SHS Raiders will welcome a new principal to campus in August.
The SISD Board of Trustees approved Ashlee Graham as the leader for Sunnyvale’s high school at last night’s called board meeting.
“Ms. Graham brings a passion for serving those around her,” Superintendent Matt Kimball said. “She clearly engages staff in collaborative processes, values student voice, and constantly seeks to engage parents and the community. While she has a talent for building campus culture, she also has a deep understanding of quality teaching and learning. She understands how processes and systems support student and teacher success each day.”
Ms. Graham, who is just weeks away from being conferred with a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas, comes to SISD from Frisco ISD where she was an Associate Principal at Reedy High School.
“I have wanted to be in Sunnyvale for a few years now,” Ms. Graham said. “I am a small town girl with small town values and wanted to lead in a place like Sunnyvale where everybody is a Raider. I was looking for a place with a sense of school pride and deep-rooted community. I have consistently heard such great things about Sunnyvale and how student-centered it is. Who wouldn’t want to work in a place like that?”
Prior to working in Frisco, she helped open Coppell ISD’s Ninth Grade Campus as an Assistant Principal and collaborated with her team to create the campus’ mission, vision and campus culture.
“I think the principal at Reedy High School would tell you that we have co-led the campus,” Ms. Graham said. “I have been a partner in all major decisions that have impacted our school community. I have had a great deal of autonomy with instructional programming on the campus. I have led a variety of teams that have shaped the work that we do to support our students.”
She has also taught in Lewisville ISD, Ouachita Parish Schools in Louisiana and in the community college system at Collin College and Delta Community College.
“Being a high school teacher is where I developed a love for high school students,” Ms. Graham said. “I just love seeing what students are capable of doing. And serving as a high school teacher for 11 years gave me a great understanding of what teachers need.”
Ms. Graham is dedicated to student monitoring and increasing student academic performance. During her time at Coppell’s Ninth Grade Campus, she helped establish increased accelerated instruction to fill learning gaps on STAAR exams and also supported ESL instruction. Both groups showed marked improvement in their scores on English I, Biology, and Algebra I EOC scores.
“Opening a new 9th grade campus gave me such a great foundation because I learned how to build a campus from the ground up and to build the infrastructure needed to successfully support teachers and students,” she said. “I also learned a lot about the unique needs of freshmen and what it takes to support their transition into high school.”
Looking ahead, Ms. Graham plans to build on SHS’ existing success.
“My short-term goal is to get to know the culture, the community and the campus needs. I want to know the people, where we are and what they need from me,” she said.
Ms. Graham's long-term goals for SHS (while not yet fully defined without learning more about the students, teachers and community), include preparing students for more than just their next academic step.
“I want to lead a campus where we develop students that are not only future-ready but where we develop humans rooted in grit, grace and gratitude. I know that Sunnyvale High School is already a successful campus, but I’d like to partner with others to continue down that path of greatness.”
Ms. Graham will be relocating to Rowlett in September with her fur-baby (a dog), Cinnamon.
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