When Willie Johnson arrived at South Oak Cliff High School as principal in 2016, expectations for student performance from outside of the campus were low. Inside the building, however, he saw something different for the talented students who simply needed the right environment to thrive.
Nearly a decade later, his vision has transformed into measurable success. Johnson was recently named Dallas ISD’s Secondary Principal of the Year, an honor that pairs well with another measure of success for his campus, achieving an 89 (B) accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency.
At South Oak Cliff, excellence isn’t aspirational; it’s expected, he said.
“We expect students to be successful,” Johnson said. “We have always had bright students. We just needed to create the right environment for them.”
That belief has shaped the school’s culture and fueled its academic success. It is the foundation Johnson credits for his earning the district’s top honor as a principal. 
“Winning this award has been such a great feeling,” he said. “For me to receive this means we’ve performed well as a campus. It’s a collective award. I can’t win without our school because our success belongs to all of us. We’ve celebrated together as a campus, and the feeling is still euphoric.”
Johnson’s passion for education began long before he entered the classroom. Following in the footsteps of his parents—his mother, a teacher, and his father, a principal—he saw firsthand the lasting impact educators can have on their communities.
“Growing up, I knew this was a notable job,” Johnson said. “After seeing the impact of teachers, this was the only vocation I truly desired.”
That calling brought him to South Oak Cliff, where he began his career as a teacher and coach in 1992.
Encouraged by mentors and colleagues, Johnson soon recognized his potential as a school leader. He went on to serve as assistant principal of Lincoln High School and E.B. Comstock Middle School, earning a reputation for helping campuses transform through an intentional focus on the culture and systems that support students.
“I always saw myself as an academic,” he said. “I knew that I could make a bigger impact by leading schools.”
Although Johnson left coaching to concentrate on being a classroom teacher, he carried with him the same leadership philosophy that he uses to guide South Oak Cliff today.
At the heart of that philosophy is a simple belief: students facing the greatest barriers can achieve at the same level as their peers when given the right support and opportunities.
Johnson often shares an analogy that shapes his approach to leadership: “When a flower doesn’t bloom, change the environment in which it grows.”
As principal, he challenges teachers to create that environment, one where every student has the opportunity to succeed.
That shared commitment has helped foster a culture of stability, with the campus maintaining a 90% teacher retention rate. At South Oak Cliff, educators embrace two guiding principles: a commitment to students and a commitment to the pursuit of excellence.
“Winning Principal of the Year speaks to the commitment of our teachers,” Johnson said. “As a principal, I just set expectations. Our teachers do the work and demonstrate the commitment that moves students toward greater success.
To ensure students receive a well-rounded education, teachers encourage every student to participate in an extracurricular or auxiliary activity. Johnson says this strategy has played a key role in the school’s academic success.
“When creating an ideal environment for students, we know that every student is different,” Johnson said. “Extracurricular activities provide another layer of mentorship and guidance. These programs are about building relationships and helping students commit to excellence. Strong academics become a natural byproduct because students have multiple layers of people holding them accountable.”
For Johnson, the school’s success extends beyond test scores. He wants students to develop the confidence, resilience, and self-efficacy to believe they can accomplish great things. By supporting students academically, socially, and emotionally, SOC has built a culture where students are equipped to meet high expectations because they are surrounded by a strong network of support.
For Johnson, the culture at South Oak Cliff is the legacy he hopes to leave behind.
“South Oak Cliff is where I believe that I belong,” he said. “This campus has seen an amazing transformation. I started here and hope to end my career while here at SOC. We have had great success, and find myself wondering what’s next.”
The shot shifted the game in Carter’s favor as the Cowboys took the lead, sparking a run that secured them the game and moved them one step closer to the school’s first state championship.
“They said, ‘If this is all about learning, then you can learn with us. Let’s do it together,’” Cortez said. “That stopped me. They weren’t asking for an easy path. They were asking for a chance.”
For Cortez, the awards matter less than what happens in the classroom and practice space. She talks about students bent over laptops, adjusting code line by line, or nudging drones into precise positions so a program will run correctly in a gym full of air vents and moving people.
Kermit Gray is the director of bands at Roosevelt High School, and once walked in those same halls as a student. He experienced a full circle moment as an instructor at the jazz camp held at his alma mater.
He grew up and trained as a teacher in Spain, where he worked in a bilingual school with students whose first language was not Spanish. Over time, his desire to grow pushed him toward the life-changing decision of accepting an opportunity through the Spanish Ministry of Education to teach in the United States.At first, Texas was almost a mystery. 
Bazey Mireles, Spanish teacher at Hill Middle School, who is co-teaching with Fernandes, sees the camp as a chance to plant long-term seeds.