Jason Myatt, far left, is leaving a Plano middle school to become Lakewood Elementary’s new principal.
Lakewood Elementary has bid farewell to three principals in the last four years, the most recent being Toni Goodman, who took the helm in fall 2014. Goodman left the school mid-spring semester, and Dallas ISD has announced her replacement — Jason Myatt, the current principal at Schimelpfenig Middle School in Plano ISD (50 points if you can pronounce that).
A letter to parents from Tracie Fraley, the DISD executive director who oversees Lakewood, describes Myatt as a “highly effective educational leader known for his inclusiveness, curricular knowledge, relationship building, coaching and professionalism.”
He also happens to be a neighborhood resident. Myatt, his wife and their young daughter live in Lakewood Hills, which is within Lakewood Elementary’s attendance boundaries. (Full disclosure: It’s my neighborhood, too, and I met Myatt at a neighborhood social event.)
The recent leadership instability at the school has added to parents’ angst about facility issues, such as carbon monoxide leaks and the potential of construction delays. Myatt, who led Scimelpfenig for five years and, before that, Plano ISD’s Centennial Elementary for seven years, is tasked with turning that tide.
