By Catie George, Director, Communications & Storytelling
The Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC) and the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) hosted the 24th annual Principal for a Day (PFAD), presented by Capital One, on Thursday, Oct. 3, across DISD schools.
PFAD matches business and community leaders with an elementary, middle, or high school in DISD based on the participant’s areas of expertise, interests, and the school’s need. The participant gets to experience a day-in-the-life as principal in a local school.
Laura Barnett, Vice President of External Affairs at Axxess, had her first-ever PFAD experience at Career Institute North, which provides students access to training and career programs not available at their home campuses.
“It was fascinating to come in and see every option that is available,” said Barnett. “There are so many different pathways… and when you add in technology, there are jobs that we haven’t even discovered yet. And so, being in these types of environments where [students] can learn these skills, [they] are well prepared and well suited for roles that don’t even exist yet. When you have that solid foundation from a place like Career Institute North, you can go anywhere and do anything.”
Axxess, PFAD’s 2024 corporate sponsor, has been a longtime partner of the DRC and supports education efforts in their community.
“Axxess sits at the intersection of healthcare and technology, and there’s both healthcare and technology pathways right here at [Career Institute North]. Because of Principal for a Day, we’re able to better understand the needs of the educational system and how we can help to meet and address those needs in order to ensure that our future talent pipeline is up to par and able to come in and hit the ground running from day one.”
A longtime PFAD participant, Dallas College Chancellor Dr. Justin Lonon, spent his day at Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ).
“We have a longstanding relationship with Thomas Jefferson,” Chancellor Lonon said, explaining that Thomas Jefferson High School is a Pathways in Technology and Early College Programs (P-TECH) campus. P-TECH offers students the chance to earn a high school diploma, up to 60 hours of college credit, an associate degree, and hands-on career experience by the time they graduate high school.
“We have 30,000 dual credit students that are part of Dallas College,” said Chancellor Lonon. “It’s a multi-million-dollar investment that we make every year into the future of these students. We want to smooth out that transition from high school to college. We want to ensure that students know they can go to college. They are college material. And so, for so many of these students here at TJ that are part of P-TECH, these are amazingly gifted, talented students that are focused, committed, and are doing high-level, college-level work. It is nice to be here on the ground and interact with them.”
At the PFAD After-School Reception, presented by Amazon, participants reflected on their days spent in DISD schools.
“Having people engaged in the community serves a lot of different functions. To get all of us outside of our norm, outside of our day-to-day, to better understand what’s going on in the education environment, is helpful to our business leaders and to our schools,” said Chancellor Lonon. “Education is the bridge to economic mobility and prosperity. The great thing about Principal for a Day is bringing that together, bringing those connections together, so it provides a better opportunity for support from business leaders in the community.”
DISD Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde spoke to the leaders in the room and asked them to keep the momentum going.
“I ask you to please stay engaged because we need you. We need your experience. We need your wisdom, and we need you to help us,” said Dr. Elizalde. “That is what this is always about. It’s about our students and improving our processes. So, we ask you to volunteer in any way that you can—read to our students, help the school with beautification, participate in a career day, and continue to please lend your treasure.”
The Dallas Education Foundation launched the inaugural “Campus Support Month” Campaign, inviting business and community leaders to support DISD campuses with philanthropic donations. During the month of October, donors may designate a specific campus to direct their donation or support a high-need campus. To learn more, visit their website.
A special thank you to PFAD presenting sponsor Capital One, After-School Reception sponsor Amazon, and corporate sponsors Axxess and Dallas College. Thank you to the DISD for their continued partnership.
If you would like to remain engaged with the Dallas Independent School District, please review our Menu of Engagement Opportunities.
To learn more about Principal for a Day, please visit our website.