The Dallas ISD principal who allegedly called a meeting of only Black students to discuss their academic performance will not return to her job.
In a letter sent to parents Tuesday night, Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde told Woodrow Wilson High parents that “after reviewing preliminary details,” principal Chandra Hooper-Barnett will not return.
“This decision was carefully considered and made with our students’ best interest in mind,” the letter said.
The district announced on Monday that former school leader Danielle Petters would serve as interim principal after a “recent incident” on campus, but did not provide additional details at the time. Parents later told the Dallas Morning News Hooper-Barnett had called an assembly for the school’s Black students, during which she reportedly blamed them for the Woodrow Wilson’s “B” rating.
The incident “does not reflect the the values and expectations of our school community,” Aaron Aguirre-Castillo, executive director of the Woodrow Wilson vertical team, said in the letter.
Hooper-Barnett in her own letter sent Monday acknowledged holding a meeting but did not say what it was about.
The “subsequent discussion that transpired was not appropriate. ... I want to assure you that it was never my intent to single out or cause harm to any group of students,” she wrote.
Of the school’s roughly 1,800 students, a little more than 130 are Black, according to state data.
Elizalde acknowledged families might still have questions about what happened during the meeting, but asked for patience while the district conducts an internal review.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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