Everything is perfectly set up as a young Kourtney Gates adjusts her stuffed animals and Raggedy Ann doll to make sure they’re sitting upright. She diligently grades their assignments in the form of magazines and books with her bright, red marker as she reviews the instructions she wrote on her green toy chalkboard. In this moment, she realized becoming a teacher was the natural path for her.
Since principal Trent Dowd resigned his position from Mansfield last school year, Gates returned to campus as the new head principal after two decades of service throughout Mansfield ISD.
“My guiding philosophy is to create an environment that is conducive for teaching and learning,” Gates said. “While I may be the principal, I’m not the one in the classroom teaching. It’s my job to see that teachers and students are able to do their job to the best of their ability.”
Gates was set on teaching from an early age. However, she still had her doubts leading into high school. Although still unsure, teaching remained on the back of her mind during her time attending Mansfield High School until she graduated in 1994.
“I had a history teacher, Mrs. McElhaney, and I just loved her class,” Gates said. “She had a huge impact on me just because of how she connected with the kids. She made history enjoyable and interesting and it really motivated me to be a teacher.”
Gates began studying at the University of Texas at Arlington. Despite starting as a nursing major, she made the switch to teaching in her freshman year. She began teaching at T.A. Howard Middle School upon graduating from UTA.
“I started teaching 25 years ago with seventh grade Texas History before moving up to eighth grade U.S. History,” Gates said. “At Howard, I was part of what they called the ‘Sunshine Committee.’ We made little treats for teachers and planned fun things because teaching is hard in all kinds of ways. For teachers, having that support structure really makes a difference.”
After a decade at Howard, Gates began teaching U.S. History and AP U.S. Government at Mansfield. She taught for three years as she finished her master’s degree in policy and educational leadership at UTA.
“I tried for several years to get into a high school, but all the open teaching positions were for coaches,” Gates said. “So, 10 years after I started at Howard, an opening came up at Mansfield and I started in 2010.”
U.S. history teacher James Bowling has been described as Gates’ ‘partner-in-crime’ while she was on campus.
“I cannot tell you how many days that she would come up with last-minute ideas for our lessons,” Bowling said. “I’m someone who’s very structured, so she would just laugh and say ‘You don’t have to do this, but I thought about this.’ Nine times out of 10, her ideas were phenomenal and I would even implement them.”
In 2013, Gates left Mansfield to work as an assistant principal at Brooks Wester Middle School for five years followed by a year as the academic associate principal at Lake Ridge High School. She returned to Wester as the building principal until May 2024.
“I had Mrs. Gates as my middle school principal and I absolutely adored her,” senior Kennedy Hilton said. “There are rules we are meant to follow, but I believe Mrs. Gates understands that education is more than dress code or a few tardies. I know she will make Mansfield a better place for both students and staff.”
While at Wester, Gates saw leadership successes with her “Wester Way” receiving recognition from NBC 5 DFW early last school year. According to the NBC 5 interview, Gates described the Wester Way as a method to engage students academically and socially. Gates said she plans to continue this strategy at MHS.
“As soon as we knew we were going to get a new principal, several people who had been around for a while thought she was the in-district choice because we had heard what she’d done at Wester,” Bowling said. “She had phenomenal success there, she had put her time in as a teacher, and she was a Mansfield graduate. She was the natural choice.”
The district announced Gates would become the new principal of Mansfield during its April 23 board meeting. Since assuming the role, Gates has overcome hurdles in transitioning once again from middle to high school.
“The real challenge has been going from a student body of 900 to 2600 students,” Gates said. “At Wester, I could be everywhere and see every staff member every day. It’s been more difficult at MHS, so I strategize ways to see everyone because being accessible to students and staff is my top priority.”
As her journey from student to principal at Mansfield has come full circle, Gates reflects on the past and her hopes for the future of the school.
“This campus has grown in size with more students, but the staff have also continued to go above and beyond for the needs of students,” Gates said. “I lived it both as a student and as a teacher, so it’s not necessarily a surprise. It’s comforting to know that this is still the same amazing place after all these years.”
