Staff report
Kim Walton, principal at Hurley Elementary School, has been named Principal of the Year in the Rowan-Salisbury School System for 2009.
Walton has been the principal at Hurley since 2004. She worked for the Rowan-Salisbury system from 1992-1993 and returned in 1995 as a teacher and eventually an assistant principal.
Walton will compete with other school systems’ Principals of the Year for the Northwest Region title, which will be announced in February. That winner will have a chance to be named the 2009 Wachovia Principal of the Year next spring.
The designations are sponsored by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, the Center for School Leadership Development Principals’ Executive Program and Wachovia.
Under Walton’s leadership, Hurley Elementary reached the “high growth” designation of the state accountability program the past two years, according to the school system.
Hurley was one of two schools in the Rowan-Salisbury system to receive the first “Star Award” recognition by the Southwest Education Alliance in April, the school system says.
This is the 25th year Wachovia has sponsored the financial awards for Principals of the Year. Each school system’s winner receives a cash award, and regional winners receive cash awards and money for their schools.
The statewide winner will receive $3,000 for his or her school and $3,000 for personal use.
Dr. Debra Morris, principal at A.L. Brown High School, is the 2008 Principal of the Year.