After working at Coppell High School as associate and assistant principals, Melissa Arnold and Chris Gollner will be joining the Coppell Middle School East and Denton Creek Elementary faculty as the new principals.

Arnold takes over as principal for Steve Glover, who retired at the end of the 2021-22 school year. Her overarching goal as an educator was to become a principal: one who would support every type of student. Once the position became available, Arnold took her chance with years of experience. 

Arnold’s career in education started as a long-term substitute for Coppell ISD back in 2005, which led to a position as an English teacher at CHS. She had taught English courses, ranging from English I Honors to AP English III, for nearly six years before teaching in Florida for two years.

“I wanted to be a support for just your everyday student,” Arnold said. “I was not an advanced student in high school or a student who got in trouble a lot; I was just your normal student, and there was not necessarily any support for someone who was a student like I was. When I got into education, I realized, ‘my goodness I love working with all types of students.’ I love working with kids who are your everyday average student, kids who have discipline issues who are struggling with learning and kids who are very very smart and who really need those extensions to push themselves forward.”

When Arnold returned to CISD in 2013, she took on the position of assistant principal for CHS and was promoted to the position of associate principal in 2017. On June 6, CISD Board of Trustees approved Arnold as the new principal of CMSE.

“East is family, East is the home,” Arnold said. “The culture in this building is what I am all about. Family is so incredibly important to me and to know that that is the foundation of what this school is – we support, we love, we are there for each other, the FISH! philosophy has lived deep here at East – is exactly what I believe in.”

On June 6, the board also approved Chris Gollner as principal of Denton Creek Elementary. DCE Principal Shannon Edwards retired at the end of the 2021-22 school year.

Gollner has similarly been at CISD for almost his entire educational career. He had previously taught science at CMSE for 12 years and later became the assistant principal at Cottonwood Creek Elementary in 2016. Since 2019, Gollner has worked as an assistant principal at Coppell High School. 

“I really do look forward to learning with [the teachers] and growing with [them] and supporting our kids at Denton Creek,” Gollner said. “It’s going to be a wild ride, super excited and I can’t wait.”

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