Wylie ISD announced June 2 the appointments of Holly Natonick as the new assistant principal of Draper Intermediate and Mary Zucha as the new dean of students for Cooper Junior High for the 2022-23 school year. Natonick takes over for Joanne Montes, who accepted a role outside the district, and Zucha replaces Leslie Coble, who moved to an assistant principal position at Wylie High School.
Holly Natonick, Draper Intermediate – Natonick currently serves as an assistant principal at Thurgood Marshall Elementary in Richardson ISD.
Natonick’s public education career began in 2006 as a fifth and sixth-grade teacher at Cartwright Elementary in Phoenix. She spent 10 years serving the Cartwright Elementary School District in several capacities, including as an instructional coach and math interventionist. In 2016, Natonick moved to Texas and joined Richardson ISD as a campus math specialist at Thurgood Marshall Elementary. She moved into campus administration as an administrative intern in 2020 before being named an assistant principal in 2021.
A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Natonick received her bachelor’s degree in Foundations of Elementary Education. She also earned a Master of Education from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Grand Canyon University. Additionally, Natonick received a Reading Endorsement from the University of Ottawa.
Natonick resides in Wylie with her family.
Mary Zucha, Cooper Junior High – Zucha grew up in Wylie and just completed her seventh year of teaching seventh-grade science at Cooper Junior High.
Zucha began her teaching career in 2015 in Wylie ISD. While at Cooper, Zucha also coached cheer and was a student council sponsor. After winning the Campus Teacher of the Year honor for Cooper, Zucha went on to win the district's Secondary Teacher of the Year award in 2019-20.
In addition to teaching at Cooper, Zucha also served as a team leader, where she facilitated PLCs for the seventh-grade science team. Zucha mentored zero-year teachers in areas of growth, conduct and content. She was a member of the Wylie Way Curriculum Writing Team and a committee member of the Response to Intervention team.
A graduate of Ouachita Baptist University, Zucha earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2013 and is working on a master's degree in educational leadership from Texas Tech University.
Zucha met her husband, Zach, while attending Wylie High School.
