Brian Suits has been principal of Dalton Middle School for 14 years, now one of the largest middle schools in Georgia. This year, he is one of six finalists for Principal of the Year granted by the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals.
"I'm humbled to be nominated for such a wonderful honor," said Mr. Suits. "It really is a reflection of the great work of both the staff and students at Dalton Middle School. I look forward to the opportunity to share their story on a larger scale and feel blessed beyond measure to be associated with all the talent that surrounds me every day."
During Mr.
Suit’s time at DMS, Dalton experienced an economic downturn, demographic changes, academic challenges and rapid growth. With teamwork at the heart of his working philosophy, Mr. Suits and his staff worked together to design and execute plans to combat complex problems.
“We ultimately realized that kids are still kids regardless of their circumstances, and no one knew our own kids better than we did,” Mr. Suits said. “Through a Great Conversation, we clarified our beliefs about how students learn, identified the culture we wanted to build so they could learn and became intentional about developing relationships and designing work based on what our particular kids needed.”
"DMS was the first middle school in the US to successful implement the Literacy Collaborative framework for the teaching of language arts and reading. As a result, students have improved critical thinking skills, broader vocabularies, and reading and writing comprehension. Standardized test scores in English/language arts and reading have improved across the grades," officials said.
“When we focus on skills kids need to reach their dreams and become productive adults, and when we provide proper avenues for them to demonstrate truly profound learning, then test scores will follow,” Mr. Suits said. “Our record proves that.”
“I’m very proud of Brian and his nomination,” said Superintendent Dr. Jim Hawkins. “He has dedicated many years to Dalton Middle School and instilled a sense of community and teamwork among his students, parents and staff. He is well-deserving of this honor.”
Mr. Suits is among six principals who were named as finalists for the honor.
The finalists, three each from the Middle School and High School levels, were selected by the GASSP selection committee from a pool of statewide nominees.
The criteria for selection includes professional and school excellence, as well as evidence of exemplary work in collaboration, curriculum, instruction and assessment and personalization of the school's work to meet individual student needs. A winner at each level will be selected and announced in late-February.
GASSP is the state's largest and oldest association of school principals and is a state affiliate of the National Association of Secondary School Principals as well as affiliate of the Georgia Association of Education Leaders. The Georgia Principals of the Year will represent the state in the National Principal of the Year program, of which Georgia has had five National Principals of the Year and an additional three National finalists over the past decade.