1985 Sulphur Springs High School graduate, current criminal justice teacher to become assistant principal

Demetra Robinson has been announced to become the new high school assistant principal, replacing Angie Edwards, who resigned in December 2023.

Robinson is currently training, in addition to teaching her criminal justice classes at SSHS, and will begin her new position at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

“The AP [assistant principal] will allow me to reach more kids on a larger scale,” Robinson, who currently teaches approximately 120 students. “I want to be a positive light and a positive influence. I always wanted to go into public safety,” she said.

Of his new administrator, Moughon said, “She’s very intelligent and wise, and we’re lucky to have her.”

Backstory

Robinson and her husband, John, have been married almost 35 years. They have five children and 16 grandchildren.

A 1985 SSHS graduate, Robinson was inspired by one of her former teachers, Mrs. Ava Hudson. “We did a unit on Texas crimes and punishments, and I fell in love with law,” Robinson explained.

“The whole thing has been a blessing,” Robinson said. John Robinson is a 20-plus-year employee of the Hunt County Sheriff ’s Office, working in the transportation department.

Her first law-related job was working for now-Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom, when he served as Hopkins County Attorney. “[He was] the best boss I’ve ever had,” she said.

Robinson then worked at the 8th Judicial District Community Supervisions and Corrections Department in Sulphur Springs. She started out as an administrative assistant, but worked her way up to monitoring “cases in which offenses had been committed here in Hopkins County, but the offender actually lived somewhere else. I monitored those cases to make sure all conditions were met before the person was released from probation.”

After that, Robinson moved to Commerce, where she served as a municipal judge for 14 years. She began pursuing her master’s degree while working in Commerce. When her municipal judge position was made part-time, she moved on.

“I had full-time bills,” Robinson said, “So, I left there and started exploring my options.” Robinson also served as a municipal judge in Como for five years before becoming an educator.

Education and a sign

Robinson earned her associate’s degree through Paris Junior College, and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University-Commerce. She also took classes at Dallas Baptist University, working toward a master’s degree in theology.

“It was taking so much of my time, and family comes first,” she said. “So I said, ‘OK, God, show me the path.’” In her sixth or seventh year on the Commerce municipal bench, Robinson started an internship program at TAMU-Commerce.

“I took in graduating seniors with a criminal justice emphasis, and used them as interns — trained them as clerks. So, when they graduated from college, they had hands-on experience as a municipal court clerk. [Many of] my interns went on to great positions because they already had the drive, the degree and the training.”

TAMU-C did an article about Robinson and her program, complete with photos.

“One day, I was online, thinking, ‘Okay, God, what do you want me to do? What's my next step?’ And this picture of me just flashed across the screen. I said, ‘What is that? Where did that come from?’

“I finally found it, on the A&M Commerce website,” she explained. “They used me to advertise their master's program in applied criminology. I said, ‘Okay, God, so what you're saying is, this is where I need to be.’ So that's when I got my master’s, in 2015. I [completed] my master’s about a week after I started working [at SSHS]. There was no education requirement as far as the municipal judge position, because you're appointed by the city council.”

Robinson said she’d never really explored what she could do with her degrees — or what those degrees could do for her. She was very nervous to apply for a teaching position, but, “it just worked out — I mean, God worked it out

Teaching

Robinson said her favorite part of teaching is seeing the students’ excitement, as well as being able to share her experience with her students.

“I’ve always said that law enforcement, for me, is like eating chocolate every day and never gaining an ounce,” Robinson said. “When you teach it and you see the excitement of the kids, and they're learning and they’re understanding all of these different things, it's such a great feeling to know that you're sharing your experience, what you bring to the table. And the amount of mutual respect — I respect them; they respect me. Several of my students came back to tell me how much they appreciate me. They don't know that they're a blessing to me, them giving me that respect. Education — I say it's absolutely one of the hardest jobs I've ever had, but it's also one of the most rewarding.”

Philosophy

Robinson said she always wanted to reach kids before they got into the criminal justice system, and the new position gives her an opportunity to do that on a larger scale.

“It's campus-inclusive,” she said. “Right now, I teach about 120 kids. And that's only a small fraction of the kids on this campus. I want to be able to make an impact. I want to help cut down on the schoolto- prison pipeline. I want to be able to help enhance the lives of kids that maybe normally wouldn't have that opportunity. I want to be a positive light and a positive example. I want our kids to have the best school possible — any way I can help facilitate that. I believe my law enforcement experience will help me. I'm also a certified mediator, and I bet that'll come in handy. One of my areas of specialization for mediation is school, [along with] family and property. I believe [the school mediation skills are] going to help as well.

“I won't have the experience or the principal’s perspective, grace, yet, because I'm just starting there. But the funny thing is, it seems like the kids that are the biggest trouble are the ones that gravitate to me the most. Frederick Douglass said, ‘It's easier to grow strong children than to repair broken men.’ I love that quote. I really believe that'll be my philosophy, because I believe that. I try my best to treat people with respect and dignity. I did that in my classroom; I did that on the bench.”

Future

Of her new position, Robinson said, “I am just excited about this new venture going forward. I'm a graduate of Sulphur Springs High School. I'm not unlike many kids that graduate from high school and say, ‘I’m never coming back,’ and then, lo and behold, I came back and started teaching.”

Robinson remembers coming back to SSISD and SSHS as a new teacher. She said she appreciated the positivity and encouragement she experienced, noting that most of the sessions began with a prayer. She sees that same attitude in Principal Brad Moughon.

“We have Principal Moughon now. He'll send out an email, and there may be a scripture or something encouraging in there. I just know that I'm where I'm meant to be. I know that at this time, and in this season, this is what God has ordained for me. And, I'm gonna step into that with everything He's given me to do the job to the best of my ability,' Robinson said.