Blog Juice for Educational Technology

The National High School Principal of the year, Mel Riddile at J.E.B. Stuart High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, is more than a swell guy. “What other educators say they have noticed about Riddile is his unerring, and sometimes astonishing, focus on student achievement,” reports the Washington Post. “The experts say he has turned Stuart into one of the highest-performing and best-functioning high schools in the country, the academic results particularly impressive because 54 percent of Stuart students come from low-income homes.”

And: “Kathleen McBride, president of Stuart’s Parent Teacher Student Association, said Riddile collected reams of data on each problem he faced and then encouraged different and sometimes daring solutions from a staff that came to realize he was going to listen to them and back up their efforts.”

From Principals.org, here is a profile of Riddile’s school, illustrating all that it has accomplished academically. And what is it with Virginia principals? The Middle School Principal of the Year, Sharon Byrdsong, is from Norfolk.