News

Sugarloaf's Marshall named regional principal of the year

By Molly McGowan Gorsuch, Published: December 17, 2015

Sugarloaf Elementary School principal Peggy Marshall has been named Regional Wells Fargo Principal of the Year and is in the running for the 2016 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year.

In October, Marshall was nominated and selected by 22 of her peer Henderson County Public Schools principals for the district’s Principal of the Year recognition, making her eligible for the regional award.

Marshall was surprised Thursday morning by Henderson County Public Schools Superintendent David Jones, senior staff and her own family members at a school assembly, where students had been primed to think about the qualities of a good leader.

“Close your eyes and I want you to think about the best leader you know,” instructed Human Resources Director John Bryant said. “I want you to think about what makes them a good leader."

Lillian H., a 4th-grader, said Marshall was the best leader she knew.

“Miss Marshall uses all the Seven Habits (from Sean Covey’s “Leader in Me” program), and she is in charge of herself,” Lillian said. “She thinks win-win. And she synergizes with everyone.”

“When I came here two and a half years ago, I asked the students, the faculty and the parents what their vision was for Sugarloaf,” Marshall said during her acceptance speech. “They wanted to build a positive identity – a place of pride – and empower leaders and learners with influence.”

“We have done that, boys and girls,” Marshall said to the students. “We have put Sugarloaf on the map. We have built a culture of greatness."

According to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, a state selection committee will review the portfolios of the eight regional winners and conduct extensive interviews with each before selecting the 2016 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year – announced in the spring.

The Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year will receive $3,000 for personal or professional use and $3,000 for his or her school to purchase materials or other equipment. The winner will also serve a one-year term as advisor to the State Board of Education, and compete for the National Principal of the Year honors through the North Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals Association. The regional winners each receive $1,000 for personal use and $1,000 for their schools.

If she were to win, Marshall would be the second prinicipal from Henderson County named North Carolina's principal of the year. Flat Rock Middle School principal Scott Rhodes won the award this year.