Meeting Dupree
Getting to know our new principal
Texas High’s new principal is Carla Dupree. Mrs. Dupree is the successor to former principal Brad Bailey.
August 15, 2018
A Bible quote hangs on the wall and family pictures line the desk. Walls of organized books chronicle the history of Texas High and a brand new nameplate sits on the desk with a new name.
Carla Dupree.
“When I found out I was going to be the new principal, I just felt so honored and truly blessed,” Dupree said. “I love high school kids. [In a] high school classroom I see independence and [the students] on the brink of going out and doing great things with [their] lives. To me, this is just such an exciting time, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
Dupree is well known as an administrator at Texas High, but this calling was not clear at first. The story of how Dupree chose a career in education is more of a “happy accident.”
“I was an English major in college, and I realized that to make any money, I was going to have to get a master’s,” Dupree said. “My mom and dad said that they were not going to fund the master’s degree. [And I wondered], what can I do with an English degree? I can teach. Honestly, that’s how I went into teaching and education.”
This happy accident led to a much more serious calling — one Dupree feels may be from God. The signs in Dupree’s life all seemed to point to a career in administration.
“As far as how I got into administration, I really think that it was more of a God thing because I had thought I wanted to be a counselor,” Dupree said. “I was talking to one of my colleagues, and he said I needed to go into administration. I didn’t [agree] I needed to go in administration. He said I absolutely did and that he saw leadership ability [in me]. So I listened to him, went for it and I’ve just loved it ever since.”
Despite Dupree’s consistent prayers and faith, the transition to administration led to a world of rejections from potential jobs. Soon, Dupree realized what she was doing wrong.
“When I got my master’s degree and principalship, I started going on interviews. I was going to apply for assistant principal positions. I would pray and say, ‘Lord, please give me this position, please give me this position,’ every time I went to an interview,” Dupree said. “There were a couple of rejections, and I wasn’t really used to that. And it hit me. I’m not praying the right prayer.”
Praying for jobs she thought fit her seemed useless, but praying to God to put her where she needed to be yielded results. This sudden realization led to an abrupt change in the way Dupree thought of opportunities.
“I shouldn’t pray that God give me a specific job; I should pray, Lord, place me where you want me to serve you and to bring glory to your name,” Dupree said. “Once I changed my prayer to that, doors just opened, like my position as an assistant principal. Then, I got to the high school where my son graduated his senior year. So, that was amazing.”
Dupree may be a familiar face at Texas High, but the role of principal is a far leap from her role of assistant principal last year. The positivity and interactions she got to take part in made the role one of Dupree’s favorite moments of her career.
“[Assistant principal] is a phenomenal position. I got to help teachers and help students,” Dupree said. “It was just a really rewarding position because of that.”
The prayer of Jabez is a verse from Chronicles 4:10, and plays a recurring role in Dupree’s life. “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.”
“[I needed to] ask the Lord [about the principalship] again, I would. [In the] prayer of Jabez, one part of it is expand my territory that you can bless me. That came to my mind about expanding my territory,” Dupree said. “Then, there was a [post] that came up one day and it said, a ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what it’s made for.”
With her prayers pointing her to be principal, she decided to go for it and achieved her goal. Dupree is excited to use her passion for working with kids to take the role of principal farther than it’s ever gone before by pushing more interaction and teamwork between students, teachers and staff.
“I just want to have a positive impact on the lives that I come in contact with, whether that is a parent in the front office or a custodian working hard to keep our campus clean,” Dupree said. “No matter where I am, I want to have a positive impact.”
