Round Rock ISD announced July 19 that Mario Acosta will serve as the new principal of Westwood High School in Northwest Austin. "I will be entering into my 12th year of public education having served in a variety of leadership roles," Acosta said in a letter to the Westwood community. "I am thankful and blessed to have the support of my caring family, my wife, our three daughters and our son as we enter the Westwood community. My next steps will be building meaningful relationships across our entire school. In the coming weeks and months, we will share opportunities for you to be involved and active within our award winning programs and organizations." Acosta previously served as principal of Hernandez Middle School in Round Rock and oversaw its International Baccalaureate Programme and fine arts programs. Westwood is located at 12400 Mellow Meadow Drive, Austin. “Mario Acosta has a reputation for outstanding educational leadership and for building strong relationships with students,” Superintendent Steve Flores said in a news release. “He is a rising star in public education. The students, parents and staff will work together with him to continue and build on the legacy of Westwood as an elite school for academics, arts and athletics.” Acosta replaces Laurelyn Arterbury who departed RRISD earlier in July to become the executive director of College and Career Pathways at Leander ISD. Acosta graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in mathematics and earned his master’s degree in educational leadership at Lamar University in Beaumont. He is pursuing a doctorate at UT. Prior to working for RRISD, Acosta was academic director at the LBJ Early College High School in Austin ISD. He has also worked as a coach, math teacher, instructional coach at administrator at several high schools. “My time as the principal at Hernandez Middle School has been the most rewarding and enjoyable experience in my administrative career,” he said in a news release. “I am honored for the opportunity to serve as the new principal for Warrior Nation. Our goal as a school community is to design the destination high school [and] working with students, parents and our team to build on our school’s stellar reputation.” For more information visit www.roundrockisd.org.