David Nuzum has been honored by his peers around the state as West Virginia’s State Principal of the Year — an award presented by MetLife.
The fact that this honor comes from the other state principals makes it even more significant.
This honor also is based on the many successes that Nuzum has had as a Marion County principal over the years — his accomplishments over an extended period of time.
Nuzum has been at East Fairmont High School since 2006. He came to East Fairmont after one year at Rivesville Elementary-Middle School.
The award shows the commitment that Nuzum has made to his students, faculty and staff at East Fairmont. He had previously served as assistant principal at East Fairmont.
Being selected as the State Principal of the Year is one of those honors that is far from routine. Many principals never receive such an honor.
Nuzum recognizes the award for the honor it is.
“I think it’s a tribute to the work that my staff has done and the fact that what we have accomplished here has been recognized on the state level,” he said.
Nuzum has established great consistency with his management style and the many facets of leadership with which a high school principal must deal. Nuzum must have impressed the principals with his leadership.
In the 2010-11 school year, East Fairmont High School missed making its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) score by a tiny percentage. It was the first time EFHS fell short. The school’s graduation rate, which nearly met expectations, was what held it back. The graduation rate requirement changed so that students must graduate within four years with a regular high school diploma.
All Nuzum needed was one more student in order to meet those standards.
In order for a school to make AYP, the school must show a 10 percent improvement from the previous year. East Fairmont reported a 74.7 percent graduation rate and missed its target by .14 percent.
Nuzum understood the way the numbers played out and explained the situation to the state board of education, which, ironically, was meeting in Fairmont at the time. Many of the principals must have thought it took gumption on Nuzum’s part to explain what might be interpreted as a fallacy in the system to the board, which had drawn up the requirements.
“I am not looking at a lot of kids to at least have shown improvement, but we feel it’s unreasonable in essence to count those kids as dropouts because they don’t get a regular diploma,” Nuzum said.
“They have a federally protected right to the appropriate education they’re due.”
He asked the board to consider looking at ways to improve the system.
Nuzum’s stand at explaining why his school failed to make AYP is another excellent example of the strong leadership he has demonstrated in the Marion County school system.
Opinion
Strong leadership helps propel East’s Nuzum to Principal of Year recognition
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