Trustees approve more changes to LISD campus leadership

The Lockhart ISD Board of Trustees approved the selection of Lori Davis as the new principal for Lockhart Junior High School at the school board meeting Monday night.

Davis’ career began in 1999 as a special education teacher in Northside ISD, eventually teaching in Del Valle ISD and Hays CISD. In 2008, Davis was promoted to serve as the district behavior specialist at Hay

s CISD, providing behavior interventions and supports for teachers and students. In 2014, Davis was promoted again as assistant principal of Simon Middle School. During her leadership, Simon Middle School earned six distinctions from the Texas Education Agency, received the Texas School of Character Award in 2015, and was designated as a National and Texas “School to Watch.”

Davis earned her Bachelor of Arts in Special Education at the University of Texas San Antonio. She obtained her Master of Education in Special Education and Administration Certification at Texas State University.

Davis takes the position vacated by Mark Estrada, who was recently promoted from LJHS principal to assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. He continues to serve as interim principal at the M.L. Cisneros Campus until the newly Board-approved principal, Luciano Castro, arrives later this year.

Assistant Principal Jamee Griebel has been chosen to lead Plum Creek Elementary School as its principal. Born and raised in Lockhart, Griebel attended LISD schools and graduated from Lockhart High School.  In fact, she was one of the very first students at Plum Creek Elementary when it opened its doors in 1986.

Griebel began as a teacher in LISD in 2001. Over the years, she accepted positions with increasing responsibility, becoming the technology instructional mentor in 2014 and assistant principal later that year. She served in this role at both Plum Creek and Bluebonnet Elementary Schools, and was selected to serve as interim principal at Plum Creek in Summer 2015.

Griebel earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, specializing in Finance, and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Texas State University.

Griebel steps in as Principal Faith Pope transitions into her new role as director of elementary curriculum and instruction at the district office.

The staff at both LJHS and Plum Creek campuses participated in developing a principal profile that best represented what they believed to be important in a new leader. This helped guide the search process, and staff from both schools ultimately served on the interview committees.

“The committees brought forth their recommendations after a vigorous interview process. Both Lori Davis and Jamee Griebel demonstrate excellent leadership and will enhance student success and staff development in meaningful and visible ways,” said Superintendent Susan Bohn.

The district also announced the selection of Corinne Yanez as the executive assistant to the superintendent and Board of Trustees. Yanez, a graduate of Lockhart High School, has worked for the district for 13 years with roles of increasing responsibility. She began as a student helper in the human resources department, later becoming the district’s front desk receptionist in 2004. In 2013, Yanez advanced to become secretary to the assistant superintendent of administration and operations.

The executive assistant position was most recently held by Darla Damron, who served in the role for eight years before moving to Utah to be closer to family.

“Ms. Yanez has devoted her career to the district since graduating from our schools. She is a valuable asset to LISD and will be effective in her new role,” said Bohn.

During their brief regular meeting on Monday, the Board also heard information from Bilingual Coordinator Cristina Vazquez on the bilingual programs throughout LISD.

According to Vazquez, the bilingual program is growing, but in some cases, parents are not engaging with their children’s campus to enroll their children in bilingual programs. Because of that gap, LISD saw low passing rates on state-mandated assessment tests.

Vazquez said her goals for the near future are to provide additional training and support at the campus level for bilingual programs, and to work with parents to engage more students in services.

They also approved several state-driven policy changes, and heard updates on construction plans and punch-list completions related to the bond project, and ongoing construction throughout LISD.

The LISD Board of Trustees routinely meets on the fourth Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Library of Lockhart Junior High School. The meetings are open to the public, and are also available to view online at www.lockhartisd.org.