KayLynn Renfro
Educator

KayLynn Coulson Renfro arrived at Grapevine High School in 1985 where she spent her career
positively impacting both her students and her professional peers in the world of dance
education. She graduated from Texas Tech University in 1984 earning a Bachelor of Science
degree with teaching certifications in English and Physical Education. She was an active
member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and also pursued graduate work in dance education
at Texas Women’s University. She joined GCISD as an English teacher and Fillies Director,
remaining in that position for 34 years until retiring in 2019. She has been married to Dallas
Renfro for 36 years, and their two daughters, Kathryn and Laura, are both GHS graduates and
former Fillies. 

KayLynn modeled what it was to be the consummate Mustang, showing her teams what it
meant to be part of something bigger than themselves by instilling school spirit, pride, and
tradition into the Fillies program. She designed the current Fillies logo, and she developed and
adopted the motto “Once a Fillie, always a Fillie.” Under her direction the GHS Fillies have
been the featured performers for the World Cup Soccer Tournament, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas
Cowboys, FC Dallas Soccer, and the Texas Oil Bowl. They were the only US team invited to
perform in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland. Fillies’ officers have performed at
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade thirty times. They won the Super Sweepstakes award at every
contest from 1986-2019 and were national champions in at least one routine every year since
1995. The Fillies won M.A. Dance Nationals-Grand Champion-XL Overall Champion three times
– in 2006, 2008 and 2015.

KayLynn’s many personal accomplishments include serving as an officer for the Texas Drill
Team Director Association and the Drill Team Directors of America, where she was selected as
a top ten director in the nation ten years in a row. She also served as editor and publisher of the
DTDA Insight magazine and was a Director of the National High School Drill Team. She
received the lifetime achievement award and was a finalist three times for the Texas Dance
Team Association’s All-State Dance Team. She was honored as a Lifetime Member of the Texas
PTA and as the Distinguished Faculty member of the GHS Hall of Fame in 2022.

During her career as Fillies Director she coached approximately 1500 Fillies, 500 Honor
Guards, 500 Belles and hundreds of dance students. She insisted on excellence and taught her
students skills and values that benefited them far beyond their time as a member of her team or
as a student in her class. She embraced the GHS motto “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to
yield,” putting her students first. KayLynn’s dedication to detail and excellence, her work ethic,
her loyalty, and her commitment to GHS and her profession earned her the respect of her
students as she prepared them for life.