Meet the 2004 Principal Fellows

(left to right) 2004 Principal Fellows Patricia Welch, Les Potter, and Merian Stewart meet with Scholastic Senior Vice President Ernest Fleishman

The 2004 Principal Fellows program was created by Scholastic in collaboration with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) as a forum for Scholastic to interact with school leaders to receive a firsthand perspective on the state of our nation's elementary, middle, and high schools. The program also gave the principals an opportunity to share best practices, exchange ideas with their peers, and share their thoughts on the common challenges and opportunities in their schools. All of the principal fellows were chosen based on recommendations from the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Here are this year's Principal Fellows:

Merian Stewart
Merian Stewart is Principal of (Arthur Amos) Noyes Elementary School in Pasadena Unified School District, California, a PreK-6 school serving 495 students. In addition to her role as principal, Merian is also a Program Specialist in School-Age Child Care for the Pasadena Unified School District. She has held both positions since 1986, prior to which she had been an elementary school teacher. She has participated in both the UCLA Principal's Academy and the California School Leadership Academy.

Les Potter
Les Potter is Principal of Silver Sands Middle School in Port Orange, Florida. In the course of his career, he has been principal of four high schools and three middle schools in four states. His current school serves approximately 1900 students in grades 6-8. Among his many accomplishments, Les has published 85 textbooks, chapters, or articles, presented at 25 state, regional, national, and international conferences, and currently serves on the NASSP middle school national task force.

Patricia Welch
Patricia Welch is Principal of Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Hillcrest is a 9-12 school serving 1260 students, of whom over 98% are African-American. She has taught for ten years at both the high school and junior high levels and has been in school administration for 20 years, the last ten as principal of Hillcrest High School. She is active at both the national and state levels in the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Illinois Principals Association.