McKinney, Texas – When the first day of school arrives on Monday, Aug. 22, it will mark the first time in 12 years that Evans Middle School Principal Todd Young will not be on hand to greet students when they return from summer break—the first time since the school opened, in fact.

Instead, the 2016–2017 school year will find Young in his new role as the McKinney ISD Sr. Director of Career and Technical Education (CTE), a position vacated recently by Dr. Tamy Smalskas who left to pursue an opportunity with another district.

Young, who is a veteran administrator with more than 16 years of experience in MISD and 30 years in education, will now oversee all of the district’s CTE programs which encompass a wide range of career disciplines that includes aviation, law enforcement, robotics and nursing among its offerings.

MISD Superintendent Dr. Rick McDaniel expressed confidence in Young’s ability to lead these vital programs and lauded his previous work in the district.

“I applaud the superb work that Mr. Young has done during his tenure at Evans Middle School. His leadership has provided that campus with a tremendous reputation across our city,” said McDaniel. “His transition to Central Office in the role of Sr. Director of Career and Technical Education is one that truly fits his abilities; it fits his personality, and we feel like he is the right person to lead our district along these lines in the foreseeable future. I look forward to watching him take this department to new levels, providing programs that will meet the needs of a wide variety of students in our district.”

Among the school’s accomplishments during Young’s time at Evans, the campus has been recognized by Just for Kids for improvement in math performance, earned AVID National Demonstration School status (reserved for the top 1–2 percent of AVID sites) and earned TMEA Honor Choir recognition in fine arts.

Young will stay on board at Evans to assist with the transition in leadership until he moves over to Central Office later this month. And, while he is excited about the new opportunity, it’s no small thing to say goodbye to the school where he has devoted so much of his time and passion for education since the day it opened its doors in 2004.

“I will miss the students, parents and teachers at Evans. I have been lucky to have developed great relationships with the community. They have supported us in everything we have done, and it’s a great place,” Young said.

“I’m thrilled to move into this CTE position,” Young added. “It will allow me to support teachers and students, so they can follow their passions through these great programs.”

Young came to McKinney ISD from Plano ISD in 2000 to serve as an assistant principal at McKinney North High School. In 2002, he was chosen to lead Bennett Elementary as principal and then transferred to Evans to serve as principal of that campus when it opened in 2004.

Young began his career in 1984 as a teacher and coach in Irving ISD before moving to Allen ISD in 1991. There he served as a co-athletic director, teacher and coach at Ford Middle School for three years and then went on to serve as assistant principal at Ford and Curtis Middle School. In 1998, Young accepted a job as assistant principal of Haggard Middle School in Plano ISD where he served until 2000.

“Todd is amazing!” said MISD Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Melinda DeFelice. “I have worked with him for 15 years and don’t know what I would do without him. He is extremely knowledgeable.”

Young earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Central Michigan University and holds a master’s degree in mid-management from the University of North Texas. In addition, he earned his superintendent certification from Abilene Christian University in 2015.

While this new position means that his work day will look different from the past 12 years, and he’ll miss the daily interaction with students, Young will continue to impact kids in a very significant way—not only at Evans, but across the district—through his leadership of the MISD CTE programs.

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