POCOMOKE – Blue and gold streamers waving, Pocomoke Elementary School students helped education officials surprise Principal Michael Browne this week with the news that he was named the Maryland Association of Elementary Principals’ National Distinguished Principal for 2017.
Less than a month after Pocomoke Elementary School (PES) earned recognition as a National Title I Distinguished School, Worcester County Board of Education officials were notified that Browne had received the National Distinguished Principal honor from the Maryland Association of Elementary Principals (MAESP). Steve Hagenbuch, executive director of MAESP, said that while lots of principals throughout the state were nominated for the honor, the selection committee had been impressed by the praise offered by Browne’s coworkers and the numerous initiatives he’d led at PES.
“Above all this principal loves children,” Hagenbuch said.
Browne, who had been at a meeting at another school, was surprised with news of his award upon returning to PES Wednesday afternoon. His students greeted him with cheers as Hagenbuch made the announcement and presented Browne with a check for $5,000 from Mentoring Minds, the sponsor of the award.
Superintendent Lou Taylor said the recognition was well deserved and that as superintendent he was proud of Browne’s accomplishments.
“I am honored to congratulate Michael Browne for this award,” he said. “It’s well deserved. I know Mr. Brown loves his kids and loves his school and loves his faculty.”
Taylor pointed out that Browne’s award came in the wake of Pocomoke High School Principal Annette Wallace’s recognition as the 2016 Maryland High School Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
“I am beaming with pride as superintendent of schools,” Taylor said.
Browne, who has served as principal at PES since 2012, said he’d had no idea he’d be the subject of a surprise assembly. He thanked his students and staff as well as his family for their support.
“This is truly an honor,” he said. “I’m humbled. It’s nothing I do on my own. It’s all because of the hard work of the students, the hard work of the staff, the work each of you do on a daily basis.”
Third-graders Emily Skorobatsch and Caroline Webster, both members of the PES student council, said they were thrilled their principal was being recognized. Students often see Browne walking the halls of PES and appreciate his efforts to lead by example.
“He doesn’t just tell them to do things,” Webster said.
Skorobatsch agreed.
“He cares for all the kids,” she said.
Webster says the manners and respect exhibited by not only Browne but everyone at Pocomoke Elementary make her eager to come to school each day.
“My brother even teases me that I always want to go to school,” she said.
