She graduated from Harris County High School. Now, she’s a principal in the district.
She graduated from Harris County High School. Now, she’s one of the district’s principals.
In a unanimous vote Tuesday night, the Harris County Board of Education approved superintendent Roger Couch’s recommendation to appoint Melissa Hayes as principal of Harris County Carver Middle School.
Hayes was one of the two assistant principals at HCCMS this past school year. Before that, she was assistant principal for two years and a teacher for 20 years at Park Elementary School.
“When making my departure through the doors of Harris County High School with my high school diploma, it was my dream that I would give back to the educational community that gave so much to me and my family,” Hayes said in the school district’s news release. “Teaching in this community has given me so much joy. It is with great pride that I continue my journey to serve Harris County as an educational leader.”
Hayes added, “I look forward to continuing that service with the Harris County Carver Middle School family. The teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders deserve a safe and productive educational environment in which they can prepare for the great opportunities society has to offer. I am proud to continue to be a part of the mission to provide an ‘Excellent Education to All Students in Harris County’ with this position. I aspire to follow in the footsteps of those great leaders who have come before me and will continue to encourage our teachers and students to strive for excellence.”
The HCCMS principal vacancy was created last month, when Couch promoted Stacey Carlisle to assistant superintendent for human resources, replacing the retired Jeff Branham.
“To promote another qualified candidate from within our faculty as well as a graduate of Harris County High School is something special,” Couch, who was the high school’s principal from July 2001 through December 2015, said in the news release. “Melissa Hayes is well-trained, well-experienced and well-respected by her peers, parents and students. We are ready for her to get started at the middle school.”
Those personnel moves are among several leadership changes Couch has made since he came out of retirement to succeed Jimmy Martin, who resigned resigned May 10 as superintendent, effective immediately, amid an unspecified dispute with the board. The board hired Couch as interim superintendent May 15 then as superintendent June 28.
The other new leaders are:
▪ Former Harris County High School science teacher and former HCSD instructional technology specialist Dave Dennie, who replaced the retired Debbie Korytoski as assistant superintendent for curriculum. Dennie spent the past year as an educational technologist for the Department of Defense Education Activity Southeast District.
▪ Former Mulberry Creek Elementary School principal and former HCCMS assistant principal Justin Finney, who replaced the retired Michael Ward as assistant superintendent for business services and technology. Since February, Finney had been the DoDEA Southeast District’s chief of staff.
▪ Lindie Snyder, another HCHS graduate, who was promoted from assistant principal to principal at Creekside Intermediate School. She replaced Dan Lomax, who now is a grant writer for the school district.
▪ Beverly Weaver, who was promoted from interim principal and assistant principal at Mulberry Creek to principal of the school, replacing Finney.
Hayes earned her a bachelor’s degree in middle grades education from Fort Valley State University, master’s and specialist’s degrees in elementary education from Troy University and a specialist’s degree in educational leadership from Argosy University. She resides in Harris County with her daughter.
This story was originally published July 12, 2018 at 11:41 AM.