UNT Dallas recently acquired the Principal Impact Collaborative (PIC), and on Thursday launched the program with a breakfast gathering that attracted more than 100 school principals and leaders from across the region -- along with an NBC5 crew that produced an in-depth report.

PIC is an innovative, two-year fellowship program that is designed to connect experienced North Texas area principals with their like-minded peers, re-ignite their passion for the work and provide them with the tools and resources to set and execute on a vision to improve their campus. The program's goals are to increase principal retention rates. Good principals provide stability, foster teacher retention and then a top-to-bottom consistency that results in great student success.

"We're so thrilled to have a home here at UNT Dallas," said Alejandra Barbosa, program director of PIC, who now offices in Founders Hall in the School of Education. "We're so inspired by the values of the university, innovation supporting our local students because we do the same thing for principals. And so it's a really proud moment to see all of our hard labor have an opportunity to be here.

“PIC’s mission is critical as it is an increasingly challenging time for school leaders," Barobosa added. "Across DFW, we see approximately 20 percent of principals turn over every year, and this creates instability in our highest-need schools. PIC seeks to build principals’ resilience and commitment to their work, while also building their leadership capacity to lead with a more innovative and student-centered mindset. PIC is excited to be a part of UNT Dallas, as the merger allows PIC to grow and support more school leaders across DFW. PIC can also leverage all the knowledge and capacity from the School of Education to continue innovating for school leaders and adult learning.” 

The program currently has a cohort of 21 principals with one more year to go. Then PIC will assembly another cohort of 25 principals.

I can’t say enough about the importance of this partnership, with their objective approach to data so that we all see very clearly what has to be done," said UNT Dallas President Bob Mong, who opened the event. "To close the gap in the educational disparity that exists in our community, we have to work together. And that’s why we’re so pleased to have Principal Impact Collaborative on our campus."