McKinney, Texas – McKinney ISD has chosen Cockrill Middle School Assistant Principal Jenny Zornes as the school’s new principal. Zornes is a highly talented and experienced educator, bringing 19 years to the job—all in MISD—with nine years of experience as a campus administrator at Cockrill.

The change in leadership at the school follows the district’s recent announcement that Cockrill Principal Dr. Amber Epperson would move to Central Office to serve as Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Learning and Accountability. Now, Zornes takes the next step in her career as an educational leader.

“I had the privilege of hiring Jenny as a first year teacher at Scott Johnson Middle School in 2005,” said MISD Deputy Superintendent of Secondary Student Support Dr. Melinda DeFelice. “I then had the opportunity to hire her at Cockrill as an instructional coach and then as an assistant principal. To watch her grow throughout her career has been amazing, and I am beyond ecstatic that she’s going to be the next principal at Cockrill Middle School.”

During her eight years at Scott Johnson, Zornes served as an ELAR teacher, AVID coordinator and coach. Her leadership in the AVID program played a vital role in the campus earning the designation of AVID National Demonstration School, a highly coveted achievement earned by less than 2 percent of successful AVID sites.

In 2013, Zornes transferred to Cockrill to serve as an instructional coach under DeFelice and then a year later moved onto the administrative team as an assistant principal. Her leadership during the last nine years has had a significant impact on the school earning NASSP School to Watch status in 2015 and then being re-designated in 2018 and 2021. She is a data driven instructional leader with a heart for students and has been a major contributor to building positive school culture at Cockrill.

“I’m so honored to serve Cockrill Middle School as the new principal,” said Zornes. “Cockrill truly is a dynamic school with amazing students, staff and families, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve them in this capacity.”

Zornes earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas and her master’s degree from Lamar University.

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