Cleburne High School Academic Associate Principal Karen Holweg has been named the Principal of Irving Elementary.

                School board action Monday night included approval of Holweg as the new campus leader at Irving and math teacher and Showstoppers Dance Team Coach Kayla Bruner to an assistant principal position at the high school.

                Holweg will fill a vacancy in leadership at Irving following Sherqueena Jackson’s acceptance of an elementary principal position with Dallas ISD, which will allow her to work closer to her home.

Holweg began her career in education in 2002 as an elementary English/language arts/reading teacher, spending nine years in classroom instruction. She moved into campus administration in 2011 as an assistant principal at Lincoln Heights Middle School in Morristown, TN. Three years later she was named the principal of Meadowview Middle School, also in Morristown, serving from 2014-2018 before her move to Cleburne—and Cleburne High School.

“Irving is very lucky—the staff, students and parents will find out quickly how lucky they are,” Cleburne High School Principal Ben Renner said. “Karen Holweg is amazing. She is a servant leader, passionate about educating students and a true believer that all kids can learn. She will be a fantastic elementary principal—that’s where she started.”

“Her experience in the classroom and as a campus administrator, coupled with her passion for education and kids makes her a perfect fit wherever she is. She’s going to leave a big footprint at CHS—but our administrative team is happy for her.”

Holweg spent Tuesday morning at Irving, getting acquainted with the Tigers and their teachers. Her first official day as principal will be November 28 as classes resume following the Thanksgiving Break.

Renner is excited to welcome Bruner to his administrative team, following her seven years on the school’s teaching faculty. Bruner fills the assistant principal vacancy created by Matt Ford’s recent promotion to principal at Santa Fe Elementary.

Bruner began her career at CHS in 2015 and was named the dance team coach the following year. She is a 2015 graduate of the University of Oklahoma, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology. In 2020, she was awarded a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas.

“I’ve watched her grow as an educator,” Renner said. “She is intelligent, strong, driven and she cares about kids. I’m very happy to give Kayla her first shot in administration. She’s all in for the Yellow Jackets—and Cleburne ISD. She’s everything you want as an educator and administrator. Her dream job was to work at Cleburne High School—you can’t beat that.”