McKinney, Texas – With McKinney ISD’s recent announcement that McKinney High School Principal Shelly Spaulding will be heading to Central Office at year’s end to serve as the district’s new assistant superintendent of communications, MISD has chosen current Evans Middle School Principal Dr. Paula Kent as the new principal of McKinney High School.

And, in light of Kent’s move to MHS, the district has found her successor at Evans in Dr. David Hodum, who currently serves as assistant principal at the school.

Both Kent and Hodum are highly experienced educators with some 45 years in education between them, including 14 years as campus administrators.

Dr. Paula Kent—Principal, McKinney High School

When Kent began her journey as an educator in 1992, she was perfectly happy with her life as a science teacher in minuscule Texas towns such as Roxton, Leonard and Chester. But, 18 years into her career, she moved to McKinney North High School and soon found herself as the science department chair and instructional coach. And, she loved it.

Over the next few years, she became an assistant principal at North and then director of curriculum at Central Office. In 2016, Kent became North’s associate principal and served in that position for 5 years. When a new leadership opportunity arose last year, she became principal of Evans Middle School. Now, she takes an even bigger step in her journey as a campus leader.

“Paula is going to be outstanding at MHS,” said Deputy Superintendent of Secondary Student Support Dr. Melinda DeFelice. “She brings a wealth of high school experience and is amazing with curriculum. She is committed to taking care of the staff and students for many years to come.”

Among her many contributions, Kent has been a curriculum writer for the district, a mentor to secondary science teachers, a member of the McKinney Innovation Team and the Region X Education Service Center’s Assistant Principal Leadership Network as well as a board member and coordinator for the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals. In 2021, she was named the Region X Assistant Principal of the Year by TASSP.

“While I am sad to leave my Evans family, I know that the relationships that were built there will last a lifetime,” said Kent. “I am honored to serve as the new principal of McKinney High School, and I cannot wait to get to know my new Lions family and work alongside you as we continue the long tradition of excellence that is MHS!”

Kent earned her bachelor’s degree in broad-field science from East Texas State University, her master’s degree in biology and natural science from Stephen F. Austin State University and her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of North Texas.

Dr. David Hodum—Principal, Evans Middle School


As David Hodum wraps up 5 years as an assistant principal at Evans Middle School and prepares to move into a broader leadership role as principal, he brings 14 years of experience in education to the job, all of it invested in MISD. A significant portion of that time was spent in the classroom as a chemistry and AP Physics teacher in the science department at McKinney Boyd High School from 2009–2017.

During that span, leadership opportunities emerged for Hodum. For three years, he was the physics team lead, and during his final two years at Boyd, he served as the chair of the science department. In 2017, he moved to Dowell Middle School where he was an instructional coach for a year before moving into campus administration at Evans as an assistant principal. Now, he will bring that leadership expertise into his new role.

“David is going to do a fantastic job as the new principal at Evans,” said DeFelice. “He has been there several years and has great relationships with the staff and students, so the transition will be seamless.”

In addition to his leadership at the campus level, Hodum was a curriculum writer for the district from 2014–2017. He has also been a member of the McKinney Innovation Team since 2019 and served as summer school principal for the past 2 years.

“I am honored to serve as principal of Evans Middle School,” said Hodum. “I look forward to the future with this wonderful community, amazing staff and these outstanding students.”

Hodum holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Texas at Tyler and a Doctor of Chiropractic from Parker University.

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