Congratulations to Garner High School Principal Drew Cook, who has been named one of the eight finalists for North Carolina Principal of the Year.

Cook was named the finalist for the state's north central region. A state selection committee will review the eight regional finalists with the winner being announced in Raleigh on April 5.

Cook, 37, has been at Garner High for much of his life. He was a student there. After college, he returned to the school in 1997 to become a teacher. He was promoted from assistant principal to principal in 2009.

Cook was named the Wake County school system's 2011 Principal of the Year in October. Click here for a story by Carla Turchetti that looks at his life as a hometown success story.

DURHAM Barbara Parker (right), principal of Spring Valley Elementary School, has been named Principal of the Year for Durham Public Schools in a program sponsored by the state Department of Public Instruction and Wells Fargo Inc.

Spring Valley's principal since 2010, Parker has worked in Durham's public schools since 1979, starting in the former county system as a special-education teacher at Southern High School. She was an assistant principal at Bethesda Elementary and Carrington Middle schools before becoming principal of R.N. Harris Elementary.

Parker spent 10 years at Harris before moving to Spring Valley, where she won a Leadership Excellence Award for the school's improvement.

For winning the honor in Durham, Harris continues as a candidate for state Principal of the Year. That winner is to be announced next spring.
 

Congratulations to Garner High School Principal Drew Cook for being named Wake County's 2011 Principal of the Year this evening.

Cook, who has only been a principal for 2 1/2 years, has won an award that some of his peers haven't attained after years of being a principal. He's credited for helping transform and revitalize Garner High.

Congratulations also to Syreeta Smith of North Forest Pines Elementary in Raleigh, who was named Wake's 2011 Assistant Principal of the Year.

The Wake County school system has announced this evening its top school-level administrators for 2010.

Millbrook High School Principal Dana King was named the district's 2010 Principal of the Year. Briarcliff Elementary School Assistant Principal Robert Grant was named Wake's 2010 Assistant Principal of the Year.

Before you guys ask, I'm not certain if Grant is the son of Gerald Grant, author of "Hope and Despair in the American City: Why There Are No Bad Schools in Raleigh."

Most Wake County students aren't in class yet but we've already got the 2010-11 finalists for Principal of the Year and Assistant Principal of the Year.

The Principal of the Year finalists, announced on Thursday, are James Argent of Lake Myra Elementary, Pamela Kinsey-Barker of Brassfield Elementary, Teresa Winstead of Durant Road Elementary, Cathy Williams of East Garner Middle and Dana King of Millbrook High.

Congratulations to North Garner Middle School Principal John Wall, who has been named one of the state's eight finalists for Principal of the Year

Wall was named the principal of the year for the state's North Central region. He and the other seven regional finalists will find out April 1 who will be the 2010 North Carolina Principal of the Year.

Gwen Johnson, principal of Mangum Elementary School, was named Durham Public Schools' Principal of the Year this morning.

Johnson was chosen by a committee of former award recipients and DPS administrators. She will now repesent the school system in the North Carolina Wachovia Principal of the Year competition.

Johnson has been principal at the school since 2004. Before that, she taught at Oak Grove Elementary. She holds degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill, NCCU and East Carolina University.

Congratulations to John Wall and Fay Jones for being named Wake's top school-level administrators.

Wall, the principal of North Garner Middle, was named 2009 Principal of the Year last night. Jones, an assistant principal at Forest Pines Elementary, was named 2009 Assistant Principal of the Year.

Wake avoided what could have been a PR problem by not giving the award to Barwell Road Elementary School Principal Annice Williams, one of five finalists. Barwell has the lowest passing rate on state exams of any Wake elementary school.

Wake has announced its finalists for principal and assistant principal of the year.

The Principal of the Year finalists are Mary Page of Bugg Elementary, Annice Williams of Barwell Elementary, Teresa Winstead of Durant Road Elementary, John Wall of North Garner Middle and Edward McFarland of Fuquay-Varina High.

The Assistant Principal of the Year finalists are Melissa Blackmon of Willow Springs Elementary, Lisa Brown of Leesville Road Elementary, Edna Fay Jones of Forest Pines Elementary, Christopher Coby of Wendell Middle and Robert Matheson of Apex High.

Leaders at two Apex schools swept the district's top honors for school-level administrators this evening.

Matt Wight of Apex High School was named the 2008 Principal of the Year. Shejuanna Rodgers of Apex Middle School was named the 2008 Assistant Principal of the Year.

Wight will enter the statewide competition for principal of the year.