The Georgetown ISD board of trustees hired the new principals of Pickett Elementary School/Wolf Ranch Elementary School, Cooper Elementary School, Wagner Middle School and Georgetown High School during a special board meeting June 5.

Jacob Donnell was named the new principal of Pickett Elementary School, Tish Ptomey was named the new principal of Cooper Elementary School, Danielle Holloway was named the new principal of Wagner Middle School, and Brian Johnson was named the new principal of Georgetown High School.

As new principal of Pickett Elementary, Donnell will be responsible for establishing the new Wolf Ranch Elementary in 2020-21. He will facilitate the transition of students and staff from Pickett Elementary to the new Wolf Ranch Elementary when it opens, hire new staff and develop new processes and procedures to open Wolf Ranch Elementary, GISD Superintendent Fred Brent said.

Pickett will no longer be an elementary school when Wolf Ranch opens, confirmed Melinda Brasher, GISD communications director.

Previously, Donnell served as an elementary principal in Waco ISD and has 13 years of education experience, serving as a math teacher, assistant/associate principal and principal.

As new principal of Cooper Elementary, Ptomey will be responsible for facilitating and supporting campus staff to design engaging work for students and establish and model a culture aligned to the GISD Strategic Framework, among other duties, Brent said.

Previously, Ptomey worked as assistant principal of Forbes Middle School. She also played an integral part with the opening of Wagner Middle in 2017, where she helped hire staff as well as design and develop processes and procedures to open Wagner Middle.

As new principal of Wagner Middle, Holloway will lead, facilitate and support the design of engaging work for students and ensure actions and behaviors support and model a culture aligned to GISD’s Strategic Framework, among other duties, Brent said.

Previously, Holloway was an important partner in the team that hired staff and designed the opening of Wagner Middle. She was instrumental in aligning instruction at Wagner Middle with GISD’s Learner Profile and chairs the Capstone Committee. Holloway developed the master schedule that provides opportunities for collaboration and flexibility in how teachers view time, space and resources.

As new principal of Georgetown High, Johnson will support and ensure actions and behaviors support the mission of GISD and advance the campus toward the GISD vision. Johnson will align systems and processes to support the implementation, Brent said.

Previously, he managed all aspects of a Humble ISD high school campus, located in the Houston area. He established a vision, budget and a day of service for all incoming freshmen. Johnson grew advanced academics and AP test preparation by 300% and implemented fundraising efforts that raised more than $50,000 annually for technology, service learning and professional development, Brent said.

All four principals will assume their roles in July.