TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — IDEA Public Schools in Tarrant County hosted its annual “Principal for a Day” event Monday and invited several community leaders to be acting principals, including WFAA anchor and reporter Tashara Parker and the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," Ms. Opal Lee.
The event took place at four schools – IDEA Achieve in Haltom City, IDEA Edgecliff, IDEA Rise and IDEA Southeast in Fort Worth.
IDEA said this year’s theme was “Women in Leadership,” and each community mentor took part in a variety of roles such as sharing morning announcements, hosting campus walk-throughs, meeting with team leaders and student councils, and providing lessons to students.
“This year’s theme highlights the importance of women in leadership and serves as a reminder to our students that anything is possible with determination and strong education. Scholars will have the opportunity to meet our community leaders and learn about their experiences and roles to lead successfully,” Dr. Dionel Waters, executive director of IDEA Tarrant County said in a news release.
Parker read morning announcements, met with students and read a book to a class Monday.
Ms. Opal visited the IDEA Achieve farm and provided a reading lesson for students on her book “Juneteenth: A Children’s Story.”
Other community leaders that visited were: Dr. Angela Dampeer, associate VP of Human Resources at Texas Wesleyan University; Dr. Dana Fitzpatrick, director of Institutional Inclusive Programs at Tarleton State University; Dallas County judge Vonda Bailey; Leah M. King, president and CEOP of United Way Tarrant County; and Anette Landeros, president and CEO of Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (FWHCC).
'Principal for a Day' event held at IDEA Public Schools in Tarrant County
Since being established in 2000, IDEA Public School has increased from a small school with 150 students to a network of tuition-free K-12 public charter school in the U.S. There are currently 143 school across Texas. The school system has bee recognized in national rankings for The Washington Post, The U.S. Department of Education’s list of Blue Ribbon School and U.S. News & World Report’s Top High Schools lists.