Schools
Council Honors San Rafael Principal Who Earned National Award
Davidson Middle School is a "welcoming and inclusive" environment and the school couldn't have been turned around without the community's help, Principal Harriet MacLean recently told the San Rafael City Council.
The San Rafael City Council recently presented a resolution of appreciation to Davidson Middle School Principal Harriet MacLean, who has received a national award for her work at the San Rafael school.
MacLean earned the American Association of School Administrators’ 2013 Women in School Leadership Award at the end of February — an award given to only one principal and one superintendent each year.
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San Rafael Mayor Gary Phillips presented the resolution to MacLean at the council's March 18 meeting, highlighting her achievements including reducing the student suspension rate from a high of 375 in 2008-2009 to 45 in 2011-2012. “Pretty incredible,” Phillips said.
MacLean has been credited with turning around the school since she was hired to work at the school in 2008.
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“Being a principal at Davidson has been such a joy, and a big part of the reason is because of the community,” MacLean told the council. “I just never imagined that such a welcoming and inclusive school environment could exist. And here it is in, San Rafael. I had no idea when I came to San Rafael this would turn out to be the job of my life, but it is.”
San Rafael City Schools Superintendent Michael Watenpaugh briefly spoke to the council after the resolution was presented and expressed his support for MacLean.
Watenpaugh, who attended the ceremony, told the council he didn’t knows five years when he elected MacLean to the the principal that they had an all star. “But I sensed it,” he said. “Harriet arrived and she mentioned to be there was nothing wrong with the kids at the school. Shortly after she said there was nothing wrong with the staff.”
He said that while MacLean had been the “orchestrator” of the school’s improvements, everyone involved with the middle school made the changes happen.
Read more about MacLean’s accomplishments in this article in the Marin Independent Journal.
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