Houston ISD placed Lantrip Elementary School Principal Valiza Castro on administrative leave Monday, the district told families Monday, marking continued upheaval among HISD campus leadership.
Castro took the reins of the East End school this academic year from former Principal Rhonda Schwer.
HISD’s Central Division Superintendent Luz Martinez said the district believes this decision will best support students’ learning and teachers’ workplace experience.
“We know this shift is abrupt and that parents will have questions and concerns,” Martinez wrote, adding the move will not impact the school’s magnet programming. Martinez wrote that the district will send an update when the interim principal is named.
Many parents said they were shocked by Houston ISD’s move and did not see a reason why Castro was put on leave. Parents largely shared that Castro had navigated a challenging situation at Lantrip due to sweeping staff turnover after last academic year. Fifteen teachers left the school in June alone.
“In my viewpoint, she’s a wonderful, wonderful principal,” Lantrip PTO President Lucretia Allen-Nguyen said. “She’s bonded with the students, as well as the parents and the staff.”
Allen-Nguyen and other parents highlighted Castro’s community engagement events.
“HISD has failed to even maintain the grounds of Lantrip,” Allen-Nguyen said. “So she came up with the idea of having ‘sparkle’ days every month, where parents and students come out and volunteer. And we will cut the grass or try to pressure wash the school, clean up the garden. We would do little projects around the school to beautify the property.”
The environmental science magnet school, with around 500 students, was an A-rated school in 2024 by HISD’s calculations of state accountability ratings.
The community was nervous about who their new principal would be this academic year, said Angela Sanchez de Bravo, the PTO vice president of fundraising and community engagement. She found Castro was “a whirlwind of positive energy.”
“She has been so hands-on, so involved, so positive and willing to create good community. And she has rolled up her sleeves and 100% is there whenever she’s asked,” the fifth-grade parent said.
Parent Carrie Hendrix said she worries that if Castro leaves, morale is going to be worse among teachers and the school will lose those who stayed.
“I know there’s a lot of kind of lower teacher morale since last year. There’s so many teachers that left the school,” the second-grade parent said. “So the teachers that did remain, they were really worried about the new principal and what she would be like. But whenever I’ve talked to the teachers that have stayed, they’re really impressed with her and they’ve really rallied around her.”
Allen-Nguyen said Castro has requested more support and staff to better serve students with behavioral issues following staff turnover.
The removal at Lantrip follows upheaval at other Central Division schools, including the recommended termination of Harvard Elementary School’s Shelby Calabrese. It is unclear whether that was finalized Thursday amid personnel changes following the Board of Managers’ closed session.
Harvard Elementary School has a new principal, assistant principal and magnet coordinator following the reassignment of its previous assistant principal and magnet coordinator. Central Division also announced a new principal and four new assistant principals at Pershing Middle School on Nov. 7.
Northside High School announced a new principal, Claudia Garza, with a meet-and-greet scheduled in early November. HISD did not comment on when Garza stepped into the role or why the principal change occurred. Atherton Elementary School also received a new principal earlier this academic year, after the previous principal was reassigned. HISD declined to comment on individual personnel matters on Oct. 24 but confirmed that the previous principal was still employed in district.
Leah Garabedian, parent of a 4-year-old, said the district did not solicit feedback on Castro’s performance.
“We’ve never received an outreach and, like, ‘Hey we want to get a report card on Principal Castro.’ Again, they’re perfectly positioned to send out parent surveys,” Garabedian said. “It is a complete black box. (There) doesn’t seem to be any plan forward. Like I said, everyone is very worried about their jobs.”
Sanchez de Bravo called on HISD to communicate with parents and said removing Castro from her position would be detrimental.
“Nothing is happening in Lantrip that necessitates this kind of disruption,” Sanchez de Bravo said.
