Florence Elementary School Principal Amanda Clark is in the running to be awarded a $5,000 stipend and be named the Mississippi Administrator of the Year.
Recently, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) announced the finalists for the 2023 Mississippi Administrator of the Year, and Clark is now one of only four vying for the honor.
Clark, who is the Congressional District 3 finalist, notes that her personal philosophy includes the ideal that “every student and staff member should feel important, included, loved, and achieve academic success.”
Under Clark’s leadership, Florence Elementary was named a National Blue Ribbon School last fall. The coveted award given by the United States Department of Education recognizes schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
The Mississippi Administrator of the Year Program (MAOY) recognizes outstanding achievement and performance by Mississippi school administrators and brings effective administrative practices to the attention of others. Those eligible for the award include elementary and secondary school principals and vocational-technical directors.
Each school district in the state is allowed one entry for the program. From all entries, the top sixteen candidates, four from each congressional district, are identified. Those sixteen are then sent to a selection committee, which narrows the candidates down to the finalists – one per congressional district. To be eligible, an administrator must have at least three years’ experience as an administrator; must be a full-time certified K-12 administrator employed in a state-accredited Mississippi public school as a building elementary or secondary principal, assistant principal, career and technical education director or alternative school director; and must have plans to continue in an active administrator status at the building-level the following year.
The Mississippi Administrator of the Year for 2023 will be announced on April 28 at the Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson.