McDonald selected as YHS principal
YISD announces former AP, counselor to lead YHS
Former assistant principal and school counselor Maci McDonald aims to utilize her education and experience in her approach as the Yoakum High School (YHS) principal for the coming school year.
During their June meeting, the Yoakum ISD School Board announced that McDonald would fill the role previously held by Chris Wegener for two decades.
Since her position as a first-grade teacher in 2014, McDonald has served in several roles with YISD and received master’s degrees in education, school counseling and educational administration.
“I am definitely taking a lot of the leadership perspectives that (Wegener) taught me, and I’m going to roll with them going into the new year,” said McDonald in an interview with the Herald Times. “He taught me a lot of things. He knew a lot of the legal aspects and what worked and what didn’t work. He had a lot of experience; he was exceptional in the position he was in.”
McDonald served as Assistant Principal at YHS since 2020, which provided two years riddled with adversity such as the COVID-19 pandemic and school safety concerns. She said she plans to rely on her experience when dealing with challenges as the school’s principal next year.
“I’m aware of some of the issues that we currently face. I’m aware of some of the trending issues that are facing our youth,” McDonald said. “As a counselor, I’m aware of some of the things that the students need as far as a counseling perspective. Mental health and things like that are all important in a child’s development.”
The recently selected principal said she hoped to continue the school’s success regarding standardized test scores and anticipated some students might experience challenges adapting to online standardized testing that will replace paper tests state-wide next year.
“I want to maintain a staff that has school pride, and I want the Yoakum Bulldogs to be successful in every avenue that we try to achieve,” said McDonald as she listed her personal goals. “We’re going to continue to build on the foundations and traditions that we’ve always had and progress in the right direction, hopefully.”
YISD Superintendent Tom Kelley expressed that he was confident McDonald would lead the high school towards more success.
“She’s been at the junior high; she’s been at the high school as an (assistant principal),” said Kelley of McDonald. “(She stood out because of) her experience, her energy, she cares about kids, she has a great relationship with her teachers and she’s an excellent teacher.”