DOD schools administrator named principal of year Published Sept. 14, 2006 WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- An administrator in a Defense Department school in Germany was named Sept. 11 as the 2007 National Principal of the Year for Middle Schools. Dr. Ellen Minette of Heidelberg Middle School received the award from the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in an assembly at the school. Gen. David McKiernan, commander of U.S. Army Europe, and Joseph Militello, NASSP board president, surprised Dr. Minette with the announcement in front of several hundred of her students. Dr. Minette's selection represents the first time a Department of Defense education activity principal has been chosen as the national winner. She will be honored during an awards banquet Oct. 14 in Washington, D.C. "Educating our children, as in any location around the world where Soldiers serve, is important," General McKiernan said during the assembly. "Parents in Europe should feel very good knowing the (Department of Defense Dependents Schools) system has people like Ellen Minette serving them." The Principal of the Year Program, which began in 1993, is sponsored by NASSP and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company as a means to recognize outstanding middle and high school principals. This program honors secondary school principals who have succeeded in providing high-quality learning opportunities for students and for their exemplary contributions to the profession. MetLife and NASSP will present each state winner with an award during their annual Principal's Institute and Awards Banquet held in Washington, D.C. The National Principals of the Year (one middle school, one high school) will receive a $5,000 grant, and the four finalists will be awarded a $1,500 grant. "In a personalized school, more rigor can be expected of students," Dr. Minette said. "To add such rigor, I challenge teachers to instill in each student a belief in one of my favorite mantras, 'What you are learning is important; you can do it; and I will never give up on you.' When children feel that the teacher and the school care about their learning, they respond." (From a Department of Defense Education Activity news release. U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs contributed to this report.)