Creighton Jaster (L) and Mark Melendez (R)
Two veteran educators were recently named Principals of the Year for Lamar CISD.
Mark Melendez is the 2019 Elementary Principal of the Year. He is in his sixth year as principal of Hutchison Elementary.
Prior to taking the helm at Hutchison, Melendez served as a teacher at Campbell Elementary and then as an assistant principal at Smith Elementary, before becoming the principal of Smith in 2008.
Before joining Lamar CISD, Melendez served in the U.S. Army and was a former teacher and assistant principal in Georgia.
Creighton Jaster is the 2019 Secondary Principal of the Year and has been principal at Lamar Junior High since 2015.
Prior to taking the reins at Lamar Junior High, Jaster served as an assistant principal at Lamar Consolidated High School and a teacher and coach at Briscoe Junior High.
Both were honored by their peers at a meeting of the District’s administrators.
Each year, Lamar CISD principals choose two of their colleagues to be the principals of the year. Only elementary principals (grades K-5) vote for Elementary Principal of the Year and only secondary principals (grades 6-12) vote on Secondary Principal of the Year.