Valerie Hairston

Valerie Hairston

Valerie Hairston is an educator with 18 years of experience at the middle and high school levels in El Paso, Texas. Currently, she serves as the principal of Specialist Rafael Hernando III Middle School. Since becoming principal at Hernando Middle School in spring of 2019, she’s led efforts to implement the professional learning community (PLC) process and establish a collaborative culture, resulting in improved student achievement.

In the fall of 2022, Hernando Middle School was the first and only school of any level in the city of El Paso to achieve Model PLC at Work® status. As a Title I campus serving a 30 percent emergent bilingual population, Hernando Middle School utilizes the PLC process to ensure equitable instruction for all students. Additionally, Hernando Middle School was recertified as a Texas Schools to Watch by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals in the fall of 2021 and has received a Texas Education Agency Purple Star for supporting military-connected students.

Valerie earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Texas at El Paso and holds a master’s degree in education administration from Lamar University.

PLC at Work^®

PLC at Work® experts have proven success in leading the PLC at Work process in a school or district. Work with them to implement a focus on learning, build a collaborative culture, and create a results orientation that leads to sustained, substantive school improvement.

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