph Sotelo. Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD.

Joseph Sotelo, one of six secondary school nominees, has been at Hillcrest since 2018. Now in his eighth year working for DISD, Sotelo started as an assistant principal at Sunset High School before moving to what was then called Benjamin Franklin Middle School.

At Hillcrest, the only high school that offers a collegiate academy and an IB program, Sotelo has focused on improving the academic experience for students. He has also overseen a construction project on campus that included 21 new classrooms, two gyms and a weight room.

Sotelo has been nominated for a variety of reasons, including his work to build trust, respect and compassion among students, families, school staff and the community, as well as his “calm and steady” leadership.

Read more about Sotleo here.

Adrian Luna

Adrian Luna. Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD.

Adrian Luna has been the principal of Nathan Adams Elementary since 2016, but his dedication to students has included serving as a teacher and instructional coach in Fort Worth ISD and DISD, as well as the director and executive director of DISD’s Fellows Leadership Academy.

Luna emphasizes continuous improvement among teachers and students, and almost 90% of staff at Adams say they strongly agree that they usually look forward to coming to work each day.

He also works to form good relationships with parents and students.