Congratulations to our very own Patrice Faison for winning Principal of the Year!

Faison, who is in her second year as principal at Oak Hill, believes successful leaders must listen first and act second. She has taken this approach to heart and led two schools toward dramatic, positive change. In 2007, she became the principal of The Academy at Smith and led the school from low performing to Honor School of Excellence status and a 100 percent graduation rate. In her first year at Oak Hill in 2010-11, the school made the largest gains in the district, raising its ABCs composite score by 19.4 percentage points to become one of this year's Most Improved Schools.

Faison began her career with GCS as a third-grade teacher at Stokesdale Elementary in 1995. She received National Board Certification in 2000 and holds master's degrees in elementary education and school administration from North Carolina A&T State University. She is currently a member of the district's doctoral cohort at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

At Oak Hill, Faison says she spent time meeting with parents and community members from the beginning. She also assembled a good team of teachers and has put her trust in them.

"Showing teachers their views and opinions are appreciated, valued and respected is critical to retaining a high-quality staff," she said. "During the year, I make every attempt to show staff how much I value their effort and dedication."

Faison was also named the Elementary Principal of the Year. Dudley High Principal Jesse Pratt was named the Secondary Principal of the Year. The remaining finalists were Keisha McMillan from Vandalia Elementary, Kevin Carr from Haynes-Inman Education Center and John Lawrence from Southern Elementary.