With less than a year to go before the campus officially opens, Johnson High officially has its first leader.
On Oct. 31, Hays CISD officials announced Brett Miksch was selected to become the first principal at Johnson High, which is scheduled to open August 2019. Hays CISD board trustees approved hiring Miksch Oct. 29 by a unanimous vote.
Miksch, who has more than a decade of experience in teaching and campus leadership, was most recently a principal in the Barbers Hill Independent School District, located near Houston, according to a Hays CISD press release. From 2009 to 2018, Miksch worked in various roles within the Sweeny Independent School District, which is also near Houston.
Those roles included principal at Sweeny High, as well as executive director of administrative services and athletics, assistant principal, head boys basketball coach and a physics and speech teacher.
Eric Wright, Hays CISD superintendent, said Miksch is the “right fit to lead” Johnson High.
“Getting Brett on board is an essential step in the process of opening Johnson High School. With an outstanding principal in place, we can begin to hire additional key staff members and start setting the stage for Jaguar success,” Wright said.
According to the release, Miksch hails from a family whose background is in education. His father was a successful teacher, coach, high school principal and superintendent. Miksch’s mother was an elementary school teacher for 35 years, while his grandfather and uncle were also both school superintendents. Both of his grandmothers were teachers who served in the field for more than 40 years.
“I say all of this to let you know that I am fully aware of the commitment it will take to open a new campus and lead it to the highest level of achievement,” said Miksch. “I will bring a lot of energy to the position and work hard to ensure I represent Hays CISD in a positive manner. I have always believed we have to be life-long learners.”
Miksch holds a Master in Education Administration from Lamar University in Beaumont and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Texas at Austin. While attending Texas, Miksch was a student manager for the football team when they won the 2005 National Championship.
Miksch said the key to success is student engagement.
“We must be able to develop positive relationships with the people we work with (colleagues, staff, students, parents, and community members), there has to be relevance in all that we do, and rigor in all lessons we teach,” Miksch said in a statement. “We must create an environment in which all students are expected to learn and are supported and provided opportunities to demonstrate learning at high levels.”
