Debbie Dunlap was the first principal. She said that her style of managing the school was "to be supportive. I just let the teachers do their jobs." Todd Spivak of the "Houston Press" said that Dunlap "was hailed for assembling a staff that some say included the best high school teachers in the Houston area" and that the school "quickly gained a reputation for academic excellence and became a destination school for veteran teachers." Dunlap left her position in 2003 so she could work for a teacher certification company.