Christina Ibarra with students. Photo by Prestonwood Montessori on Facebook.
Last Tuesday, it was announced there would be a change of principals at George Bannerman Dealey Montessori and International Academy.
The news was announced with a shared email from the Dealey PTA executive board and superintendent Stephanie Elizade. After serving for more than one year, principal Cristina Ibarra was seen leaving the school campus last week. In the meantime, retired Dallas ISD principal, Yolanda Rodriguez will serve as interim principal until a new one is recruited.
According to Dallas ISD, Ibarra will serve another school community.
Last year, Ibarra was brought on at Dealey Montessori for the 2022-2023 school year to help transition the school after former principal Beth Wig moved to W.T. White after three years of serving as the principal. Previously, Ibarra worked at Dealey Montessori for seven years as a primary and lower elementary teacher before completing her master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Austin at Arlington.
According to the email shared last Tuesday to Dealey families, executive director Nancy Bernardino, Ed.D. wished Ibarra the best and thanked her for the impact she made in the lives of students and families.
Dealey has asked for parent and community input in order to create a successful principal profile to guide the selection process. Community members and parents held a virtual meeting yesterday to provide their insight and input. The results from the meeting for the principal profile creation meeting will be shared by Thursday, Sept. 14.
“What is Dallas ISD doing to what has been our first bright spot in years?” a neighbor asked the Advocate.
There has yet to be further information about candidates to be the permanent principal. The new principal will tentatively be announced by the week of Oct. 2nd. This story will be updated once more information is available.
