N.C.’s 2005 Wachovia Principal of the Year
Margaret Hyatt Leads by Example
by Lynda Fuller

What is the mark of a good principal? If you ask North Carolina’s 2005 Wachovia Principal of the Year Margaret Hyatt, she will quickly tell you it’s their capacity to care. “Through their words and deeds, good leaders of every kind show that caring is not optional,” Hyatt said. “Caring principals speak up for their deeply held convictions about teaching and learning. They care passionately and without reserve as they fulfill their often contradictory roles of teacher, mentor, parent, mediator, logistics coordinator, plant operations manager, and last, but not least, friend.”

Staff and students greet Hyatt's arrival from Raleigh where she was named NC Principal of the Year.

As principal of Avery’s Creek Elementary School (Buncombe County), Hyatt puts her philosophy of caring into practice every moment of every day. “I enjoy greeting staff, students and visitors to Avery’s Creek Elementary. I provide words of encouragement and praise to my staff and students but also let them know when they can do better. One of the most powerful ways that I show that I care is by insisting on high expectations for myself, my staff, my students and my community regardless of how they look, what language they may speak, or the position they may hold in the community.”

Like most educators, Hyatt credits a number of people for inspiring her educational career: her former first grade teacher for her ever-present support and encouragement, and her high school principal for trusting her to oversee the office during her last class period as well as continually telling her she had leadership potential and to never stop pursuing her dreams. She also credits her mother who had her own career in education and herself for wanting to do something really important with her life.

Following graduation from Mars Hill College in 1974, Hyatt accepted a teaching position with Buncombe County Public Schools where she taught a variety of age levels within the system’s elementary schools. Her desire to know more about the field of elementary education and best practices for the classroom led her to pursue her Master’s degree in Education from Western Carolina University – all while continuing to teach.

Hyatt became interested in becoming a principal in the fall of 1988 when then Buncombe County Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Andy Miller asked her to step out of the classroom one day and serve as an interim assistant principal while the schools in the area were undergoing consolidation. “Being an interim assistant principal opened my eyes to the numerous ways that administrators influence the learning environment at a school. I got my first glimpse of the challenges and rewards of being a school administrator,” Hyatt said.

A discussion with Josh during one of Hyatt's daily classroom visits.

Dr. Miller and her principal, Roy McGuinn, supported her while she served as the interim assistant principal and encouraged her to pursue a degree in administration and supervision. Hyatt also credits the two-year period she served as a Career Ladder Evaluator for furthering her interest in becoming a principal because it allowed her to observe a variety of teaching and administrative styles while enabling her to recognize the tremendous influence that the school principal has on every aspect of the staff, students, and overall school atmosphere.

In January 1995, Hyatt was appointed assistant principal at Fairview Elementary School, and twoyears later, became the principal of Avery’s Creek Elementary School. The rest, as they say, is history.

Hyatt's OM Team returned from the World Competetion where they placed 6th. Hyatt greeted them with all the staff and students at the flag pole.

Hyatt said that one of the main reasons she enjoys being a principal so much are the continually changing challenges that principals face on a daily basis. “High stakes testing. Teacher shortages. Family structure changes. Increased student diversity. The challenges principals face are as varied as the students and staff in their schools,” Hyatt said. “For me, ensuring student achievement and the professional growth of my staff in the face of these challenges is a process that is both fascinating and energizing.”

The student population at Avery’s Creek provides a prime example of the challenges many principals across the state face every day. Avery’s Creek student population is 64 percent white, 12 percent black, 15 percent Hispanic and 9 percent other. More than 46 percent of the school’s6712 students qualify for free or reduced price meals and almost a tenth of the students come from homes where English is not the primary language spoken.

Hyatt dressed the part when her school community was selling pumkins to support our local Eblen Foundation that supports our children with medical services and outreach services.

Yet through all this diversity and economic needs of a growing and changing student population, students have experienced high academic growth each year. In fact, Avery’s Creek has maintained its School of Excellence status under the state’s ABCs of Public Education accountability program for the past five consecutive years, and in the last two years, has been designated as an Honor School of Excellence for also achieving Adequately Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind. In addition, staff and the school community have implemented a technology plan, increased the school’s library holdings, introduced the Accelerated Reader program, expanded the facility and instituted a number of tutorial and enrichment programs for students. “Throughout my years at Avery’s Creek, I have felt the excitement and satisfaction of knowing that I am the leader who is responsible for making these changes and that it is these very changes that are improving the lives of my students, staff and school community,” Hyatt said.

Community partnerships have played an important role in Avery’s Creek success and have benefited both parties. Hyatt remarked that no school exists in isolation and that each is part of a larger community. “Schools are better able to meet the needs of its students by drawing on the talents and resources of the larger community and by giving back to that community in equal measure,” Hyatt said. Local businesses and organizations help the school meet the needs of its English language learners by funding the purchase of books and materials, support programs whose profits are used to purchase books for the media center, or donate gift certificates in support of the schools’ character education program or to recognize students who achieve perfect attendance or make significant academic improvement.

On the school side, staff and students sponsor food drives, organize blood drives, hold book nights at the local book store and fundraisers that support local charities, and in the process, develop a closer relationship with the school community.

Hyatt poses with child during a Mother's Day program hosted by another teacher. The child's mother was ill and Hyatt stood in as the child's mother during the program.

“As principal of Avery’s Creek, I want to set the tone not just for my school but for my community as a whole. I want to infuse my staff and students with the courage to care and the attitude that each of us can make a difference in the world. School-community partnerships serve as a reminder to all of us of the importance of working together to create a caring and viable community,” Hyatt said.

Leading by example can be the best lesson of all. It isn’t hard to imagine a future teacher or principal of the year who would say that their main inspiration was their elementary school principal, Margaret Hyatt.