Although the news of a new principal for J.L. Long was a bit early last week, the ink is now dry, and the Dallas ISD made it official that Danielle Petters will take over the position.

J.L. Long has struggled during the past several years with administrator longevity — the last three head principals have each been on the job for three or less years before moving on. Even with dedicated staff, parents, and students this can be a trying and stressful situation for a school. Petters plans for this trend to end.

Dr. Jennifer Smith Jones was the principal at Long for the past year, but during the summer resigned from DISD for personal reasons. Randall Farmer was assigned the position of interim principal for the past month and significantly helped the staff prepare for the opening of school.

The district responded quickly to fill the position permanently and interviews took place last week. A Request For Principal (RFP) committee comprising school faculty, parents, PTA, and SBDM, short for site-based decision making, members, and community partners helped interview candidates.

After this step and further review by DISD officials, Petters was named as the new Long principal.