District Sees Some New Principals for 2023-2024 School Year

Disponible en:

Several schools are starting the school year with new principals.

• Kory M. Jessie at Caraway Elementary School
• Cindy Buentello at Carter Academy
• LaKeshia Williams at Carver High School
• Joshua Nation at Davis Ninth Grade School
• Jerome Nickerson at Drew Academy
• James Metcalf at Eisenhower High School 
• Lori Brooks at Ermel Elementary School
• Purnell Harvey at Knippel Education Center
• Crystal Mahar at Lewis Middle School
• Elizabeth Arias-Robles at Marcella Elementary School
• José Lara-Collazo at Mead Middle School
• Joyelle White at Ogden Elementary School
• Detrick McAfee at Plummer Middle School
• Dr. Esperanza Jones-Valsin at Raymond Elementary School
• Miriam Acosta at Sammons Elementary School
• Gregory Castille at Smith Elementary School
• Maritza Arcos at Stephens Elementary Schools
• Brandy González a Vines EC/PreK/K School

Kory Jessie

Kory M. Jessie

Kory Jessie has 17 years of experience in education, with all those years in Aldine ISD. Jessie began his career in 2006 as a fifth and sixth-grade teacher at Eckert Intermediate (now an elementary). Four years later, he took on a leadership role as a math instructional specialist at Rayford Intermediate School (now Ogden Elementary). In 2012, Jessie was named an assistant principal at Calvert Elementary School, moving two years later to serve in the same capacity at Rayford Intermediate School. Jessie also served in the same capacity at Jones EC/PreK/K School, Keeble EC/PreK/K, and the Knippel Education Center from July 2018 until being named to his current post.

Jessie received his bachelor’s degree in communication from Dillard University and his master’s degree in education administration from Sam Houston State University. He is classified as a classroom teacher EC-6 generalist and holds a principal certificate (EC-12). Jessie also completed leadership training opportunities in Aldine ISD, including the Aldine Leadership Academy for Aspiring Assistant Principals, and was a Principal Fellow.

Cindy Buentello

Cindy Buentello

Cindy Buentello began her educational career in Aldine ISD in 2012 as a second-grade bilingual teacher at Carter Academy, where she has served her entire career. Buentello spent several years teaching as a second- and third-grade bilingual teacher. She went on to serve as an instructional specialist before accepting her first assistant principal position in 2018 at the same campus. A post she held until being named principal in June 2023

Buentello earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in early childhood education from the University of Houston and a master’s degree in special education leadership from the University of St. Thomas. Buentello also completed the district’s Principal Fellow Cohort.

LaKeshia Williams

LaKeshia Williams

LaKeshia Williams has 17 years of experience in education. Williams began her career in 2005 as an AVID teacher and science department chair at Sam Houston High School. She moved to Fort Bend ISD five years later as a science instructional specialist at Eisenhower High School. Williams joined Aldine ISD as a science skills specialist at Eisenhower High School in 2011. Two years later, she moved to Davis High School as a science skills specialist and science department chair. In 2016, Williams was named an assistant principal at Carver High School. She returned to Davis High School in 2018 to serve as an assistant principal before being named curriculum assistant principal two years later, a position she held until her current post.

Williams received her bachelor’s degree in science and her master’s in educational leadership from Stephen F. Austin University. She also holds a principal certification (EC-12).

Joshua Nation

Dr. Joshua Nation

Dr. Joshua Nation has 13 years of experience in education. He began his career as an eighth-grade sciences teacher at Mt. Enterprise ISD. Over the years, Nation has served in various capacities, including 504/RTI campus director. In 2017, Nation was named assistant principal at Summer Creek High School in Humble ISD, a position he held before being named to his current position in Aldine ISD.

Nation holds a bachelor’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University. He also has a master’s degree and a doctorate in educational leadership from the same institution.

Jerome Nickerson

Jerome Nickerson

Jerome Nickerson began his career in Aldine ISD in 2007 as a social studies teacher at Shotwell Academy, where he has served his entire career. Nickerson spent several years teaching — where he earned Campus Teacher of the Year distinction — and served as department chair and an instructional specialist/instructional coach before accepting his first assistant principal position in 2018 at the same campus. A post she held until being named principal in July 2023.

Nickerson earned his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and a master’s in curriculum instruction from Texas Southern University. Nickerson also received his principal certification from Lamar University. He also has extensive training in the International Baccalaureate program and is Gifted and Talented Certified.

James Metcalf

James Metcalf

James Metcalf has 27 years of experience in education, with all those years in Aldine ISD. Metcalf began his career teacher and coach at Stovall Middle School in 1996. While in Aldine ISD, he has served as an administrator at Eisenhower High School, a curriculum assistant principal at Hoffman Middle School, principal at COMPASS/AEC (Knippel Education Center now), and most recently as principal of Davis Ninth Grade School. He has 22 years of administrative experience and five years of experience as an educational service manager.

Metcalf received a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Sam Houston State University and a master’s in educational administration. He also holds a principal certification. Metcalf also took advantage of the district’s leadership development opportunity, LEAD (Leadership Experience and Assistant Principal Development) Academy.

