New Principals For Armstrong and Bradfield

Bradfield names new principal. From McKinney ISD. Hey, didn’t we send a few million dollars up there? Think she can bring some back on her way to work?

And Skip Moran scores the Armstrong gig.

By Merritt Patterson May. 23, 2011 | 12:25 pm | 24 Comments | Comments RSS
24 comments to "New Principals For Armstrong and Bradfield "
  1. mk @ May 23, 2011 at 12:35 pm
    Congrats to Dr. Moran, but I’m bummed the Middle School is losing him when my kid still has one year to go. That guy really knows his stuff; the Lunch Bunch meetings I attended when he spoke gave me more information in a couple of hours than a zillion school meetings would have.

  2. DemBones @ May 23, 2011 at 1:17 pm
    Good news for Armstrong.

  3. Bluebird @ May 23, 2011 at 1:28 pm
    Agree with MK on Moran. He’s brilliant! Full of knowledge and will be a great asset to Armstrong!

  4. E22 @ May 23, 2011 at 1:29 pm
    I’ve had two kids go through MIS and I was never really sure WHO the principal was! As far as I’m concerned, Mr. Bohac is the principal, judge and jury. Love that guy!

  5. GenXBob @ May 23, 2011 at 1:33 pm
    Skip is a real winner and should have Armstrong humming much like Jeremy Gilbert at Hyer. However, it will be a real loss for the middle school.

  6. HPHSmom @ May 23, 2011 at 1:48 pm
    I agree! Great news for Armstrong!

  7. DemBones @ May 23, 2011 at 4:45 pm
    @E22. Norton, Bohac, and Moran have been a powerful combination for the middle/intermediate school, but Norton and Bohac will be fine.

  8. Edith H. @ May 23, 2011 at 8:11 pm
    So is anyone going to comment on what Bradfield ISN’T getting? Armstrong gets the great internal candidate, and Bradfield gets the other one . . . . While I love the families and many of the teachers at Bradfield, I’ve always felt my kids were getting the short end of the stick there compared to kids at Armstrong, Hyer, and and UP. No school plays, no chess club, no decent music programs, no after-school clubs, few fun festivals or celebrations . . . . All the other elementary schools have great new playgrounds and landscaping . . . and Bradfield got lots of ugly cement and only now the promise of new playground equipment.

  9. Gringo Bling @ May 24, 2011 at 10:33 am
    @Edith H.- you obviously aren’t very involved in your kid’s school life at Bradfield. Or perhaps, you’re just one of those people that sits on the sidelines bitching instead of getting off your butt and making a difference. Maybe you missed it, but there was a huge campaign this spring to raise money for a new playground. There was a really great auction/party and MANY other separate fundraising parties to raise roughly $300k for the playground…obviously no thanks to you. And regarding “fun festivals”, I think that Halloween festival is top notch. I have friends from other districts that are totally blown away by the activities offered. Again, this is all driven by parents volunteering to put on such a show…while you’re sitting on the sidelines bitching. And where where you this morning? I was at Bradfield at 7:00 this morning before going to work along with a bunch of other parents getting everything set up for Field Day. And no other “celebrations”…again don’t no what you’re talking about. My wife just had dinner with all the other mother’s in the class, there’s an afterschool party tomorrow, there are plans to meet up next week at HP Pool, etc., etc.

    Instead of complaining about what you don’t have, do something to get involved. I used to always wonder why my parents volunteered so much for me and my sisters when were kids. As a parent now, it’s obvious that parents working with school adminitrators are the only way to make a good school great.

  10. poorteacher @ May 24, 2011 at 11:13 am
    @Gringo Bling-With all due respect, maybe Edith H. works full time.

  11. ld @ May 24, 2011 at 11:52 am
    Gosh, your negativity is astounding! Edith, give the new principal a chance to see what she brings to Bradfield. Granted, the retiring principal wasn’t particularly innovative, but the school is full of top-notch teachers, involved parents, and terrific students. And I thank my lucky stars I didn’t have to sing or dance in a 4th grade mom’s skit.

  12. Gringo Bling @ May 24, 2011 at 1:22 pm
    @poorteacher- so do I!

  13. Gringo Bling @ May 24, 2011 at 1:28 pm
    And just for the record, I also was kind of happy at the prospect of “fresh blood” and maybe some more progressive initiatives when McNutt announced she was retiring. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover (in this case a staff picture), so I hope the new principal brings somes new energy and ideas to Bradfield.

  14. C.W. @ May 24, 2011 at 3:01 pm
    We are at Bradfield and love it! The 2 new playgrounds and sport courts are set to break ground on 5/31. My son is in Chess Club and I loved his 1st grade play. He is in 2nd grade now and the entire 2nd grade just performed a music program at the Spring PTA meeting. The Fall Carnival, 100th day of school, 2nd grade Free Enterprise Day, 1st grade picnic, Bike Rodeo, Fall and Spring Family picnics are some other activities we have all enjoyed.
    The new principal is supposedly fantastic and we can’t wait to meet her!

