The Blazer Beat
February 20, 2026
North Lake Family,
It was a busy 4-day week here at North Lake ECHS! We remain focused on high-quality content and on supporting our students in their quest to earn a high school diploma and an Associate's Degree!
We have been busy this week with TELPAS testing and also working on our STAAR mastery check for English I and English II. We have seen tremendous growth in our English students and have found areas to focus on moving forward. Kudos to our staff who have been flexible with schedule changes and working to support our students! We will continue with STAAR mastery checks next week with Algebra I, US History, and Biology. I know our students will do well because we have the best teachers providing top-tier instruction, which allows students to relate the content to real-world situations.
I also want to praise our college access provider, Mr. Matney, with ASP! This week, we had 25 students stay for SAT prep, which is the most we have had stay after school! In comparison, Mr. Matney also let me know that another larger school with over 2,000 students, only had 10 students stay. This is a testament to the work Mr. Matney has done with our students and the one-on-one work he does with them daily.
I hope everyone has a great weekend and can spend time with their family and friends. Reminder for our families, please remind our students to check their Dallas College Portal daily to make sure they don’t have any assignments due this weekend. Make it a great weekend, and thank you for your support of North Lake ECHS!
Sincerely,
Adrian Hernandez
Principal
North Lake Early College High School
Twitter @AdHernandez2648
Familias de North Lake,
¡Fue una semana muy ocupada de 4 días aquí en North Lake ECHS! Seguimos enfocados en contenido de alta calidad y en apoyar a nuestros estudiantes en su camino hacia la obtención de un diploma de preparatoria y un título de asociado.
Esta semana hemos estado ocupados con las pruebas TELPAS y también trabajando en nuestra evaluación de dominio de STAAR para Inglés I e Inglés II. Hemos visto un crecimiento tremendo en nuestros estudiantes de inglés y hemos encontrado áreas en las que enfocarnos para seguir adelante. ¡Felicitaciones a nuestro personal, que ha sido flexible con los cambios de horario y ha trabajado para apoyar a nuestros estudiantes! La próxima semana continuaremos con las evaluaciones de dominio de STAAR para Álgebra I, Historia de los Estados Unidos y Biología. Sé que a nuestros estudiantes les irá bien porque contamos con los mejores maestros que brindan una instrucción de primer nivel, lo que les permite relacionar el contenido con situaciones del mundo real.
También quiero felicitar a nuestro proveedor de acceso a la universidad, el Sr. Matney, con ASP. Esta semana, 25 estudiantes se quedaron para la preparación del SAT, ¡la mayor cantidad que hemos tenido después de clases! En comparación, el Sr. Matney también me informó que en otra escuela más grande, con más de 2000 estudiantes, solo se quedaron 10. Esto demuestra el trabajo que el Sr. Matney ha realizado con nuestros estudiantes y el trabajo individual que realiza con ellos a diario.
Espero que todos tengan un excelente fin de semana y que puedan pasar tiempo con sus familiares y amigos. Les recordamos a nuestras familias que revisen el Portal de Dallas College a diario para asegurarse de que no tengan tareas pendientes este fin de semana. ¡Que tengan un excelente fin de semana y gracias por su apoyo a North Lake ECHS!
Atentamente,
Adrián Hernández
Director
North Lake Early College High School
Twitter @AdHernández2648
Dr. Baker 10th/11th Grade
Dr. Hart 9th/12th Grade
Hello North Lake Families!
Our ASP updates for this week are as follows,
Celebrations:
- Our Senior class has officially earned over 10 million dollars in scholarships and grants!
- 100% of district identified students have applied to the Boule scholarship!
Applications: 98% of our students have applied to multiple four year universities, and at least 86% have been accepted!
FAFSA: 96% of our students have completed their FAFSA/TASFA! The remaining student eligible to complete the FAFSA has completed the student portion, and are waiting on their parents to complete the parent section. I sent an email and a letter home, and will follow up with them this week.
Scholarships: Our scholarship total is currently $10,177,378! Many schools have not released financial aid awards yet, so this number should continue to rise as more and more schools release financial aid!
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
