Winners from TX, MD, ND, and LA to be honored at special event at National Principals Conference

Reston, VA – The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has recognized four winners from Texas, Maryland, North Dakota, and Louisiana with the Distinguished Service to NASSP, Distinguished Service to Education, and Membership Star awards for their commitment to NASSP and to the field of education.

Distinguished Service to NASSP

NASSP is committed to supporting great leaders in every school committed to the success of each student. The Distinguished Service to NASSP award goes to individuals or organizations whose service contributed significantly to this vision. There are two recipients of the award this year:

E. Don Brown, Texas

E. Don Brown has previously served as president of both the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals and NASSP. At NASSP, he was instrumental in publishing and introducing Breaking Ranks, a framework for school improvement utilized by school leaders across the country. His contributions to education and to NASSP’s mission continued into retirement. He founded a company that aids school leaders in improving schools and student achievement. Along with his role with NASSP, Brown has been involved in education for the past 55 years as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, and now, as a consultant.

Scott Pfeifer, Maryland

Scott Pfeifer is an award-winning principal and a model of effective school leader mentorship and support. Pfeifer has dedicated the past 29 years to NASSP and the Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP). In fact, NASSP can credit over one third of its Maryland membership to Pfeifer’s efforts as mentor principal and executive director of MASSP. He previously served as state coordinator of MASSP, and in that role, was named lead coordinator for the region. Later, as executive director of MASSP, Maryland earned distinction for the largest membership increase in 2015–16.

Distinguished Service to Education

NASSP also recognizes individuals, organizations, foundations, corporations, or publications that significantly improve or strengthen education through the Distinguished Service to Education award.

Leslie Anderson, North Dakota

Leslie Anderson, a 49-year veteran of education from North Dakota, is the sole recipient of the Distinguished Service to Education award. Anderson has held leadership positions locally, statewide, and nationally throughout his career, including 38 years as a standing member of the North Dakota Student Activities Association and executive director of the North Dakota Association of Secondary School Principals. In 1988, his involvement with an international leadership program for high school students, under the sponsorship of NASSP, led to the establishment of another NASSP student leadership camp called Outlaw Ranch. Anderson co-directed this camp for 11 years, which was in such high demand that its registration requests exceeded its capacity.

Membership Star

Since 1916, NASSP’s mission has been to advocate for and support school leaders who, every day, show how essential their leadership is for the success of our nation’s schools. The Membership Star award is to recognize the association’s members.

Wayne Warner, Louisiana

As NASSP’s longest standing member—with 44 years of continuous membership—Principal Wayne Warner is this year’s Membership Star awardee. He is celebrating over 50 years at Chalmette High School in Chalmette, Louisiana. Warner has an immense sense of service, evident in part through his actions to organize volunteers and ration food and medical supplies during Hurricane Katrina. He often tells his students that “the choices you make shape your world tomorrow,” and the praise from current and past students shows that his own choices have positively impacted the lives of many.

“By being active in NASSP, these school leaders have demonstrated a commitment to improving school leadership, which in turn improves our nation’s schools,” said NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti. “We are honored to recognize them as powerful multipliers of effective practice and thank them for their support of education and this association.”

Awardees will be recognized at the Salute to Leaders event during this year’s National Principals Conference, July 9­–11, in Philadelphia, PA.

For more information about NASSP’s school leadership recognition programs and awards, please visit /recognition/.

About NASSP

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for principals and other school leaders across the United States. NASSP seeks to transform education through school leadership, recognizing that the fulfillment of each student’s potential relies on great leaders in every school committed to the success of each student. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor SocietyNational Junior Honor SocietyNational Elementary Honor Society, and National Association of Student Councils.