Darla Wilson, a native of Waxahachie, has been at WISD for 27 years, where she has served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal.  She has taught first through fourth grades at Wilemon Elementary, Dunaway Elementary, and Felty Elementary and has been in campus administration since 2012.  She earned her Bachelor's degree at the University of North Texas, and her Masters of Educational Leadership from The University of Texas at Arlington.  Darla and her husband, Jon, have two sons, Luke and Kaleb.  Mrs. Wilson now has the honor of opening the ninth elementary school for Waxahachie ISD with Simpson Elementary, and she is so excited to lead such a wonderful group of students and staff!

Yulia N. Cedeño was born and raised in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras campus and a graduate degree in Elementary Curriculum and Instruction from Texas A&M University-Central Texas.  Mrs.Cedeño joins the administrative team while she completes her graduate degree in Educational Leadership with the University of Texas at Tyler. 

Yulia Cedeño has been in education for over a decade.  She has had many roles in education, including teaching 3rd and 4th-grade bilingual, ESL at the college level, reading interventionist, and Spanish in elementary and high school. 

She also enjoys living in Waxahachie with her husband and daughter.  Mrs. Cedeño enjoys working for Waxahachie ISD and growing the community on many levels.  She is happy about the opportunity for mutual professional and personal growth and development at Simpson Elementary.

A Waxahachie native, Krystal Cortez is the Assistant Principal at Max H. Simpson Elementary School.  She is a class of 1999 alumnus of Waxahachie High School. In 2003, Ms. Cortez received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology Degree from Texas A&M University where she also served as the Director of the largest on-campus student organization, The 12th Man Student Foundation.  She earned a Master of Education in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2012.  Ms. Cortez also participated in an alternative teaching certification program in 2006 with the Teacher Preparation & Certification Program of the Region X Service Center.  Her certifications are Gifted & Talented, Generalist 4-8, and Principal K-12.

Ms. Cortez has accumulated a wealth of talent and experience in her 16 years in Education. Her elementary teaching history started in 2006 when she spent 2 years as a 5th Grade Teacher in Ferris ISD. She simultaneously served as a Creative Arts Teacher for 3 summers at the prestigious Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas. Ms. Cortez then completed a long stint of service from 2008 to 2017 at Ennis ISD as a 5th Grade Math Teacher. She migrated back to her hometown in 2017 and became a member of the Waxahachie ISD Faculty in 2017 as a 4th Grade Math & Science Teacher at Marvin Elementary. She then gained 3 years of secondary education experience at Finley Jr. High School as Math Teacher for grades 6, 7, and 8. After gaining valuable elementary and secondary experience, she made the decision to serve in education as an administrator. Ms. Cortez has just completed her 16th year in education as the Assistant Principal of Waxahachie ISD’s Max H. Simpson Elementary School.

Ms. Cortez’s accolades and awards are numerous. Ms. Cortez was named Ferris ISD “New Teacher of the Year” in 2007. In 2011, she was a “Kinzie Foundation Award Finalist” and was also awarded the “Hometown Chiropractic Outstanding Teacher Award”. In 2016 Ms. Cortez earned the “Jack Lummus Teacher of the Year Award” and was also an “Ennis ISD Teacher of the Year Candidate”. Her students have also recognized her by electing her as the “Finley Jr. High School 7th Grade Teacher of the Year” in 2019.

Ms. Cortez loves spending time with her beautiful niece, Zoe, and her handsome nephew, Max. Ms. Cortez's most notable hobby is Olympic Weightlifting. She trains at Archon Weightlifting in Dallas, TX, and has competed on the national stage. She is the current state record holder in the Clean & Jerk for the Master's Women (40-44, 87+) division. She also enjoys attending concerts, completing puzzles, and drinking coffee and is a member of Shoreline City Church in White Rock.