Northwest ISD named new principals for two schools in southern Denton County and one for a school that feeds into Northwest High School.
The three principals were named at the district’s regular board meeting on Monday.
Ashley Kahler was promoted from assistant principal to Medlin Middle School’s head principal.
She has led initiative including the campus improvement plan, testing, ARD meetings and student accountability data.
“Medlin is a special campus and I’m honored to work alongside our dedicated teachers, support staff and leadership team to provide an exceptional learning experience for our students,” said Kahler. “As principal, my priority is to support our teachers and ensure every family feels connected and engaged with our campus. I also have a deep commitment to ensuring all students build confidence and take ownership of their learning so they can be their best selves at Medlin.”
According to NISD, Kahler started with the district as a teacher at Tidwell Middle School in 2010 before advancing to the school’s leadership team.
Before working at Northwest ISD, she spent three years in the fine arts department in Lewisville ISD, where she served as a band director.
Kahler will succeed Paige Cantrell, who is set to retire at the end of the school year after leading the school for nine years.
Hannah Garcia will be the next principal of Cox Elementary School after serving as the assistant principal at Carter Elementary School.
“I’m excited to build upon the strong reputation Cox Elementary School has for academic excellence by supporting our teachers,” she said. “In addition to giving teachers the resources they need to educate our students, a strong community environment serves as the bedrock for successful school. I look forward to partnering with our Cox Cougar families to best support our students and teachers.”
Before her time at Carter, Garcia served as an assistant principal at Lance Thompson Elementary after serving as an educator at Peterson and Curtis Elementary.
She earned the 2019 Exemplar Educator of the Year while at Peterson. She also had a unique teaching experience when she led a team at West Nairobi School in Kenya.
Garcia will succeed Chrisa Oakley, who served at Cox for the past seven years and will now be the inaugural principal of the Hicks Early Learning Center.
Finally, Shari Jones was named the next principal of Seven Hills Elementary, which is located in Newark and feeds into Northwest High School and V.R. Eaton High School.
“As a principal, my focus is providing students with the tools they need to think critically and solve problems,” she said. “That starts with amazing classroom teachers and extends to our community, as education is a partnership between the school and home. I look forward to getting to know the Seven Hills Wolves family.”
For the last three years, Jones has served as the principal of Bobby Joe Hill STEAM Academy in El Paso ISD, where she led the development of an instructional environment integrating science, technology, engineering, the arts and math into engaging, hands-on learning experiences.
Before that, she was an assistant principal at schools in Copperas Cove ISD, Ysleta ISD and El Paso ISD.
Jones will succeed Kim Blackburn, who is moving down the road to be the inaugural principal of Romer Elementary School.