Lori Brooks

Lori Brooks

Lori Brooks has 16 years of experience in education. Brooks began her career as a third-grade teacher at Conley Elementary School in 2006, where she also served as department chair. Four years later, Brooks took on a leadership role at the campus, serving as the RTI (response to intervention)/dyslexia specialist and reading instructional specialist. In 2015, she was named assistant principal at Ermel Elementary, a position she held until being named to her current post.

Brooks received her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Prairie View A&M University and earned an instructional leadership development certification from the University of St. Thomas. She holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, focusing on reading from Grand Canyon University. Brooks also completed the district’s Principal Fellow and Assistant Principal Aspire cohorts.

Purnell Harvey

Purnell Harvey

Purnell Harvey began his career in 1995 as a sixth-grade teacher in the Orleans Parish Public Schools (Louisiana) before moving to Dallas ISD in 1998 to serve as an instructional technologist. Harvey returned to Louisiana in 2000, joining Jefferson Parish Schools as a special education resource teacher before joining Aldine ISD the following year to serve as a science teacher at Bethune Academy. In 2003, he moved to Houston Academy to work in the same capacity. His first leadership role came in 2008, serving as a district elementary science skills specialist at Calvert and Spence elementary schools. The following year, he served as an academic assessment and data specialist at Eckert Intermediate School (now an elementary campus), where he served six years before joining Carver High School in 2015, serving in the same capacity. Harvey joined Spring ISD in 2016 as an assistant principal at Spring High School. Four years later, he joined Westfield HS (SISD), serving in the same capacity, a post he held until being named principal at KEC in July 2023.

Harvey earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of New Orleans. He also holds a master’s in educational administration from Lamar University-Beaumont. Harvey also received his principal certification.

Crystal Caricia Coronel Mahar

Crystal Mahar

Crystal Mahar has 10 years of experience in education. Mahar began her career in 2013 as an 11th-grade U.S. History teacher and coach at C.E. King High School in Sheldon ISD. She moved to Magnolia ISD a year later as a teacher and head girls’ soccer coach. In 2016, Mahar joined Lamar Consolidated ISD as an assistant principal at Terry High School before moving to Spring ISD in 2019 as an associate principal at Springwoods Village Middle School. Mahar joined Westfield High School in SISD two years later as the Ninth Grade Center lead principal and associate principal—a position she held until her present post at Lewis Middle.

Mahar earned her bachelor’s degree in government and sociology at the University of Texas-Austin and her master’s in curriculum and instruction from Sam Houston State University. Mahar holds a principal certification from Lamar Univerity. She is completing her doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Concordia University Texas. Mahar will be defending her dissertation this fall.

Elizabeth Arias-Robles

Elizabeth Arias-Robles

Elizabeth Arias-Robles has 16 years of experience in education. Arias-Robles began her career as a first-grade bilingual teacher at Thompson Elementary School in 2008; she went on to teach fourth-grade bilingual reading. Four years later, Arias-Robles took on leadership roles at the campus, first serving as the response to intervention interventionist and later as the academic assessment and data specialist. In 2015, she was named assistant principal at Thompson Elementary, a position she held until being named to her current post.

Arias-Robles received her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies (EC-Grade 4) from the University of Houston-Downtown. She earned a master’s in curriculum and instruction from the same institution. She also has a Principal Certification EC-12 from Region 4 Education Service Center.

Both of her daughters are Aldine alums.

José Lara Collazo

José Lara Collazo

José Lara Collazo has 10 years of experience in education. Lara Collazo began his career as a third-grade bilingual teacher in 2013 at Isaacs Elementary School in Houston ISD, where he also departmentalized fifth-grade math and science. In 2018, Lara Collazo moved to Wainwright Elementary in HISD, serving similarly. A year later, he served as the campus teacher specialist. Lara Collazo joined Aldine ISD in 2020 as an assistant principal at Mead Middle School before being named curriculum assistant principal at the same school in 2022, a position he held until his current post.

Lara Collazo has a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Houston and a master’s degree in education in administration from Lamar University.

Joyelle White

Joyelle White

Joyelle White has over 10 years of experience in education. White began her career in 2012 as a literacy coach at Cypresswood Elementary School before being named an assistant principal at the campus in August 2020 — a position she held until her present post at Ogden Elementary.

White has two master’s: one in curriculum and instruction from the University of Phenix and an MBA in accounting from Texas Southern University. She will earn her doctorate in education in 2024 from Houston Baptist University. White also has a principal certification from Lamar University.

Detrick McAfee

Detrick McAfee

Detrick McAfee has nine years of experience in education. McAfee began his career in education in 2014 as an AP U.S. History teacher in Spring ISD. Four years later, he was named assistant principal of Spring High School before serving as an associate principal at Spring Leadership Academy, a position he held until his current post.

Fun Fact: McAfee attended Conley Elementary and Wilson Intermediate in Aldine ISD (half a year) before his family moved to Spring ISD.

McAfee earned his bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University. He also holds a master’s degree in education administration and will complete his doctorate in education from the same institution this fall.

