2021-2023 Keeley Administration

Pictured from left to right is Mrs. Letty Arthur, assistant principal, and Mrs. Sheri Winstead, principal, of Keeley Elementary school.  

Mrs. Winstead's (aka Mrs. Sheri Taylor) first year as principal was in 2017, although she has been at Keeley since 2015. Her role as an elementary instructor taught her never to underestimate the importance of a child's educational foundation as a catalyst to their success. 

Ms. Arthur joined the Keeley family as an assistant principal in 2021 after working for two years in the Multilingual Program Department as a district instructional specialist. Prior to that, she was a successful bilingual teacher in the ACE program at Handley and Bullock Elementary. Ms. Arthur joined Garland ISD in 2012.

2017-2021 Keeley administration

Pictured from left to right: Ms. Sheri Taylor, Mr. Patrick Beacham

The administration for Keeley during this time was Ms. Sheri Taylor as principal and Mr. Patrick Beacham as assistant principal. We are very lucky and happy to have them as part of our Keeley family.

Mrs. Taylor's first year as principal was in 2017, although she has been at Keeley since 2015. Her role as an elementary instructor taught her never to underestimate the importance of a child's educational foundation as a catalyst to their success.

Mr. Beacham joined Garland ISD as an administrator in 2006. Following a successful tenure in Dallas ISD as a teacher and bus driver, Mrs. Beacham accepted a position in Garland ISD as an administrator at Lyles Middle School. He also worked as an assistant principal at Herfurth and Davis Elementary before joining Keeley in 2017.

2015-2017 Keeley administration

We welcomed Mr. Spencer Hughes as principal and Ms. Sheri Taylor as assistant principal to Keeley after the retirement of Dr. Penny Campbell and Mrs. Turner in 2015.

In 2005, Mr. Hughes joined Garland ISD and worked at Club Hill Elementary as a fifth grade math teacher and later as an assistant principal. He then moved on to Caldwell Elementary as assistant principal before joining the Keeley staff as Principal in 2015.

Mrs. Taylor has as been an educator in Garland ISD since 1996. She has held a variety of positions that have helped her gain an understanding of what it truly means to educate a child. As a district support specialist working with Pre-K through 12th-grade teachers and administrators, she has discovered that the most important pieces to the educational puzzle are the teachers and their impact on each student they serve.

Administration celebrate 25 years

Dr. Campbell and Mrs. Turner were the former principal and assistant principal at Keeley. They retired at the end of the 2014/15 school year. Dr. Campbell and Mrs. Turner celebrated their 25th anniversary as co-workers for Garland ISD in September 2012. They met 25 years ago when Mrs. Turner was a music teacher at Ethridge Elementary in Garland and Dr. Campbell was the principal. When Keeley opened in 1991, Dr. Campbell brought Mrs. Turner to Keeley to develop the music program. After 2 years, Mrs. Turner was promoted to the assistant principalship and has worked as an administrator with Dr. Campbell for the last 22 years at Keeley. The staff threw a surprise "25th Anniversary" party for the twosome complete with a cake, flowers, gifts and a staff lunch. A picture wall and decorations were also placed in the teachers' lounge. The wall included 25 years of pictures that the two have collected over the years. Pictures were displayed of them riding a motorcycle, kissing a pig, participating in plays, and celebrating and attending special events. Keeley was fortunate to have consistency in leadership for the past 22 years.

Annie Keeley

Annie Keeley Elementary School opened its doors in August 1991. Annie Keeley was born in 1889 and spent a majority of her life in the Liberty Grove community where this school now stands. Her service included teaching in the two small rural schools located in the Liberty Grove area, in Rowlett, and in the Garland ISD. She was a dedicated educator in the area for forty years until her retirement in 1953. The Garland ISD Board of Trustee unanimously supported the recommendation to name this school after this former GISD teacher.

Pictured above is Dr. Penny Campbell, first principal of Keeley Elementary, with hard hat in hand, awaiting the first day of school. Keeley opened its doors on August 21, 1991, and was the 37th elementary school to open in GISD.

The front of the school has two main entrances; one for kids and one for adults. Uppermost in the minds of the designers was the fact that it would be used by children. The details in the school reflect those concepts. The ceilings are festooned with colorful banners, the railings are decorated with geometric shapes, and the support columns are fashioned in huge crayons. 

Fun facts

• The hallway in the classroom wing curves in a long, slow arc. This design element was dubbed "the learning curve". This curve makes the hall seem much less intimidating for a student walking to class.
• The darker colored brick on the exterior increases in height as the classroom clusters increase in age level. The 1st grade level is close to the ground and by the time the wall reaches 5th grade, the darker bricks are placed much higher.
• The exterior of the gym wall features special brick work forming images such as a cannon and a periscope.

Keeley staff picture, 1991

This is the original Keeley staff picture from 1991 when the doors opened at Keeley Elementary.

School colors

Blue and Red

School mascot

Cowboys

School logo

Traditions

Keeley has many traditions that promote school unity.

• Award Assemblies
• Western Day
• Pastries for Parents
• Sweetheart Dance
• Val-O-Grams
• Fall or Spring Carnival
• Halloween Boo Grams