The Blazer Beat
January 9, 2026
North Lake Family,
I want to welcome you back to North Lake ECHS for the 2026 Spring Semester! The Fall Semester was full of excitement and highlighted by the work of our students and staff! We continue to strive to be one of the best early college high schools in the country, and we thank you for being part of this journey with us! The Spring Semester is an exciting time as we move into the State and National testing season, culminating in our seniors' graduation in May.
As a reminder, our students enrolled in college courses with Dallas College professors will begin class the week of January 19th. Parents remember that a majority of our students have college classes with Dallas College professors after 12:30 pm, Monday to Thursday. Please try to schedule appointments for your students in the mornings to avoid missing out on college courses. Thank you for your understanding and for working with Dallas College.
I am also happy to announce that I have been named the Secondary Principal of the Year for the Transformation Network in Dallas ISD. I am eligible for the District Principal of the Year and will be applying for that in the coming days.
I couldn’t have done this without our amazing staff who, every day, believe in what our students can do! I’m very thankful for the mentors who have believed in me and continue to push to make me better. I’m also grateful for our parents and community members who also work hard to make our campus a great place to work and learn.
Let’s make it a great Spring Semester and thank you for your support of North Lake Early College High School!
Sincerely,
Adrian Hernandez
Principal
North Lake Early College High School
Twitter @AdHernandez2648
Familias de North Lake,
¡Les doy la bienvenida de nuevo a North Lake ECHS para el semestre de primavera de 2026! El semestre de otoño estuvo lleno de emoción y se destacó por el trabajo de nuestros estudiantes y personal. Seguimos esforzándonos por ser una de las mejores escuelas preparatorias con programa de doble inscripción del país, ¡y les agradecemos por ser parte de este camino con nosotros! El semestre de primavera es una época emocionante, ya que nos acercamos a la temporada de exámenes estatales y nacionales, que culminará con la graduación de nuestros estudiantes de último año en mayo.
Como recordatorio, nuestros estudiantes inscritos en cursos universitarios con profesores de Dallas College comenzarán las clases la semana del 19 de enero. Padres, recuerden que la mayoría de nuestros estudiantes tienen clases universitarias con profesores de Dallas College después de las 12:30 p. m., de lunes a jueves. Por favor, intenten programar las citas de sus hijos por la mañana para evitar que falten a sus clases universitarias. Gracias por su comprensión y por su colaboración con Dallas College.
También me complace anunciar que he sido nombrado Director de Secundaria del Año por el Equipo de Transformación del Distrito Escolar Independiente de Dallas (Dallas ISD). Soy elegible para el premio de Director del Año del Distrito y presentaré mi solicitud en los próximos días.
¡No podría haber logrado esto sin nuestro increíble personal que, día a día, cree en el potencial de nuestros estudiantes! Estoy muy agradecido con los mentores que han creído en mí y que me impulsan a ser mejor. También estoy agradecido con nuestros padres y miembros de la comunidad que trabajan arduamente para que nuestro campus sea un excelente lugar para trabajar y aprender.
¡Hagamos de este un gran semestre de primavera y gracias por su apoyo a North Lake Early College High School!
Atentamente,
Adrián Hernández
Director
North Lake Early College High School
Twitter @AdHernández2648
Dr. Baker 10th/11th Grade
Dr. Parker Hart 9th/12th
Hello North Lake Families!
I hope everyone is having a great week!
As we get back from winter break I'd like to take a moment to recap some of the incredible things you have helped make happen for our students!
Acceptances:
- Davidson College: Paris C. - Paris will be attending Davidson on a FULL scholarship through the ASP X Davidson Scholars program!
- Cornell College: Emmanuel B. - Manny will be attending Cornell College through the Posse Scholarship program! He is the FIRST Posse scholar from North Lake!
- Syracuse University: Arturo & Mohammed were accepted this evening!
- Texas Christian University: Kimberly V, Daphney, Ruth, Astrid & Odalys. Daphney and Astrid also received admission to the competitive Nursing program!
- Gettysburg College: Bailey H. was admitted to Gettysburg through the prestigious Lincoln Scholars program!
- University of Texas at Austin: Ammaar, Mario, Angelina
- Saint Mary's College Notre Dame: Alyssa was admitted to the competitive direct entry Nursing program at Saint Mary's Notre Dame and received the Presidential Scholarship, the highest scholarship they award!
