Principal of the Year

2024 Washington State Elementary Principal of the Year

Cathy Sork
Dorothy Fox Elementary
Camas School District 

Cathy Sork, principal at Dorothy Fox Elementary School in the Camas School District, was named the 2024 Washington State Elementary Principal of the Year. Sork will also be recognized nationally by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), with winners from other states as one of NAESPs National Distinguished Principals.

Sork has been principal for seventeen years at Dorothy Fox, with a total of twenty-four years in educational leadership. One of the best parts of her job is she gets “to have relationships with students and help them to grow, laugh, stretch, and move toward a bright future.” Colleague and mentee of Sork’s, Kristie Wall, believes she “embodies the best of our profession, modeling student-first leadership”, and it is clear she is highly thought of by her staff as they gasped in awe as they heard she had won this award.

2024 Washington State Secondary Principal of the Year

Dr. William Jackson
Nathan Hale High School
Seattle PS

Dr. William Jackson, principal at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle Public Schools, was named this year’s Washington State Secondary Principal of the Year. Jackson will also be recognized nationally by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). He will compete with winners from other states for the NASSP’s National Principal of the Year award.

Jackson has been a school leader for seven years and leads with his strong belief that “honoring the brilliance of [his] students by centering their voice in [the] curricular and school design is the justice-centered approach that leads to high engagement in learning, and strong academic outcomes.” It is clear he is highly respected in his school, district, and community as he received a record-breaking number of nominations from each. Nominations included phrases such as “transformational leadership”, “connector of people”, “Loved and admired”, and “deserves to be recognized with this great honor.” His supervisor, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, Dr. Brent Jones, affirmed Jackson “has a clear vision of how to systemically build climate for equity, justice, and academic outcomes” and that he leads with humbleness, intentionality, and steadfastness resulting in “bold outcomes.” 

Dr. Jackson will be recognized and celebrated in Washington D.C., next year.

National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)

• One principal will represent Washington for NAESP's National Distinguished Principal Program (NDP).
• NAESP honors principals from around the country and does not select a national winner. 
• Our state winner must apply for the NDP program by May 5, 2023.
• Winners are recognized in Washington, D.C. sometime in October 2023.

National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)

• One principal will represent Washington for NASSP's National Principal of the Year (NPOY).
• NASSP selects one national winner from the state representatives.
• Our state winner's application for the NPOY program is due May 2023.
• State representatives are honored at the National Principals Institute in Washington, D.C., usually in late September/early October. 
• The National Principal of the Year is selected in October for National Principals Month. 

Assistant Principal of the Year

Learn more about our state and national assistant principal recognitions.

AP Recognition

Past POY Winners

Check out our list of past winners. 

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