After four years of service at TISD, Carla Dupree announced May 14 that she will be stepping down as high school principal and is embarking on a new position as Pleasant Grove ISD’s assistant superintendent. 

In 2017, Dupree began her time at Texas High as assistant principal of curriculum and instruction. In 2019, she was promoted to principal of the high school. 

Preceding her time at TISD, Dupree served at Queen City ISD for 22 years. Five of those years were spent teaching, 14 as the assistant principal and principal of Queen City Elementary, and three years as the high school principal.

Dupree was notified of the opening for PGISD’s assistant superintendent job and was not interested at first. As she began to think about the opening, though, she decided to apply for the job. 

“It was not something that I really wanted to entertain the thought of because I didn’t see myself leaving TISD,” Dupree said. “But then I thought about it, and I prayed about it, and I talked to my family. I’m done with my superintendency courses, and I’ve been a campus administrator for 21 years, [so] I feel like it’s time for that next step. After I talked to my family and prayed about it, I decided yes.”

Dupree described this new transition as “growing pains,” noting that the faculty, staff and students will be what she will miss most about TISD. 

“This is gonna be really hard, [but] I’m super excited about a new opportunity,” Dupree said. “I’d have to say bye to [the] seniors anyway, but to say bye to everybody else is really tough. It’s definitely the hardest thing.”

This year’s senior class has a special place in Dupree’s heart because of the time they have shared together. Not only was this year’s senior class the first freshman class Dupree worked with but will also be the class she will leave with. 

“We started at Texas High together, and we’ll leave together,” Dupree said. “When I leave graduation, I’m done here.” 

Because of her bond with the senior class, Dupree leaves them with a message:

“I’ve seen you grow so much. I’ve seen you set your goals and achieve them. I’ve seen you go through tragedy. I’ve seen you enjoy victories. I think we’ve just really all grown together. And now it’s just that time where we step out and go on our new adventures.”