Some Mansfield ISD campuses will be welcoming new leadership for the upcoming school year.

The new principals for Mansfield High School, Linda Jobe Middle School, T.A. Howard Middle School, Brooks Wester Middle School and Rogene Worley Middle School have been named.

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Trent Dowd is now the head of Mansfield High School. He is replacing Jennifer Young after she was appointed as MISD’s principal of special assignments. Dowd has 15 years of experience in education and was most recently the principal of Linda Jobe Middle School.

“It’s so exciting to be at a campus with such tradition and academic, athletic and fine arts excellence,” Dowd said. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity, and I look forward to what Mansfield High School has coming in its very near future.”

Dowd has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Baylor University and a master’s in educational leadership from Dallas Baptist University.

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Joseph Harmonson will be taking Dowd’s place as principal of Jobe Middle School. Harmonson was previously the assistant principal at the campus. He also taught at Della Icenhower Intermediate School and Legacy High School while being an adjunct professor at Tarrant County College.

“As Jobe’s Principal, my ultimate goal is keeping students first,” Harmonson explained. “The primary way to achieve that goal is with a focus on continuous improvement of quality instruction and nurturing positive relationships.”

Harmonson has spent 13 years in the field of education. The Texas native earned a bachelor’s in business administration from The University of Texas at Arlington and a master’s degree in education administration from Lamar University.

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Erica Gorruso was named the new principal of T.A. Howard Middle School. She was formerly the academic associate principal at Timberview High School. Gorruso is replacing Dr. Kisha McDonald, who now serves as the district’s director of social-emotional learning.

Gorruso comes to her campus with 13 years of experience in education. She was a teacher, coach and associate principal in neighboring school districts before joining MISD in 2017. She believes in lifelong learning and plans to instill that belief throughout her new school.

“My philosophy is that we have a campus of learners—from administrators to students—and we will all continuously learn from each other and grow together,” Gorruso explained. “We’ll work hard and have fun in the process.”

She holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of North Texas and a master’s degree in education administration from Lamar University.

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The principal of Brooks Wester Middle School is now Kourtney Gates, who was previously the academic associate principal at Lake Ridge High School.

Gates started her first teaching job 18 years ago at T.A. Howard Middle School. She later taught at Mansfield High School. Three years later, she began her first administrative role as assistant principal at Wester Middle School. 

“I am blessed to the principal of Wester Middle School, a campus that is already on the path to excellence,” she said. “My goal is to work with the Wester staff to create an environment where students are excited to come to school.”

Gates earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. She earned a master’s degree in policy and educational leadership from there as well.

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Marcus Brannon is the leader of Rogene Worley Middle School. He comes to Mansfield ISD with 12 years of educational experience. He held the titles of teacher and assistant principal before being a principal at an Arlington ISD junior high school.

“My goal is to build relationships with staff and stakeholders through collaboration and to bring a focus to educating the whole child,” said Brannon. “We will work relentlessly to support all students so that the growth of all students can be fostered.”

Brannon is a graduate of Jarvis Christian College with a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry He earned a master’s degree in educational administration from Concordia University Texas and is in the process of completing his doctorate program in educational leadership at Stephen F. Austin State University.