Cooper High School principal Dr. Karen Munoz has been named an Executive Director in the Administrative Services Department for Abilene ISD.

Principal at CHS for almost eight years, Dr. Munoz will remain at her current role until the conclusion of the school year. She will fill a position in the Administrative Services Department that was vacated in December with the retirement of Carla Garrett, Executive Director of Elementary Education. In making the announcement, Superintendent Dr. David Young said Dr. Munoz’s new duties will focus on supporting the district’s high schools as part of a reorganization of responsibilities in the department.

“Dr. Munoz has done a tremendous job at Cooper High School and has positively impacted the lives of thousands of students over the years,” Dr. Young said. “This opportunity will allow her to have an impact on an even greater number of students.”

Dr. Young said the search for the next principal of Cooper will begin immediately.

Dr. Munoz first arrived at CHS in 2010 as Administrator of Instruction, and she became principal the next year. She previously worked as principal of Ortiz Elementary School as part of a career in AISD that started as a first grade teacher at Jane Long Elementary in 1992.

“”I have been so blessed the past eight years serving at Cooper High School,” she said. “The staff has become my family, and together we have built a culture that accepts all and works together to provide the best education possible for the students who enter our doors.    Cooper High School will always be a special to me as it has helped me learn and grow as an individual.  I will miss being a part of the campus on a daily basis but will not be far as I will continue to help them in a different role. I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the students and parents of Cooper High School.”

In 2016, Dr. Munoz was named one of the four finalists for Secondary Principal of the Year in Texas by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals. A native of Munday, Dr. Munoz earned her doctorate from Texas Tech University, her master’s degree from Abilene Christian University and her bachelor’s from Tarleton State University.