January cover story: The Power Principal

Principals discuss their evolving roles in an ever-changing education landscape

By John Egan

Karen Noble, principal of Hillcrest Elementary School in Nederland ISD, traveled in November to a gathering in Washington D.C., where she accepted one of the highest honors a principal can receive: the Terrel H. Bell Award. The Bell award is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the Association of Middle Level Education and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. It recognizes exceptional school principals across the country. Noble was one of only seven principals in the United States to receive the award in 2011.

Not coincidentally, Noble also accepted Hillcrest’s 2011 award as a National Blue Ribbon School at the same D.C. ceremony. Noble has been principal at Hillcrest for 19 years; for 17 consecutive years, Hillcrest has earned the Texas Education Agency’s “exemplary” rating. As the honors for Principal Noble and Hillcrest Elementary demonstrate, excellent principals and excellent schools go hand in hand.

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