2017 - 2018 Principal of the Year

This morning, I had the pleasure of interrupting the D.F. Walker Elementary School morning broadcast to announce that Mrs. Michelle White, Principal of D.F. Walker Elementary School has been named the 2017-18 Edenton-Chowan Schools Administrator of the Year! The recognition is part of 2018 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year (POY) Program. Since 1984, Wells Fargo Bank has financially supported a program in collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to recognize outstanding principals from the North Carolina Public Schools. Mrs. White will advance to regional Principal of the Year competition later this fall.

In 2015, D. F. Walker Elementary school was assigned a “D” performance grade along with 536 other schools. Undaunted, the students, staff and administration publicly declared that “D” stood for “Determined!” With an unquenchable desire to succeed, they became the only school in the state to exceed growth the past two years and rise from a “D” to a “B.” The students and staff have demonstrated the power of believing in yourself and each other. During this past school year under the leadership of Mrs. White, D.F. Walker Elementary School experienced the highest growth rate among the four schools, exceeding expected growth for the second year in a row and moving from a performance grade of C in 2016 to a performance grade of B. Students at the school increased their growth and percent proficient in every tested area with an overall growth rate of 88.8 percent.

Our school system is blessed with amazing administrators throughout the district. I am very proud of each of them and know that Mrs. White will do an outstanding job representing them and each of us as our Administrator of the Year.