Esperanza Jones-Valsin

Esperanza Jones-Valsin

Dr. Esperanza Jones-Valsin has 15 years of experience in education. Jones-Valsin began her career as a teacher (science, social studies, and math) in 2008 at Marcella Intermediate School in Aldine ISD, where she also served as the social studies department chair and was a first-year mentor teacher. In 2017, she moved to join Klein ISD as a math and science instructional specialist and coach at Kaiser Elementary. Three years later, she rejoined Aldine ISD as an assistant principal at Eckert Elementary School, a position she held until her current post.

Jones-Valsin holds a bachelor’s degree in management/international business from Notre Dame de Namur University. She received her master’s degree in business administration and human resource management and a doctorate in educational leadership and curriculum instruction from the University of Phoenix. Jones-Valsin also completed several leadership opportunities at Aldine ISD. She underwent the Aspiring School Principal Instructional Readiness experience and was a Principal Fellow in the district’s Leadership Academy. While at Eckert Elementary, she underwent the Holdsworth-Campus Leadership Program. Jones-Valsin is also a member of the Aldine LatinX Association.

Miriam Acosta

Miriam Acosta

Miriam Acosta has 18 years of experience in education, with all those years in Aldine ISD. Acosta began her career as a second-grade bilingual teacher at Conley Elementary. She would later serve as a third-grade bilingual teacher (science and math), team leader, and math skills specialist. Acosta joined Marcella Intermediate School in 2013 as an assistant principal. In 2015, she moved to Bussey Elementary as an assistant principal, a position she held until her current post.

Acosta received her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies specializing in bilingual generalist (Early Childhood-Grade 4) from Texas A&M University. She holds a master’s degree in educational administration from Sam Houston State University and has an EC-12 principal certification.

Greg Castille

Gregory Castille

Gregory ‘Greg’ Castille has 10 years of experience in education, with all those years in Aldine ISD. However, Castille has been with AISD since 2012 as a college student teacher at Wilson Academy (now Impact Leadership Academy). Castille spent the first 10 years working in AISD as a teacher at Houston Academy, an instructional specialist at Reed Academy for Engineering, an assistant principal at Hambrick Middle School, and, most recently, a curriculum assistant principal at Houston Academy. He also served as an educational consultant for the 2022-2023 school year focusing on nonverbal communication for instructional leadership and classroom management, which he did until his most recent post.

Fun Fact: Castille’s mother was an Aldine educator for 30+ years. He now continues his work in the Acres Home community, the neighborhood he grew up in.

Castille received his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Texas A&M University, and he holds a master’s in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Maritza Arcos

Maritza Arcos

Maritza Arcos has nearly 30 years of experience in education. Her educator journey includes two years as a paraprofessional at Eisenhower High School. Arcos began her teaching career in 1996 at Gray Elementary School before joining Houston ISD in 2005 to serve at Roosevelt Elementary. She rejoined Gray ES in 2006 as a teacher. Two years later, she took on a leadership role as a campus math, language arts, and bilingual education skills specialist. In 2014, Arcos was named assistant principal at Gray Elementary. She served stints as assistant principal at Mendel Elementary, Stehlik, Oleson. Arcos also served as an AP at Stephens Elementary from 2020 until her post at Stephens ES.

Arcos is passionate about her work and strives to help develop students to become successful contributors to the world. Arcos believes connecting and building relationships with her staff ensures they are all committed to the work together.

Arcos earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Houston (1996). She received her master’s in instructional leadership from Sam Houston State University and has a principal certificate for EC-12. Arcos also completed the district’s ASPIRE Principal Pipeline.

Brandy González

Dr. Brandy González

Dr. Brandy González has 19 years of experience in education, with 17 in Aldine ISD. González began her career as a bilingual Montessori prekindergarten paraprofessional at Keeble EC/PreK/K School in 2005 while pursuing her bachelor’s degree. During that period, González received the Aldine Bilingual Homegrown Scholarship. After graduating from college, she took her first teaching position as a bilingual Montessori PreK teacher at Keeble Keeble EC/PreK/K School in 2008. González transferred to García-Leza EC/PreK/K School in 2013 to serve as an early childhood special education teacher before taking on a leadership role as the school’s prekindergarten skills specialist. Two years later, she joined Jones EC/PreK/K School as an inclusion PreK teacher and went on to serve as the RTI/dyslexia specialist. She was named assistant principal in 2018 at Magrill EC/PreK/K School. Three years later, she moved to Tomball ISD to serve as the multilingual content specialist for Grades PreK-2, a position she held until her current post.

Fun Fact: González has deep roots in Aldine ISD. Her first AP job was at Magrill, where she attended elementary school in the ’90s. She is also a graduate of Nimitz High School Class of 2002.

González has a bachelor’s degree in bilingual education (EC-Grade 4; special education EC-12) from the University of Houston-Downtown and holds a Montessori Certification (ages 2 ½-6 years) from the National Council on Measurement in Education. She received her master’s degree in education administration from Houston Baptist University and her doctorate in education in special education leadership. González also holds a Principal Certification (EC-12).