Stephanie Square, the newly appointed principal of Jack Yates High School, is not just an educator; she is a living testament to the power of perseverance and the profound impact of education. A Houston native, Square’s journey has come full circle, from once being a determined student and math teacher at Yates to now taking the helm as its esteemed leader.
Born and raised in Houston, Square’s parents immigrated from Nicaragua in the 1980s. Growing up, education was instilled as a core value in her household, with all of her siblings also attending Houston ISD schools.
Square’s experiences in middle school and high school were not without challenges, including her father’s deportation and the subsequent move from Clayton Homes to Cuney Homes. But it was these challenges that fueled her determination to overcome and excel.
A proud graduate of Yates, Square’s passion for education led her back to her alma mater, initially as a dedicated math teacher. Her commitment to her students and her desire to make a difference in their lives became Square’s guiding force.
Continuing her pursuit of academic excellence, Square earned a master’s degree in accounting from Rice University, expanding her knowledge and expertise beyond the classroom. Throughout her career she embraced diverse leadership roles, including teacher specialist and assistant principal in various Houston schools. Her dedication to empowering students and educators earned her the position of principal at East Early College High School in 2018.
Now, Square’s journey has led her back to where it all began, as she takes on the mantle of principal at Yates. A true homecoming, this role signifies a deep-rooted commitment to her community and a desire to create an environment where every student can thrive and succeed.
Square’s vision is to foster a culture of inclusivity, support and academic excellence at Yates, ensuring that every student feels valued and equipped to reach their highest potential.
The Defender spoke to Square about her plans for the upcoming school year.
Defender: How has your experience as a student and teacher here influenced your passion for education and your commitment to returning as the school’s principal?
Stephanie Square: My experience as a student made a really big difference in the outcomes for me. One of my teachers actually turned out to be the closest thing I had to a father: Coach Maurice McGowan. I stayed connected with him, even after high school. He came to kids birthday parties, we did family events. Both entire families completely know each other. I’ve also seen areas that can be better. A lot of friends of mine, I guess I would say because of all the sanctions that come with accountability, sometimes I feel like decisions were made in the best interests of the school’s accountability above what’s in the best interest of the individual child. This is while I [was] in college. When I was seeing peers that are close to my age finding it very easy to drop out of high school. So, I decided that I wanted to teach for a couple of years and then become a certified public accountant. Prior to that, my husband and I coached little league basketball. So, when I started teaching here, I had so many connections with many students being that I grew up in the Cuney Homes. I knew a lot of kids since they were young. So, when they turned 14, a lot of them would come into my class as my students years later.
As a teacher, what really inspired me to move into leadership, I had a teacher a few doors down [who] struggled with classroom management. The next class period there would be a few missing kids. It turns out that they got in trouble in the previous class, so now they’re in detention for the rest of the day. The kids that I needed in the classroom, they’re missing out on a lot of learning and a lot of issues were really maybe cultural differences that were misunderstandings. I saw the potential to make a big difference there.
Defender: What are your key priorities and vision ahead of the school year at Yates under your leadership?
Square: Everything is happening so fast. I think the bottom line is my vision is for Yates to be thriving. What does that look like? I’m still in the process of defining. Yates needed a principal so late in the game. I had a very big decision to make. I decided to apply for the position, then I was named principal. I’ve just been hitting the ground running from day one. Our current priority is staffing, then building a master schedule. I’m really big on making decisions that include other people. So, when I’m working on the master schedule, for example, I’ve already been calling teachers. I’m really big on giving students agency and choice over their schedule and whatever their schedule permits. I’m overwhelmed by the positive responses that I’ve [received]. I’m looking to define how we’re going to capitalize on that.
Defender: What are some strategies you’ve implemented in past leadership roles that you feel would be of value to the school?
Square: Number one is communication and looking for avenues to keep everything clear, transparent and open. Making information attainable and accessible for our community, friends and students. At my previous campus we worked really hard to keep the website updated and to include everything on our website calendar: tutorials, club meetings and big events. If they find something unreliable, let us know. Another one is to consistently ask for feedback. So, we continue to redefine that process by taking feedback from all stakeholders.
Defender: Yates is a New Education System (NES) Aligned School—How do you envision using the resources provided in this initiative to prepare students for academic and career success?
Square: I’ll be transparent and say that I’m very new to learning about NES because it wasn’t going to apply to me at my previous campus. I didn’t attend the professional developments related to NES. As far as I understand, we’re going to receive additional resources to support teachers. We’re going to have learning coaches that will support students who are working individually or in small groups so the teachers can focus on the students that need help the most. We’re going to have teacher apprentices who are candidates seeking to become certified teachers. We’re gonna use teacher apprentices to cover the classes so the students don’t have to miss out on learning with the substitute teacher.
Defender: There are many challenges students are dealing with far beyond just grade, post pandemic, summer learning loss, emotional and behavioral challenges. How do you plan to support them?
Square: Social and emotional learning was a very big component of ours at the previous campus. One of the ways is just to make sure that we are doing a really good job of coaching teachers because they’re really the first in line of defense when it comes to looking for certain signs and how they respond to things going from a restorative versus a punitive standpoint when responding to certain misbehaviors. We’re also looking to provide and expand opportunities for students to engage beyond the traditional school day. Just making sure that every single student has a place outside of just coming to school on a regular day.
