Burris Named New York State High School Principal of the Year

South Side High School Principal Dr. Carol Burris has been selected as the 2013 New York State High School Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS).

The award is given annually to a member of SAANYS and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) who has set the pace, character and quality of education for the students in his or her school.

Nominees are administrators who are committed to students, parents, and the community and have shown exceptional contributions to the educational process.

Burris has served as the principal at South Side High School for the past 13 years. She is well known across New York for her opposition to the use of test scores to evaluate educators.

She has written and presented on an array of topics, ranging from the Common Core and evaluations, to integrated schools and classrooms.

According to SAANYS, among her South Side community, however, "it is her dedication and tireless work on behalf of her students and faculty that moved so many to submit letters of nomination for this award."

Burris is most widely lauded for her ardent efforts to eliminate tracking at the high school – offering paths of more rigorous study and increased opportunity for each and every student.

By raising expectations, opening doors, and using high quality curriculum models such as the International Baccalaureate, South Side saw 99 percent of all its students, including 95 percent of minority students, graduate with a Regents diploma last year, according to SAANYS.

"I have never seen a principal work more to promote education equity for all social, economic, and racial/ethnic groups," Assistant Principal Brett Rosenthal said.

Burris has more than earned the respect of her teaching staff – working with teachers regularly to analyze data, develop lessons, improve instruction, and align curriculum across subject areas.

"Dr. Carol Burris is the most concerned, dynamic and effective building principal leader that I have known," veteran South Side teacher Russell Reid said.

In the end, it’s with the students where she leaves her imprint.

"She is kind, thoughtful, open, and friendly," said one of her students, "I will miss her the most when I graduate."

Burris will be honored for her accomplishments at an awards ceremony on May 10, at the Century House in Latham, N.Y.

As New York’s High School Principal of the Year, Burris is now a candidate for the award of National High School Principal of the Year, an award sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. A principals institute and awards ceremony sponsored by NASSP and MetLife will be held in Washington, DC this fall.