Michael Bullard, who has served as principal of the Vance County Early College High School since its establishment four years ago, has been selected as the Vance County Schools’ Principal of the Year for 2011-2012.
He was selected Principal of the Year by a special panel made up of current and retired local educators and a member of the Vance County Board of Education.
Bullard was chosen for the district honor from an outstanding field of school administrators and was among the finalists for the award along with Laura Rigsbee, principal of Aycock Elementary School; Dr. John Hargrove, principal of Clarke Elementary School; and Dr. Larry Webb, principal of Eaton-Johnson Middle School. All four finalists were interviewed by the selection panel.
Bullard has worked in education for 36 years. He began his career in 1975 as a band director in grades 6-12 at a public school in his home state of Arkansas. He came to Vance County in the mid-1990s as a teacher in the Department for Exceptional Children at Zeb Vance Elementary School. During his tenure with Vance County Schools, he also has been a guidance counselor, dean of students and assistant principal at Southern Vance High School, and an assistant principal at Eaton-Johnson Middle School.
Under Bullard’s leadership, the Vance County Early College High School students each year have scored above 85 percent proficiency overall on state end-of-course tests. Bullard and his outstanding faculty are committed to student learning and ensuring that all students will master the necessary skills to successfully complete their high school education and receive two years of college course work at no cost. The Early College program is designed to serve mostly low-income students who have never had anyone in their family attend college. The five-year program, located on the main campus of Vance-Granville Community College near Henderson, now serves 230 students in grades 9-12. In the 2012-2013 school year, Early College will have its first graduating class.
Bullard is a graduate of Arkansas Tech University with a bachelor of arts degree in music education. He holds a master’s degree in counselor education from the University of Arkansas. He also has post-graduate education at the University of Arkansas for severely emotionally disturbed and learning disabled students; Fayetteville State University for behavior and emotionally handicapped students; N.C. State University in cross-cultural counseling; and the University of South Carolina in elementary curriculum development.
He will now go on to represent Vance County Schools in regional competition for the North Carolina Principal of the Year.