Parent Teacher Magazine Union County Public Schools Nov/Dec 2016 | Page 10

Two UCPS principals recognized for their leadership
Two Union County Public Schools principals were
recognized for their leadership during the first general
principals meeting of the new school year, held Thursday
Sept. 8th.
UCPS Superintendent Dr. Andrew Houlihan first
recognized Monroe High School Principal Dr. Mike Harvey with
the Team UCPS Leadership Award.
Monroe High School reported its highest cohort
graduation rate since the inception of the school system. At
87.2 percent, Monroe’s graduation rate surpassed the state’s
four-year rate of 85.8 percent.
“The recognition should go to the staff and students at
Monroe High School,” Dr. Harvey said. “They work extremely
hard every day and are a pleasure to be with. It’s collectively
us committing to helping every child to be successful. While
I’m the recipient of the award in front of my peers and
colleagues, the award should really be attributed to the hard
work that’s being done day in and day out at Monroe High
School.”
Dr. Houlihan also noted that Dr. Harvey’s leadership has
resulted in the improvements in the academic growth at each
of the three schools he has led; Benton Heights Elementary
School of the Arts, Monroe Middle and Monroe High schools.
The second principal recognized with the leadership
award was Catherine Perry, a 10-year veteran principal
at New Town Elementary School, acknowledged for her
Superintendent Dr. Andrew Houlihan, at right, recognizes Monroe High
leadership and level of communication during a recent crisis
School Principal Dr. Mike Harvey and New Town Elementary School Principal
at her school – a lockdown on Sept. 2 that was further
Catherine Perry, with the Team UCPS Leadership Award.
complicated by a power outage.
Students and faculty remained in lockdown status for two-anda-half hours after the regular dismissal time, yet Dr. Houlihan said
Perry was able to keep her stakeholders calm, work with local law
enforcement, and make sure her teachers and students remained
engaged beyond the school hours.
“At the end of the day, student safety is absolutely the first and
foremost priority, and the actions she took that day made a very big
difference to the lives of her kids and her