Assistant Principal's Page
Hello, and thank you for visiting the webpage for our wonderful Howry STEAM Academy!
My name is Mark McAlister, and I am beyond excited to be entering my fourth year as your Assistant Principal. Working in Lake Worth ISD has been a real blessing, and I could not be more proud than to be here at HSA, where we have an excellent team of administrators, dedicated teachers and staff, and the absolute BEST students around. I cannot wait to see what wonderful things will happen in the upcoming school year.
I grew up in Denton, Texas and graduated from Denton High School- back when Denton only had one high school. I went on to attend Abilene Christian University from 1988-1992 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Human Communication (I like to talk). After a short stint in Nashville, Tennessee, I returned to Texas and attended the University of Arlington from 1995-1996, where I got certified to be a teacher.
My first job in education was in 1996 as an elementary school teacher for gifted and talented students in grades 1-2 in Denton, Texas, my hometown. I went on to teach for a total of 23 years in Denton, Keller, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Texarkana, and Birdville ISD with eighteen of those years spent teaching 4th grade. After graduating with my master’s in Educational Leadership from the University of Texas at Tyler, I served as an assistant principal in Arlington ISD before coming to Lake Worth in 2019.
Away from work, my wife Jessica and I like to spend time with our three kids. We especially enjoy travelling to the mountains of Colorado or running around through the woods of Arkansas. Most free mornings we can be found drinking coffee on the back porch and watching the birds. We have quite an assortment of bird feeders and have made it our personal mission to attract as many unique birds as we can to our backyard by planting flowers or adding water features to our garden. It’s a fun and inexpensive hobby that does a lot to liven up the yard. I am also a drummer, having played for about 36 years. I have never played professionally, but I have spent many years playing in the worship team at our church. As for sports, I am a fan of the Texas Rangers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This year I look forward to spending my days at Howry STEAM Academy, and I cannot wait to see all the great things that our kiddos will be a part of this year. I hope to see you around at school events or maybe at the morning drop off.
It’s going to be a great year!
"Love is at the root of everything- all learning, all relationships- love, or the lack of it."
- Fred Rogers