Diamond Hill-Jarvis High School
Administration
Paola Rodríguez
Principal
Paola Rodriguez is Going Back to Her Roots
For Paola Rodriguez, heading back to lead Diamond Hill-Jarvis High School is heading back home. In her extensive professional career, she spent the most time at Diamond Hill-Jarvis with 12 years on campus.
Now, she gets to return as principal and help enhance the school’s pride in the community. She knows how much the campus can achieve and what it takes to make great things happen for students.
Aside from Diamond Hill-Jarvis, Mrs. Rodriguez has worked at North Side High School, Eastern Hills High School, and Southwest High School. She’s no stranger to the area. She was raised in Fort Worth and graduated from North Side High School and went on to attend Texas Wesleyan University.
She enters the role with the support of her husband, Aaron and their three children. Family is important to Principal Rodriguez. Even though her children are all adults, they still try to have dinner and movie nights together.
Aside from her passion for education, Mrs. Rodriguez loves to explore new restaurants around town, travel, and garden. Despite her many interests, she always knew she wanted to be an educator.
“Education was a calling. I wanted to be a voice and a motivator to others—encouraging them to embrace all the things that life has to offer. I wanted to encourage students to learn from the past and strive to be part of a world that is curious about learning from and about others. I wanted to reach those in the shadows who are sometimes overlooked or are too afraid to be challenged or to challenge.”
With a new school year on the horizon, Principal Rodriguez will be looking at what kind of changes or enhancements she can make at Diamond Hill-Jarvis to prioritize student needs with a focus on campus culture.
“I will strive to create a positive school experience that will give young people the confidence and the skills necessary to go out into the world and make their own individual impact; to not shy away from the moments when they may feel the most challenged.”
“I am not my own! The life decisions my parents made when they moved into this community have formed every part of me,” says Mrs. Blanchard. Having attended H.V. Helbing and Meacham Middle, working at DH-J takes her back to deeply beloved memories. She is profoundly grateful to have taught students and served families who live next door to where she grew up. With a master's in school counseling, she became a school counselor for three-through 18-year-olds in some of the same schools where she taught. Entering her 27th year with the district, she is honored to continue to serve this strong and resilient community.
Mrs. Blanchard raised two beautiful, strong young women for 14 years before meeting her Razorback fan husband, Alan. The family enjoys time together around food, a bit of travel, and laughter around conversations and blessings that are theirs.
In her 4th year as assistant principal at DH-J, she is grateful to DH-J families for trusting their children to our campus and invites all to stop for a visit, speak with teachers about grades and attendance, and even volunteer for a day. We make a significant difference together! WE are Diamond Hill!
I have always loved learning and working with my hands. This is why I chose to become a science teacher. I have been in Education for 26 years. The majority of that has been in Fort Worth ISD. This will be my third year as an AP at Diamond Hill Jarvis High School.
Blanca Salinas is entering her 24th year in education, proud to serve the very district that opened the doors of opportunity for her. As the youngest in her family and a first-generation graduate, she leveraged her FWISD education to earn degrees from TCC, TCU, and UTA. Her career spans numerous roles from tutor and TA to district-level ESL support, leading to her favorite role yet as Assistant Principal at Diamond Hill-Jarvis High School. She is deeply inspired by the culture and pride of the DHJ students, staff, alumni and community. Professionally dedicated and family-driven, Blanca is the proud mama of four children and grandmother of two.