Harris Vance County Schools’ Principal of the Year


Carolyn Harris, VCS POY
Carolyn Harris, Vance County Schools’ Principal of the Year

Carolyn Harris, who has been the principal at New Hope Elementary School for three years, has been selected as the Vance County Schools’ Principal of the Year for 2010-2011.

Harris was chosen for the honor from among the 16 principals in Vance County Public Schools.

She was among three finalists interviewed by a special selection panel. Other finalists for the school system’s Principal of the Year were Brian Creasman of Northern Vance High School, and Dr. Larry Webb of Eaton-Johnson Middle School.

Harris has led her school to designation as a North Carolina School of Distinction. The school received the recognition from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction after 80.2 percent of its students in grades 3-5 scored at or above grade level in reading and mathematics on state end-of-grade tests administered in May of 2010. New Hope was the top achieving elementary school in the local school system for the 2009-2010 school year.

In her first year as principal at New Hope in 2008-2009, Harris led the school from 54.6 percent of students in grades 3-5 scoring at or above grade level on end-of-grade tests the previous year to 74.4 percent scoring at proficiency. New Hope was recognized as a N.C. School of Progress for the 2008-2009 school year.

For the school’s lofty achievements by students and staff members in 2009-2010, there were more recognitions. New Hope met Adequate Yearly Progress under the strict No Child Left Behind federal guidelines, and met Expected Growth under state standards. The school’s fifth graders led all fifth graders in the school system by having the highest scores on the state science test. Last school year, there were 82.3 percent of New Hope’s fifth graders who scored at proficiency on the state test. This represented an increase from 55.6 percent proficiency on the science test in 2008-2009.

The achievements at New Hope Elementary are especially impressive when considering the school’s demographics. Among students in grades 3-5 last year, a total of 93 percent of the population was economically disadvantaged. The demographics also indicate: five percent of students identified as gifted in reading; eight percent of students identified as gifted in math; 11 percent identified as exceptional children; and five percent identified with limited English proficiency.

Before becoming principal at New Hope, Harris served as the school’s assistant principal for nine years. She worked all of these years as part of a successful administrative team with Principal Oddis Smith. Harris is now in her 33rd year in elementary education, serving as a classroom teacher for the first 21 years.

New Hope Elementary School has had no teacher turnover during the last two years. The N.C. Department of Public Instruction identifies New Hope as having a 100-percent highly qualified staff. New Hope has 75 percent of its faculty with 10 years or more of experience in education. The school also boasts an impressive number of community volunteers and business partners who play a major role in supporting the daily operations at the school.

In her instructional leadership focus presented to the local Principal of the Year panel, Harris wrote, “I appreciate the opportunity to be principal of New Hope School. I bring a variety of educational experiences to the school. I have had the wisdom to surround myself with dedicated staff whether in the cafeteria or in the classroom. I have no problem allowing others to make decisions, but I have no problem making difficult decisions. The physical plant of New Hope is the best it has ever been, and the staff is most qualified. This transformation was by taking small steps each day and by doing what is best for New Hope’s students and staff. In the future, the New Hope staff will continue to strive to educate each child in the best way possible using all of the resources available. The best is yet to come.”

She will now go on to represent her peers in Vance County Schools in regional competition for the Wachovia Principal of the Year for North Carolina.