Danielle Petters, third from the left, is the high school Principal of the Year for Dallas ISD. (Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD).
Danielle Petters, the former principal at J.L. Long Middle School, has been named Principal of the Year for her work at Spruce High School. The former Woodrow Wilson teacher graduated from Dallas ISD schools, and also had her two children go through public schools in East Dallas.
Petters, who has been a principal for 16 years, still hasn’t completely processed the honor. “For two full days, I was in a fog,” she told Dallas ISD. “I decided the emotion I felt the most was humbleness.”
Superintendent Michael Hinojosa commented on Petters commitment in sending her own children to the district, and said that she volunteered to become the principal at Spruce, a school with significant challenges and several principal changes over the years. “When you step up like that, it makes it that more meaningful, to stand up in a tough situation,” Hinojosa said.
“The principalship is not a job, it’s a calling,” Chief of School Leadership Stephanie Elizalde said. “And that calling requires an additional ‘three Cs.’ You must be confident, even when you stand alone; you must be compassionate, to the needs of all; and you must have courage, every single day to make really tough decisions.”
