7 May 2010
Administrator Applauded for Leadership and Vision
DALLAS—Felicia Gibbons, associate principal at W.H. Gaston Middle School, is Dallas ISD's 2010 Associate Principal of the Year. The announcement was made during a ceremony at Cityplace where Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa and District 6 Trustee Carla Ranger joined Dallas School Administrators Association Executive Director Willie Crowder and Dallas School Administrators Association President David Bynum to present the award to Gibbons along with a check for $1,000.
Gibbons began her education career 13 years ago at Gaston as a 7th-grade language arts teacher. Known as a personable leader who brings a lot of energy and knowledge to the table, Gibbons has served as the school's associate principal since 2007 and considers herself the captain of the team under the direction of a good coach.
"When my principal hired me 13 years ago as a first year teacher, she saw something in me that I had yet to see in myself," said Gibbons. "My first year as associate principal, we made gains in every tested area and came real close to being a recognized campus."
Gibbons credits the ability to change the school's culture and create a unified vision as the beginning of the school's success. In her new role, she began instilling school pride by showing that everyone was a stakeholder and had a voice in making the school a success. She also made sure that everyone knew what was expected.
"A captain knows that you must know the plays to make sure they are executed properly," said
Gibbons. "It is my goal to make sure that everyone in my school knows what's at stake."
Another goal Gibbons considered a top priority was and continues to be to create and foster leadership in students and teachers.
To accomplish this goal with teachers, one of her strategies was to alternate the Campus Instructional Leadership Team every other year to "build leaders and give teachers a chance to experience a leadership role outside of class," said Gibbons.
Gibbons refers to her 8th-graders as seniors and lets them know that they set the tone. Students who receive commended scores on the TAKS become Commended Campers who tutor younger students before they take the test.
Gibbons helped lead her school to its current academically acceptable rating by guiding the faculty through data analysis and into curriculum implementation to address the weak areas.
"For example, our first year we discovered vocabulary was a weakness," said Gibbons. "I created words of the week for each subject, academic words for elective classes to review. We put these words in the main hallway, in classrooms, on lunch tables and displayed content posters all through the school."
Gibbons is proud of the school's accomplishments thus far and feels they are setting the bar high for others to follow.
"Three years ago, I sent teachers to other schools to see what they were doing to make gains," said Gibbons. "Now schools are sending their teachers to my school!"
Gibbons has a Master of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Associate principal Dinnah Escanilla, Woodrow Wilson High School, and Alicia Yaliweisei, assistant principal at Arcadia Park Elementary School, were honored as 2010 Associate/Assistant Principal of the Year finalists. They were each awarded $250.
Assistant principals Leslie Swann, Lincoln Humanities/Communications Magnet, and Irma Zambrano, L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary School were among the semi-finalists.
A selection committee composed of past Assistant/Associate Principal of the Year and Teacher of the Year winners, Dallas ISD Teen Board students and other district staff chose the winners after reviewing each candidate's nomination packet and conducting site visits and interviews. Winners were chosen based on their leadership skills and management effectiveness; parental and community involvement initiatives; and for their professional relationship with students, parents, staff and community.
The awards were sponsored by the Dallas School Administrators Association.