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Dr. Bob Heaberlin , principal of Lee
Middle School in Coweta County, was selected as Georgia’s 2011
National Distinguished Principal. The prestigious National Distinguished Principal (NDP) award is given by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the U.S. Department of Education. “Heaberlin was nominated and selected by his fellow principals through a statewide search process conducted by the Georgia Association of Middle School Principals,” said Hal Beaver, Executive Director of the Georgia Association of Middle School Principals. Dr. Heaberlin is a 38-year educator, and has served most recently as the principal of Lee Middle school in Coweta county. A graduate of the University of Georgia (Ed.D), West Georgia College (Ed.S), Francis Marion College (M.Ed), and Ohio University (BSEd.), Heaberlin previously held the position of principal at Newnan Crossing Elementary, East Coweta Middle School, Winston Dowdell Academy, and Temple High School. In 2006 he opened Lee Middle School in Coweta County where he has served as principal for the past five years. “School principals commit their professional lives to educational excellence and their personal lives to children,” said Dr. Gail Connelly, NAESP’s executive director. “They are uniquely dedicated public servants who rarely receive the kind of public recognition they deserve.” In October, Dr. Heaberlin will travel to Washington, D.C., for two days of activities planned to honor and bring well-deserved recognition to the middle level educators chosen by the states, the District of Columbia, plus private and overseas schools. “Criteria for selection of the principals set by NAESP and the U.S. Department of Education requires that the honorees be selected by their colleagues for achievements above and beyond those expected in a school program,” Beaver said. In addition, each must have been a principal for five years; maintain high expectations of students and staff; show evidence of outstanding contributions to school and profession; and be an established, respected member of the community. Heaberlin has enjoyed many accomplishments over the years, but the ones that selection committee committee cited particularly: Newnan Crossing becoming the second school in the state to implement a year round school and receiving a Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE) Georgia School Bus Stop and the GPEE Next Generation School Award; at Temple High School the school received the Governor’s Bronze Award for most improved GHSGT test scores in the state and the Governor’s Cup for the most improved SAT scores in GHSA Region 6A; and after opening Lee Middle School the school has made Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind Law each year as well as receiving the GAMSP Effective Middle School Program Award in 2009 and the Georgia Middle School Association’s Central District Team of the Year Award in 2008. Heaberlin has received numerous awards over the years including the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL) Outstanding Educator Award, the Dr. John Lounsbury Award (contributions for middle level education), GAMSP Exemplary Leadership Award, and the GMSA President’s Award. As a leader, he has served as president of GAEL and GAMSP and been a member of the NASSP No Child Left Behind Task Force as well as the Superintendent’s Principal Advisory Council. In addition to his duties as a principal, Heaberlin has served as an adjunct assistant professor in the Educational Leadership and Doctoral Studies Departments since 2004 at the University of West Georgia. He promotes shared leadership and reaps as his reward an overwhelming outpouring of effort from parents, staff, and community to support educational objectives. The Georgia Association of Middle School Principals has served as Georgia’s professional educational association and now represents middle level principals throughout the state. GAMSP maintains close ties with the metropolitan, Washington-based National Association of Elementary School Principals and its 30,000 members nationwide and is an affiliate under the umbrella of the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL) which was established in 1973. The National Distinguished Principals program is made possible through the corporate sponsorship of VALIC and Nova Southeastern University. VALIC is an industry leader in tax-qualified retirement plans and supplemental tax-deferred and after-tax investments, and currently manages long-term investment programs for more than 27,000 education, healthcare, public sector, and other organizations representing more than 1.6 million investors. Nova Southeastern University offers a wide variety of distance and field based graduate degree programs for educators, including teaching, educational, and organizational leadership; technology, and other areas of study. Designed for working professionals, NSU’s graduate programs are comprehensive, flexible, and highly respected.  Dr. Bob Heaberlin has been selected as the as Georgia’s 2011 National Distinguished Principal. |