Dallas ISD celebrates teaching excellence by recognizing outstanding educators who are making a difference in the lives of students every day. Meet 2022-202 Principal of the Year finalist Gayle Rodgers, Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy.
Gayle Ferguson Rodgers is the founding principal of Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy, an early college high school within the Choice/Magnet division. She has been an urban educator with Dallas ISD for 31 years. Her most rewarding years have been spent as a principal within early college high schools (ECHS). The ECHS program is uniquely designed to target first-generation college students, low-income youth, students of color, and other young people underrepresented in higher education. Rodgers is a firm believer in generational change through college access. Under her leadership, Gilliam Collegiate Academy is an “A”-rated campus and a 2014 and 2021 Exemplary High Performing National Blue Ribbon School. Rodgers is a Dallasite and a proud graduate of Prairie View A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology as well as the University of North Texas with a master’s in Education Leadership.
View the full list of the 2022-2023 Principal of the Year finalists here.
