Chris Carnes, Principal

  • CHRIS CARNES, PRINCIPAL I began my educational career in 1996 as a High School Mathematics teacher. After several years of teaching I wanted to expand my knowledge and explore school leadership, so I decided to attend the University of Houston for a career in school administration. I was fortunate enough to begin my administrative career right away in Pasadena ISD as an Assistant Principal in 2003. In 2008, I joined HISD as the Instructional Manager for the North Region, and was blessed a couple months later to become Herrera’s Principal.
     
    I instantly knew Herrera was a gem of a school and a shining beacon to its community. I made it my goal to have the campus always reflect that. During my time at Herrera, we have been able to accomplish several things to improve the quality of education and enhance the learning environment for the students, teachers, and community. Being that we are an elementary school, we redesigned the interior of the school with hand-painted murals that evoke school pride and colors and characters that draw children in. Within the school we have created purposeful spaces such as a habitat for students to learn about animals and nature; an internet lounge for students to enrich their learning opportunities; and an outdoor classroom within the habit for students and teachers to enjoy. We upgraded our instructional inventory by adding the latest and most current technology for the entire campus, including iPads, flying Drones, 3D technology, and even added 1 or 2 Smart Board to every classroom. These technologies allowed even the smallest of hands to interact with their learning in a very personal way. News traveled fast about the technology-driven lessons going on Herrera and soon other schools were touring our campus, eventually leading to our designation as an innovative campus for HISD. Extra-curricular activities have been added to our after-school program as well. Among the after-school activities, we have created highly successful classes for our community members. We have dynamically shifted the instructional practices in each classroom to student-centered, hands-on, interactive lessons allowing students to learn from each other. We have created classrooms that support small group instruction giving every child the chance to reach their fullest potentials. This transformation naturally prepared us for the challenging work of becoming a fully authorized IB school. I am very proud to be the Principal of Herrera, and thankful that my daughter and I are part of this supportive and prideful community.