Haydon's Dr. Wilder is Washington Post Principal of the Year
April 20, 2018...Haydon Elementary School principal Dr. Amanda Wilder is the 2018 Washington Post Principal of the Year for Manassas City Public Schools (MCPS). She is among 16 recipients of the prestigious award, which aims to recognize principals who go beyond the day-to-day demands of the position to create an exceptional educational environment.
Dr. Wilder is noted by her nominators as a leader who sees herself as an equal partner with the students, staff, parents and Haydon community since assuming the role as principal in 2012. “It is important for her to involve all stakeholders in decisions that will have an impact on them,” one nominator wrote. Over the past three years, Dr. Wilder has worked with the support of key stakeholders to implement the first and only Dual Language Spanish Immersion Program for MCPS. Her awareness of the community she serves, along with her ability to effectively coordinate efforts to research similar programs and train personnel, was the driving force behind the program's successful implementation, according to MCPS Superintendent Dr. Catherine Magouyrk. The program is now in its second year and aims to have participating students enter high school with the option to learn a third language or continue their advanced study of Spanish. It is this forward and innovative thinking that recently qualified Dr. Wilder as a finalist for the Global Leadership Summit held in Helsinki, Finland.
Her coworkers say Dr. Wilder is someone who is always researching new ideas and strategies to help students and staff reach their full potential. She keeps herself informed on new developments and practices in the education field in an effort to promote the ongoing professional growth of her staff. For several years, students have benefited from the PAWS for Reading program, which allows struggling readers to share books with therapy dogs. Her school has hosted the MCPS Children’s Summer Engineering Camp and division Gifted and Talented program for several years. The school actively participates in National Young Readers Day and recently participated in the Redskins Read program, beating out participating schools in the DC region for reading the most books in the month of December. She supports the many before and after school clubs Haydon has to offer and often spends time walking the halls to admire student work or stop by classrooms for encouragement. Students also benefit from Dr. Wilder’s support of teachers applying for grants. In recent years, Haydon staff members have received grant funding for handheld wireless microscopes, flexible seating and a 3-D printer!
Dr. Wilder understands the necessity of family involvement in a student’s education and the important role communication plays in achieving this. Her stakeholders appreciate her use of traditional and nontraditional methods to ensure effective communication. Whether she uses a texting app to send out messages or interacts in person via her “open door” policy, Dr. Wilder’s understanding of the importance of communication in multiple languages does not go unnoticed. Dr. Wilder holds a Ph.D. in Education and a Master of Education in Special Education, which allows her to more effectively reach the students with the greatest needs.
The Washington Post Principal of the Year award program seeks to encourage excellence in school leadership and to contribute in a substantive way to the improvement of education in the Washington metropolitan area. Dr. Wilder will be honored at the school division’s annual recognition ceremony, Evening with the Stars, on May 16th as well as the Manassas Education Foundation’s Annual Night of Excellence on May 24th.