Chris Shearer
Contributing Writer
POCOMOKE CITY — Pocomoke High School surprised Principal Annette Wallace with the news she was named Maryland High School Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) on Monday.
A crowd made up of students, faculty, Superintendent Jerry Wilson, administrators and Wallace’s 92-year-old grandmother gathered in the school’s library to present her with the award.
“Did I win the lottery?” Wallace exclaimed upon walking into the room, seeing the signs students had made and hearing the chorus of congratulations.
Staff had gone to great lengths to keep the event secret. It was a very difficult task, as Wallace is keenly aware of the day-to-day happenings at her school.
The NASSP is a 100-year-old organization dedicated to bettering school leaders through education and advocacy. They provide professional workshops and lobby on behalf of educators. The award program honors school principals who have demonstrated personal excellence, collaborative leadership skills and the ability to personalize instruction to fit the needs of individual students amongst other considerations.
Each state selects one middle level or high school principal to represent it. From this pool of state winners, three finalists are named as contenders for the National Principal of the Year award. The NASSP National Principal of the Year is then selected from among the finalists.
The Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals, which is made up of 750 Maryland high school principals, chose Wallace for this honor.
Wallace has been instrumental in establishing an environment at Pocomoke High School where ambitious undertakings, like Project 100 program, can evolve.
Project 100 strives to have every Pocomoke High senior have a plan for continuing education after graduation. The project exposes students to the university admissions process and college selection, but also provides avenues of exploration for those students not headed to a university. The military, community college, trade schools and police cadet programs are all presented to students.
The project culminates in an “intent night” ceremony, where students declare their intended post-high school education plans for their friends and families.
Last year, out of a graduating class of 93 seniors, 88 of them had declared their intention to continue their education after high school.
A Maryland native and graduate of Salisbury University and Wilmington University, Wallace is one of two educators in Maryland who have been honored as secondary school principal of the year by the NASSP.
“We’re exceptionally proud of Annette,” Wilson said. “She’s a leader in so many different ways and this is a tremendous recognition for her and her young career, but also for the school.”
This is Wallace’s sixth year at Pocomoke High School and her fourth year as the school principal. She had previously taught at Stephen Decatur High School before moving to Pocomoke High School as Vice Principal.
A panel will decide between the two Maryland winners as to who will be the national finalist. That decision will be announced in April at a banquet in Ocean City where the Maryland state recipients will be honored.