When E. Rodney Walker became the principal of Brooklyn Park Elementary School, most of the teachers in the building did not look like their students. Within a year, the 2023 National Distinguished Principals honoree has increased the diversity of instructional staff by 20%, according to the National Association of Elementary School Principals.
Walker is among 37 middle and elementary school leaders on the NAESP’s 2023 National Distinguished Principals list. During his eight-year tenure, Walker launched Boys of Distinction, a mentorship program for African American students in grades 2-5 in his building, which is part of Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland. He has also reorganized his staff to improve outreach to Spanish-speaking families as his school’s Hispanic population has grown sharply.
The National Distinguished Principals is now in its 40th year. “It’s fitting to reflect on the strength, dedication, and tenacity of the school leader,” said NAESP Executive Director L. Earl Franks. “In those four decades, principals have found successful solutions to unforeseen challenges and grown in their practice to meet new needs of students and staff.”
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Pandora C. Mike, principal of Tsé Bit’ A’í Middle School in New Mexico, was recognized for focusing on the whole child through social-emotional learning and culturally relevant intervention practices that have helped students grow academically despite the disruptions of the past few years.
Mike, who has shared her leadership skills as a former chairperson of the Nex Mexico Indian Education Advisory Council, has served as a teacher, district director, deputy superintendent and college instructor during her 33-year education career,
The 2023 NAESP National Distinguished Principals list comprises leaders from 32 elementary schools, three middle schools and two administrators representing the U.S. Department of Overseas Schools. The recognitions come just ahead of National Principals Month in October.
Honoree Angie Krause is the principal of Community Elementary School, the largest brick-and-mortar elementary school in Kansas with 1,000 students and 150 staff members. She became principal in August 2020 when students and teachers were returning to Coffeyville Public Schools for in-person instruction.
In the ensuing years, she has worked to strengthen staff relationships by meeting with her assistant principals every day and visiting all 52 classrooms as often as possible. She is also involved in her school’s professional learning communities with a focus on helping teachers develop instructional practices to achieve data-informed goals.
The achievements of each of NAESP’s 2023 National Distinguished Principals can be found on the organization’s website.
