Stephanie Moran has pretty much done it all in education and now she’s putting that experience into practice as principal of Buice Elementary School.
Now in her 29th year with Ector County ISD, Moran was most recently assistant principal at Buice, but she has worked at elementary, middle and high schools throughout the district. She has been a coach, teacher and instructional specialist, among other jobs.
It was an honor to be selected as campus chief for Buice.
“It’s exciting, because I know now that I get to work with this team of people and I get to help guide them in the right direction and provide them with direction so that we can really focus on our kids and what’s best for our students,” Moran said. “Certainly nervous; little nervous coming in. But I know I’ve got multiple resources within the district — colleagues, leadership — that I can rely on and draw from. I feel very grateful, especially in the last few days, for the support of mentors, colleagues, previous working relationships, that I can really call on right now,” Moran said.
Moran never saw herself as a principal. She loved teaching, coaching and helping fellow teachers in curriculum and instruction.
When she finally decided to work toward a principalship, Moran said she did it with friends. They decided they needed to do more and they could do more. They went to school together and finished their master’s degrees together at University of Texas Permian Basin.
She gave it a year and she and her friends got their degrees. Moran also found out being an assistant principal wasn’t so bad.
“I loved being at OHS. I liked the culture. I loved graduation. Graduation is probably one of the highlights of my career; ever. I love every second of graduation and watching the looks on the kids’ faces and how excited they are when they show up in their robes and they’re nervous. Working with those kids who needed that extra … push … that encouragement to say you’re almost there or you got some things standing in your way, but we can help you overcome these obstacles; really working with the kids who needed that encouragement, who didn’t necessarily see themselves graduating and getting them there; getting them through this obstacle, back on track and seeing that success come a little here and a little there until it was like wow, I think I’m going to do this,” Moran said.
She started in March as interim at Buice, went through the interview process and was approved by the ECISD board in April.
Moran said she loves the people at Buice.
“I love the community. We have a very willing community out there willing to jump in and help. They’re willing to support, they want to see their kids be successful and they’re willing to do their part. They want to know what they can do, how can they contribute,” she added.
Buice has been through some changes in the last couple of years, so Moran would like to bring some stability so teachers feel comfortable and capable of doing their work.
Moran expects about 800 students in kindergarten through fifth grade to attend Buice this year.
They have about 52 teachers and a fantastic new administrative team.
“I’m really excited about my assistant principals. They’re very strong in instruction and I think they’re going to be a great addition to our campus,” Moran said.
A product of ECISD, Moran earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in educational leadership, both from University of Texas Permian Basin.
She and her husband, Jay, have three children and four grandchildren.
At the end of a recent Thursday, Moran and two assistant principals went to meet parents at The Devoted Grind across from campus.
Jessica Ortiz said she loved the idea of meeting at the coffee shop, because during COVID, parents weren’t allowed in the schools and it’s been hard getting people to come back and get involved.
Her son will be going into third grade at Buice and a daughter who will be attending school at a different location.
“I think the principals setting up that precedent before the school year is just going to do wonders for the rest of the year,” Ortiz said. “I’m really excited.”
Chief of Schools Keeley Boyer said Moran has been with ECISD for a long time and has experience at all levels.
“We were really excited when she said she wanted to step into school leadership and move from AP into being a principal. We are excited for her … take all of her instructional and leadership experience and lead Buice,” Boyer said.
“I think she’ll do a great job. She was our interim there in the spring semester for a couple of months and after being there only a few weeks, she said that is where she wanted to be and she wanted to lead the staff and students there. … We think she’s the best fit,” Boyer added.
Executive Director of Leadership Anthony Garcia said Moran is always an advocate for students and parents.
“Her experience in curriculum and campus operations will help align campus goals, as well as serve the Buice community,” Garcia said.