- Simpson College: Isaiah C was admitted to the Honors College at Simpson College!
- Many, many more! More of students have been accepted to a myriad of other colleges including the University of North Texas, Augustana College, Albion College, Stephen F Austin State University, Tarleton State University, the University of Texas at Dallas, Angelo State University, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, Juniata College, Midwestern State University and many more!
Applications: All but two students have applied to multiple affordable four year universities. Our 76 students have submitted 439 applications to over 100 colleges! We have had many students apply ED2 and regular decisions for numerous colleges, so I will keep you updated as decisions are released!
FAFSA: 78% of our students have completed their FAFSA!
Scholarships: While I am still adding up all of the scholarship awards I have received from students, we are at approximately 2 million dollars in merit based scholarships! Keep in mind that this total does NOT include need based aid, and it specifically consists of merit based scholarships! Additionally, our students are still hard at work on other scholarships:
- Odalys and De'Mariyah are hard at work on the Terry Scholarship for TWU and UTD!
- Itzel has made it to the second round of the Gates Scholarship!
- Mario is a semifinalist for the Morehead-Cain Scholarship at UNC Chapel Hill!
Our seniors are doing incredible things, and we haven't even gotten into the second semester! These are victories for all of us. Our seniors could not be reaching these heights without your support. All of the extra hours spent in tutorials, writing rec letters, meeting with families, and the myriad of other things you do to go above and beyond every day are paying off for our students. It is an honor to serve alongside each and everyone of you, and I cannot wait to see what the next semester brings. Thank you for everything you do to support our students through the college process, and for living the North Lake Way every day.
Thank you all for your continued support!
Beginning on the first day of school (August 12, 2025), all students will be expected to adhere to the the North Lake Early College dress code and uniform policy.
Wednesday will be "Uniform Day" On Uniform Wednesdays, students are required to wear their ECHS uniform shirt, black slacks, khaki slacks or a skirt (no shorter than “finger-tip length” with arms in normal position, i.e., arms hanging naturally, as student is standing straight and upright).
Senior Only Uniform of grey slacks or Grey/Blue plaid skirt with the North Lake ECHS uniform shirt or Senior Shirt!
North Lake ECHS Uniform can be purchased at Levine's two locations or via their website https://levinesstores.com/collections/north-lake-early-college-high-school.
Students will be required to follow the North Lake Dress Code on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Please see the image below which outlines the do's and don'ts.
All students will be required to have clear or mesh backpacks for the 25/26 school year, small personal non clear bags are allowed. Dallas ISD will provide all students with one free clear back from the school year. I would recommend the mesh bag as they are more durable for the year. If you require a backpack, you can pick up at open house or first day of school
Mesh/Clear Backpack examples - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mesh+backpack&crid=21Z8OKVNB5ZZY&sprefix=Mesh+Bac%2Caps%2C144&ref=nb_sb_ss_pltr-data-refreshed_1_8
Seniors Only, click on the photo for product info at Levine's
John Johnson - Assistant Principal
Monique Gossett - Campus Coordinator
Kara Hoover - English I Cluster Lead Teacher
Kane Cortez - MAPS and Algebra I
Ana Martinez - Biology and AP Environmental Science
Hector Osegueda - AP Human Geography and AP African American Studies
Aaronia Ferguson - English II, Senior Sponsor and Cluster Lead Teacher
Bethany Crawford - Dual Credit German
Jeff Heiple - Geometry and Cluster Lead Teacher
Samah Al-Hamadi - Dual Credit Biology
Alexandra Locker - Algebra II
Swati Chakarvarty - Honors Chemistry
Aubry Born - Dual Credit English
Dr. John Davis II - Special Education
Elida Rueda - Parent Support Specialist
Dr. August Darbonne - Dual Credit US History and Mexican American Studies
Dhara Katbamna - Dual Credit Math and AP AB Calculus
Kelly Green - Dual Credit Government and AP Economics
Steven Nguyen - Dual Credit Health/PE and Cluster Lead Teacher
Michelle Smith - Dual Credit English
Danny Whitsell - Business and Financial Literacy
Nurse Archie - School Nurse
Natasha Sublet - Office Manager
Sandra Fisher - Financial Clerk and Parent Liaison
Cledy Olivares - Campus Safety Monitor
Tierra King - Teacher's Assistant and TSIA2 Math Tutor
Tonya Caston - Data Clerk/Registrar
