Mark Willoughby Named New Principal at Farley Middle School
Mark Willoughby was named the new principal at Farley Middle School Thursday night at the regular monthly meeting of the Hutto ISD Board of Trustees. The Board unanimously voted to approve the recommendation of Willoughby by Superintendent Dr. Celina Estrada Thomas.
Mr. Willoughby joined Hutto ISD this fall as an assistant principal at Hutto High School. He replaces former principal Jorge Franco at Farley MS.
“I am grateful and honored to be entrusted to serve as the next principal at Farley Middle School,” said Willoughby. “Being a part of Hippo Nation has been an amazing experience thus far and I look forward to working with the outstanding teachers, students, and parents of the FMS community.”
A native of Killeen, Willoughby is a 1991 graduate of Howard Payne University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and English.
Prior to joining Hutto ISD, Willoughby served as an assistant principal at Bastrop High School for five years and as an assistant principal at both Bastrop Intermediate and Bastrop Middle School. He also served as the District Coordinator of Athletics and Student Services for Bastrop ISD. In addition, Willoughby has 16 years’ experience as a head baseball coach and English teacher.
“We welcome Mr. Willoughby’s energy and passion for educational excellence,” said Dr. Estrada Thomas. “His strong leadership qualities were a great match with the staff’s stated desires and criteria for a campus leader. He’s already had a couple of months to learn the Hippo Nation culture, and he has embraced it wholeheartedly.”
Willoughby has been married for 25 years to Nicole, who is a counselor at Mina Elementary in Bastrop ISD. The couple has two children – daughter Alicia, a sophomore at the University of Texas, and son Mark Edward, Jr., a senior at Bastrop High School.
Mr. Willoughby is scheduled to begin serving at Farley on Monday, September 24.