Veteran educator and campus administrator Joe Harrington, Ed.D., has been selected to serve as the new principal of Colleyville Heritage High School in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. He currently serves as principal of Medlin Middle School in Northwest ISD. The GCISD Board of Trustees formally approved the recommendation to hire Harrington during a May 7 special meeting.
The search for a new principal began after current principal Becky Prentice announced that she would be leaving CHHS at the end of the school year to take the position of coordinator of assessment for GCISD. Input from the community, faculty and students was used to determine the desired qualifications and characteristics of a new principal for CHHS. According to Dr. Robin Ryan, Superintendent, Harrington's experiences and achievements closely matched the CHHS community's needs.
"Dr. Harrington is a great addition to the GCISD team and CHHS community," said Ryan. "With a proven track record of developing the whole student, he values and encourages success in academics, as well as student involvement in extracurricular and community activities. We are excited to welcome Dr. Harrington to GCISD and look forward to a long relationship with him as a leader in our district."
Prior to his current role as principal of Medlin Middle School, Harrington was associate principal for curriculum and instruction in NISD, assistant principal at Northwest High School, and assistant principal at Medlin Middle School. In addition, he served the district as summer programs coordinator for two years and secondary summer school principal for two years. He was a teacher and coach at Marcus High School and Flower Mound High School, both in the Lewisville ISD, Northwest High School in NISD, Covington High School in Covington, Tenn., and St. Aloysius School in Buffalo, New York.
With 26 years experience in the field of education, Harrington earned a bachelor's in geology from Buffalo State College in Buffalo, New York, and a master's in educational administration from the University of North Texas. He earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University in Miami, Fla. Harrington also holds a Texas Principal Certification and Texas Secondary Science Composite Certification.
While he was principal at Medlin Middle School, he implemented America's Choice 2011, a national program focused on high quality instruction and increased student achievement. Each year he was principal, Medlin earned an Exemplary Rating from the Texas Education Agency. Under his leadership, students developed a well-rounded experience, incorporating classroom learning, extracurricular activities and community service, accumulating valuable components of a portfolio to be used for post-secondary admissions or a job search.
District officials will work with Northwest ISD to finalize his transition plan. CHHS PTSA will host a "Meet and Greet" for Dr. Harrington on Monday, May 21,4 p.m. in the CHHS library.
