Gravelly Hill principal named OCS principal of the year

The principal of Gravelly High Middle School, Jason Johnson, has been named the Orange County Schools' 2010 Wachovia Principal of the Year.

Johnson has been the principal since the school opened in 2006. Over the past three years, Gravelly Hill has shown a decrease in the achievement gap and a 20 percent improvement in both math and reading scores, according to the school system.

"This is not my award. This belongs to the students, teachers, cafeteria staff, office staff, every community and everyone who works at Gravelly Hill," said Johnson, in a release.

The principal of the year program is sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the Center for School Leadership Development Principals' Executive Program and the Wachovia Corporation.

Johnson began his career as a teacher in Chatham and Guilford County schools before becoming an assistant principal at A.L. Stanback Middle School.

He will go on to compete with other regional award recipients for the regional title and if he wins that, the state title in April.