Steele receives state recognition for ‘Principal of the Year’ award

Published 2:48 pm Wednesday, October 19, 2016

By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

MONTGOMERY – Several months after earning the Principal of the Year award from the Alabama Association of Secondary School Principals, Thompson Sixth Grade Center Principal Dr. Daniel Steele received recognition at a recent Alabama Board of Education meeting.

During the state Board of Education’s Oct. 13 meeting, the board honored Steele for earning the achievement, and thanked him for his dedication to the city’s children.

“It was an honor to get to accompany Dr. Steele at the state Board of Education meeting,” said Alabaster School Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers. “Even at the state level, they know about the great things going on here in Alabaster.”

The state board recognition served to commemorate Steele’s 2016-2017 Principal of the Year award, which he earned last spring. The state honor qualifies him to represent Alabama in the National Association of Secondary School Principal’s National Principal of the Year program.

“Dr. Steele is credited with creating a school culture that is focused on student achievement and committed to personal connections to all students,” read an AASSP letter released when Steele earned the award, noting Steele has raised TSGC students’ reading proficiency by 60 percent and math proficiency by 68 percent. “Principal Steele led the faculty to build a more collaborative culture in the building. Using “eleot”, an AdvancED classroom observation instrument, the teachers are able to observe their colleagues, and give a report to the observed teacher.”

Steele has been working in the education field for more than 23 years, and has been a school administrator for 15 of those years. He has been the TSGC principal since 2014, and previously served as assistant principal and principal at Thompson High School. He worked at Vestavia Hills High School before coming to Alabaster.

“Congratulations to Daniel Steele on his selection as Alabama’s Principal of the Year,” AASSP Executive Director Dr. L. Earl Franks wrote in a statement. “His accomplishments as a principal are significant and worthy of accolades and recognition at the highest level. Steele’s effective leadership in transforming Thompson Sixth Grade Center to meet students’ needs reflect his abilities that are worthy of state and national recognition.”