Wylie High School adds new associate and assistant principals

Wylie High School is filling two of the jobs that shape daily life on a campus of more than 3,200 students: Katherine Morales was promoted to associate principal, and Joel May will join as an assistant principal.

The changes matter because Morales’ new assignment covers campus behavior, curriculum and instruction, clubs and organizations, and the English department, placing her near the center of student discipline, academic support and campus culture. At Wylie High, where Wylie ISD lists 3,231 students and Texas Tribune Schools Explorer puts enrollment at about 3,228, those decisions affect how families experience attendance, communication and the rhythm of school life.

Morales is already well known inside Wylie ISD. She joined Wylie High as an assistant principal in 2022 after earlier administrative work in Plano ISD and previous roles as a teacher, ESL team leader, campus administrator and ESL coordinator in Lansing, Illinois. She has more than 20 years of experience in education, earned a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice from Southern Illinois University and a master’s degree in educational administration from Lamar University, and lives in Wylie with her family.

May brings a similarly broad background to the campus. He started in Wylie ISD in 2023 as an assistant principal at Harrison Intermediate after serving two years as an assistant principal at Dover Elementary in Richardson ISD. Before moving into administration, he worked as an assistant band director at South Grand Prairie High School and later as associate director of bands at James E. Taylor High School and Allen High School. Wylie ISD said he transitioned into campus administration in Richardson ISD in 2019. May earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Baylor University and a master’s degree in educational administration from Lamar University, and he also lives in Wylie with his family.

The staffing shift comes after a string of leadership moves across the district. On March 6, Wylie ISD named Tarah Clark to lead Burnett Junior High after Levi Turner said he planned to pursue another opportunity at the end of the school year. In June 2024, the district had already moved Clark into an associate principal role at Wylie High and added Shivon Loya and Kristin May as assistant principals.

Wylie ISD enrolled 19,525 students in the 2025-26 school year, making experienced campus leadership a practical necessity in a large suburban district with 22 campuses. At Wylie High, the latest promotions point to continuity inside the district, while also reinforcing the systems that matter most to parents and students: behavior, instruction and the day-to-day stability of a very large school.