  15. MCT @ May 24, 2011 at 4:32 pm
    @Gringo Bling:  Why are you entitled to express an opinion that you’d
    like to see Bradfield get “a new principal” who would “bring new
    energy and ideas,” but Edith isn’t entitled to express essentially the
    same opinion?  Anyway, I think I know who “Edith” is, and you assume
    too much:  she is a very involved parent at HPISD
    (and also works, just like you, big fella).  Parent involvement is
    great but the principal (as you appear to acknowledge) is also an
    important part of setting the “tone” for a school and makes key
    decisions that affect things like art, music, and other
    extracurricular activities.   The information provided about Ms.
    Brunner suggests a capable and experienced person,
    but it doesn’t signal much of a departure from the status quo for
    Bradfield. But maybe she’ll surprise us, in a positive way.

  16. C.W. @ May 24, 2011 at 6:12 pm
    @MCT:
    With all due respect, if she is a “very involved parent at HPISD” then she would have known about the fundraising efforts for the new playgrounds and sport court. She is entitled to her own opinion, but she does not seem to be aware of what is going on daily at Bradfield.
    Ms. Brunner will be at the school tomorrow and we are looking forward to meeting her!

  17. Gringo Bling @ May 25, 2011 at 9:14 am
    @MCT: Like C.W. said, you lose all credibility with me when you say Edith H. is “a very involved parent”, yet is oblivious about the single biggest fundraiser that took place this year at Bradfield. Also big fella, if she doesn’t know about all the festivals, performances, and special school days, then she’s extremely out of touch.

  18. A. B. @ May 25, 2011 at 9:52 am
    Agree with Edith. Just compare the stories in the Park Cities People on the 4 elementary schools. Hyer, Armstrong and UP tend to have more things going on in the schools (Camp Write-Along at UP, Ask Mr. Johnson at Hyer, various clubs, Panther TV, fancy door handles at Armstrong, etc. and yes, I know I might have some of these things a little wrong so bear with me). Other than the new playgrounds, which are nice but not exactly innovative, Bradfield has been treading water for several years. And I think all the schools do Field Day. Bring on the new principal, as long as she isn’t for 4th grade mom skits!

  19. Avid Reader @ May 25, 2011 at 1:30 pm
    I think Edith just got carried away with some serious over-generalization regarding what Bradfield does/has compared to the other schools.

  20. Edith H. @ May 25, 2011 at 2:09 pm
    For the record, I know about–and contributed monetarily–to the playground fund at Bradfield. I’m delighted with the changes at hand and appreciate the community of parents who made this happen. My point is that Bradfield always seems to be the LAST HPISD elementary school to get updates and try new things, whether in regards to playgrounds, community-building activities or more progressive curricular changes. My perspective–based on countless hours volunteering at 3 different HPISD schools–is that Bradfield is in need of strong leadership to get it out of a sustained rut caused not by lack of parental involvement but from an aversion to change that stemmed from the principal’s office. My goal in expressing this opinion is to engage in constructive dialogue (where others are free to disagree and add their own perspectives) so that we in the Park Cities community can make all of our schools better. I lament the fact that some individuals seem unwilling to exchange opinions without resorting to name-calling and general incivility. I hope that Bradfield will get a fresh start, and I will be there trying to do my part as I have for many, many years.

  21. former Eagle @ May 25, 2011 at 4:52 pm
    That’s because Bradfield is a school for losers!

  22. XT @ May 25, 2011 at 5:11 pm
    @Gringo Bling,

    Get off your high horse, please. And please point out where she said she wasn’t aware of any fundraising. In fact, she stated that “only now the promise of new playground equipment.”. So she clearly knew of the promise of a new playground, her point was that it was “only now” happening.

  23. Cigar Daddy @ May 25, 2011 at 11:20 pm
    Bradfield has the hottest teachers in the district. What else matters??

  24. E22 @ May 26, 2011 at 8:45 am
    I have been at both schools … Bradfield and Hyer. I went to Hyer kicking and screaming after many, many years at Bradfield (almost a decade). I love, love Hyer and it is all about Jeremy Gilbert and the “tone” he sets at the school. I can’t even explain the difference! Once the parents at Bradfield experience the difference (hopefully) they will understand what they have been missing! Mr. Gilbert runs an amazing school and my kid tells me every week what a cool principal he has. Nothing warms your heart more than to see your principal carry his homemade sack lunch down the hall and sit in the cafeteria and have lunch with your kid or all the others every week. Never saw that at Bradfield in almost 10 years and that doesn’t have anything to do with activities or volunteering. Sorry to say, but my kids probably never talked to Dr. McNutt and were scared of her.
    @ Gringo Bling — and yes, I volunteered at Bradfield (and continue to at Hyer) so my opinion is not based on “sitting on the sidelines.” And, God knows, after all these years … teenagers, their schedules, multiple schools …. volunteering at the elementary level gets harder not easier! We suggested so many fun things to do to add to the already wonderful things at Bradfield … but they always seemed to be vetoed! It’s OK to express wanting something different and possibly better for Bradfield. Last but not least, it’s almost like your bitter or being a martyr about volunteering — not everybody can or wants to be as involved as you and that’s ok! Wishing all good things for Bradfield and Armstrong!

Leave a Reply