The ACCLAIM awards were created to honor an outstanding principal and assistant principal each year for their continued hard work and dedication. The awards seek to recognize school leaders who excel in the following areas: Achievement, Communication, Compassion, Leadership, Accountability, Innovation and Motivation.
PRINCIPAL FINALISTS
PRINCIPAL FINALISTS Nora J. Chiet, Horizon Elementary School
An educator for 36 years, Horizon Elementary principal Nora J. Chiet, knows that communication is key. The school has a large ESOL population and Chiet provides teacher translators at all evening parent meetings to keep everyone informed. She also makes sure that parent information is provided in the home language.
Since becoming Horizon’s principal in 2000, Chiet has hired full-time math and science teachers; established Monday and Saturday FCAT camps for remediation and enrichment; and implemented both “America Reads” and “America Counts” tutoring for below level students.
Under Chiet’s leadership, Horizon was honored in August 2006 as number 26 among the top 100 elementary schools in the state of Florida for its increase in year-to-year progress in school grades. The school continues to maintain Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and was one of only four schools in the nation to be highlighted nationally in an article published in The Education Trust, 2003.
Alan Wolnek, Chief Executive Officer of After School Programs, Inc. said of Chiet, “I have observed her to be a consummate professional educator and a person I admire. Mrs. Chiet is an outstanding principal and has earned the respect of her peers, employees, supervisors and school community.”
Johnny Duncombe, North Fork Elementary School
“Child centered” is how North Fork Elementary Principal Johnny Duncombe has been described. Serving as the school’s principal since 2005, he has promoted activities to improve student achievement and developed an accountability system to ensure that “no student is left behind.”
He provides additional support to students who have one or more parents incarcerated and provides positive role models for those students through a partnership with the Hands On Broward program. Gifted/high achieving students in grades 2-5 are provided with a rich and challenging learning environment through a staffed, self-contained program developed by Duncombe.
Under his leadership, support staff members and interns provide classroom support during the 90 minute reading block, so that students receive intervention strategies everyday without leaving the classroom. In addition, every child in Duncombe’s school has an opportunity to participate in the Distance Learning Program, exposing them to an international and cultural curriculum.
Duncombe has served as a principal in Broward County Public Schools for 14 years. For the past three years, Terri L. Murru of Murru & Associates has had an opportunity to work with Duncombe at North Fork as both a community volunteer and school partner. Murru said, “I see Mr. Duncombe as an administrator who rules with a firm hand, but with a soft heart.”
Dr. Deloris Merritt Johnson, Sandpiper Elementary School
Dr. Deloris Merritt Johnson came to Sandpiper in 1999 as Assistant Principal and the following year assumed the role of principal. Under her leadership, “Double Dose Reading” has been implemented. Students in first and second grades take part in a remedial reading program with instruction delivered by over 20 student interns from Nova Southeastern University. Johnson credits the program with her third graders continuing to score above the 80th percentile in reading and math.
She also initiated “Cool Cat Camp” – a seven-week after school tutorial program that helps level one and two 3-5th graders prepare for the FCAT.
Johnson believes it is important that all students with special needs be included and integrated into general classes and mandates their participation in all school-wide events.
Laurel S. R-Love, Sandpiper’s PTA President, said of Johnson, “The highest honor I can give Dr. Johnson is to repeat what my children have said about her. They like her because she listens and respects them. They are individuals to her, not just faces in classrooms. She instills in them the power of knowledge, and then celebrates the successes achieved in the classroom.
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL FINALISTS
Oslay Gil, Margate Middle School
In three short years, Oslay Gil, Assistant Principal at Margate Middle School, has excelled in many demanding roles, working directly with department chairs, analyzing student data and implementing and monitoring curriculum. He is known for his proactive, take initiative approach and as a leader that leads by example.
Gill and his family migrated to the United States when he was only seven years old, so he knows firsthand the challenges facing many students. As assistant principal, he read the book The Outsiders and then used it to develop lessons and action plans for struggling readers at the school. He also initiated the Breakthrough Program, a tuition-free, rigorous academic program that provides students with free tutoring and participation in summer sessions at Pine Crest School.
Gil serves as Margate Middle’s Safe and Civil Team Chairperson. Under his guidance, the school has had a decrease of 47% in external suspensions and 27% in internal suspensions.
Margate Middle’s School Advisory Forum Chair Debbie Lopez said of Gil, “I speak confidently for all parents when I state that it is an honor and a privilege to have the professional services of Mr. Gil. He has been an excellent role model and a vital component in the academic careers of our children.”
James F. Griffin, North Fork Elementary
James F. Griffin, Assistant Principal at North Fork Elementary, is known as an imaginative administrator who is not afraid to “step out of the box” in order to motivate students to succeed. This year he designed and implemented an after-school Sports Camp to complement the academic camps held after-school. This innovative move attracted over 180 students to the program. Sports Camp makes staying after school for academic tutoring “fun and cool” for students.
Griffin, who was recently appointed to the Intern Principal Program, also developed an Internet Connect Program. For increased fluency practice, students read passages over a telephone and their voices are uploaded onto the Internet; teachers and support staff post blogs and podcast ideas, creating an online community forum; and teachers upload lessons to share them with their colleagues.
Another of Griffin’s innovations is Manatee’s Group, which focuses on the lowest 25% of students. Counseling, motivation and test taking strategies provided to students have resulted in a 35% increase in learning gains in the lower quartile.
North Fork Principal Johnny Duncombe said of Griffin, “Spend a few moments with Mr. Griffin and you will understand his passion for student success.”
Lisa C. Mays, North Side Elementary
As Assistant Principal at North Side Elementary since 2004, Lisa C. Mays has been an advocate of professional development for staff. She developed, and now manages, the Comprehensive Management Systems (CMS) program. North Side is the only elementary school in the county using the CMS model which provides teachers with allotted blocks of time built within the school day to receive professional development opportunities, including team-planning, child study, learning communities, and student remediation sessions.
Mays planned, implemented and supervised a pilot summer program for over 180 third grade students using a piloted, tri-dimensional, cross-curricular approach. The program included three key components to increase student achievement – teacher-directed reading intervention/instruction, science and motivational learning and computer-aided instruction. This led to mean grade level learning gains in just three weeks.
While serving as president of Phi Delta Kappa, she wrote and received several grants through that organization that promoted teaching, learning and service for teachers and students throughout Broward County.
North Side Principal Camille LaChance said of Mays, “Ms. Mays is a valuable member of the North Side staff and a wonderful mentor to our teachers and students. North Side Elementary is successful in many ways, primarily due to her generous contributions of time and work for the community.
