Woodrow Wilson High School has announced that its new principal will be Michael Dang, who is finishing out the year as the principal at the Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet in Dallas ISD, part of the Townview Center, before he joins Woodrow Wilson.
In a meeting with the teachers in the auditorium after school on Thursday, Educational Director Tracie Fraley and outgoing Principal Kyle Richardson introduced Dang to the staff. Dang, who has been with Dallas ISD since 1995, has served as the acting principal of Spruce High School, the associate principal at Samuell High School, a division coordinator of school leadership with Dallas ISD, a math and science specialist and several other positions with Dallas ISD and Garland ISD.
Dang began his career with Dallas ISD as a math and science teacher at the Metropolitan Learning Center after attending the University of Texas at Austin. In a letter to the staff, Tracie Fraley, executive director for the Woodrow feeder pattern, describes Dang as “a highly respected educational leader known for his inclusiveness, curricular knowledge and professionalism.”
Callie Turner, a sophomore cheerleader and the only student on the Principal Selection Panel, noted Dang’s desire to be supportive. “He seemed like he wanted to be involved with students, and wasn’t just bossy,” she says. She also saw his experience in several schools as an asset, “The fact that he was pulled into so many schools shows just how good he is good at what he does.”
Dang will move into a school that, under Richardson, has been transformed from a low performing campus into the highest achieving comprehensive high school in Dallas ISD. During the meeting, Dang spoke briefly about his desire to listen and learn first, to improve communication and to create systems that will continue to improve student performance and culture.
