McKinney, Texas – It’s somewhat ironic—but completely appropriate—that in the same year that Wilmeth Assistant Principal Kristin Ellis has been named the TEPSA (Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association) Region 10 Assistant Principal of the Year, she will not bear the title of assistant principal much longer.

Ellis, who has served as assistant principal at Wilmeth since 2015, will assume the duties of campus principal with the conclusion of the 2017-2018 school year and the corresponding retirement of longtime principal, Judy Bragg.

Suzy Woodard, assistant superintendent of elementary student support, sees Ellis as the logical choice to lead Wilmeth into 2018–2019 and beyond.

“She is going to take Wilmeth to the next level,” Woodard said. “They have great structures in place, great parent support, great teachers and great students. They’re already high performing in all areas. Kristin is just going to take them to the next level. She’s ready to do that.”

Ellis embarked on her educational journey in 1995 as a third-grade teacher at Vial Elementary in Garland ISD, but she has served the majority of her 23-year career in McKinney ISD. In 1998, she was hired as a fourth grade teacher at Eddins Elementary, and she would hone her craft in that position for the next 14 years. In 2012, she transferred to Press Elementary to serve as an instructional coach/response to intervention coordinator and then made her way to Wilmeth in 2015 to serve as an assistant principal.

In that role, Ellis emerged as a leader among her fellow APs. As she grew professionally, she in turn mentored other APs and worked to ensure success for her colleagues across the district.

“She and [then Eddins AP] Trey Wright and [Walker AP] Alyssa Burleson created a way for our assistant principals to share information,” said Woodard, “and they helped change the way our APs work together—and our APs work beautifully together. They share resources. They call each other to brainstorm. They use each other as resources. We’re trying to work smarter, and as a group, Kristin, Trey and Alyssa were trying to accomplish that.”

At Wilmeth, Ellis was instrumental in their successful work on the Marzano High Reliability Schools Level I framework and has led her campus in the work on restorative practices and positive behavior interventions and support—which lay the groundwork for Level II.

“She’s also done terrific work with professional learning communities (PLCs) at Wilmeth,” said Woodard, “and Wilmeth has great PLCs in place. Kristin’s even helped another campus with their PLC process.”

Ellis possesses a strong balance of administrative and instructional expertise, Woodard added. “With her background as a teacher and her service as an instructional coach, she has a really deep understanding of best practices, and she’s a terrific instructional leader,” Woodard said. “She’s got that background, and she’s going to be able to use all of those pieces to be an outstanding leader for Wilmeth.

“Judy Bragg has done a great job over the past eight years as principal,” Woodard said. “Her leadership will be really missed, but she feels great about Kristin taking over and feels like Kristin’s the right person to lead the campus to the next level.”

As for Ellis, she enthusiastically embraces the opportunity to take on an even greater leadership role at the school where she has invested so much over the past three years.

“I am honored to serve our amazing Longhorn students, staff and parents in this new role,” said Ellis. “As a member of the Wilmeth family, I feel fortunate to be a part of an innovative team that strives for excellence for our students. It is my privilege to lead, inspire and motivate our Longhorn community in order to build upon our strengths and implement strategies for growth and future success. I am excited to get started!”

Ellis holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Development from Texas Tech University and a Master of Science in Educational Administration from the University of North Texas.

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