AISD greets new leaders

Austin Independent School District has announced a new crop of school principals. Chaolin Chang has been named principal of Joslin Elementary School. Chang was previously the principal of a Mandarin immersion magnet school in Houston, and prior to that was assistant principal at AISD’s Graham Elementary School. Stacy Foss, who was the assistant principal at Maplewood Elementary, will be principal of Pease Elementary School. Melissa Rodriguez, who has been with AISD for 15 years, is the new principal at Linder Elementary School. Kara Karam Schultz will be principal at Ridgetop Elementary School, where she has served as assistant principal since 2012. Steven Covin has been appointed the new principal of Lanier Early College High School, where he started as an English teacher in 2004. Said AISD Superintendent Paul Cruz, “Our principals are the leaders of school communities, and I know our schools are in great hands with our new principals. I look forward to seeing their positive impact on students, families and staff.” Meanwhile, AISD trustees have approved the appointments of three new executive directors. LaKesha Drinks and Deborah Warnken were both named executive directors of school leadership while Rosa Pena will be the executive director of human resource services.