The Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) has named Linda Bleile, Principal of Wiscasset Middle School, as Maine’s Middle Level Principal of the Year.
Richard Durost, executive director of the MPA presented Bleile with the award March 15 during a school assembly.
Durost told the assembled students and staff at the WMS that he had visited the middle school about three years ago to announce that Bleile had been selected to be president of the MPA.
Durost said Bleile has, “represented the principals, assistant principals and Wiscasset Middle School well. This is a great school and a great staff. Mrs. Bleile works extremely hard.”
Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 (RSU 12) Supt. Greg Potter said the award was a “very well earned recognition. It is a feather in the cap for Wiscasset Middle School.”
“Following an extensive, professional nomination and selection process, which included a committee visit to Wiscasset Middle School, and a panel interview component, the Selection Committee chose Mrs. Bleile from a very talented and dedicated group of prospects. Leadership and community service were at the heart of the selection criteria,” Potter commented.
“I am so proud of Linda. Her selection as Maine’s Middle Level Principal of the Year is a true honor and a remarkable achievement. In my 21 years as an educator in Maine, I have not observed anyone that works harder than she does. The RSU 12 community joins the Maine Principal’s Association in congratulating Linda; an exceptional school leader and a tremendous person,” Potter said.
“Mrs. Bleile will be honored on [Thurs.,] April 28 at the annual spring MPA banquet and she will represent principals from our state at a variety of venues through the next year. Please join me in congratulating her for this truly outstanding accomplishment!”
“I’m very humbled by this award. The MPA is an organization I have learned to love dearly,” Bleile said.
She called for all the staff of the school to step out onto the gymnasium floor to be honored as well.
“I have been very fortunate to receive many awards. This is an award for all of us. Wiscasset Middle School has a wonderful staff, school and students. All the staff from the teachers, to custodians to kitchen staff helped earn this award.
“These are the people who have made the myriad of change, who have added to the curriculum and worked on changes. Thank you all for a job well done. I was so proud of the comments from visiting principals. I am very proud of the job we do. Without all of you I would not be getting this award today,” Bleile said.
Bleile received the award for effective leadership, a commitment to academic excellence, high expectations and standards, creating a culture that supports learning, contributions to the profession, and community service.
In announcing Bleile’s selection as Maine’s 2011 Middle Level Principal of the Year, Durost said, “Linda Bleile’s outstanding leadership and her unequivocal commitment to excellence in educating all students at Wiscasset Middle School represent the very best qualities of the effective middle level principal in Maine.
“With vision, commitment, and perseverance, she and the staff she leads focus on teaching and learning which has resulted in increasing the academic achievement of all students.”
As Maine’s 2011 Middle Level Principal of the Year, Bleile will be honored at the MPA’s Spring Conference awards banquet April 28.
On Oct. 20-21, she will also be honored by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) in corporate partnership with VALIC in Washington, D.C.
Bleile received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973 from the University of Maine, a master’s degree in literacy in 1990 from the University of Southern Maine, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Leadership in 2002 from the University of Southern Maine.
Bleile has spent her entire 38-year career at the school, with nine as principal at Wiscasset Middle School. Prior to becoming principal in 2002, she was a teacher from 1973-2002. She was also assistant principal from 1975-1977. Bleile has been actively involved with the MPA, and was its immediate past president, serving 2009-10.
Since 2007, she has been a member of the Professional Management Committee and, from 2007-10, she was a member of the Middle Level Steering Committee. Additionally, since 2009, she has been on the board of the Maine Principals’ Academy.
Professional honors include recognition in 2010 by the Maine Legislature, Administrator of the Year in 2009 by the Maine School Counselors’ Association, and Educator of the Year in 2004 by the Lincoln County Educators.
Bleile is actively involved in her community. She is an administrator representative to the Sheepscot Valley RSU Future Search Committee and a member of the Wiscasset Female Charitable Society.
From 2008-09, she was an education representative to the Wiscasset Education and Community Committee, and from 2005-09, she was the co-organizer of a $5000 fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2005, she was a member of the Wiscasset Fourth of July Committee and served as a parade judge.
The Maine Principals’ Association is a professional association representing Maine’s K-12 principals and assistant principals. The Association dates back to 1921 and focuses its work on promoting the principalship, supporting principals as educational leaders, and promoting and administering interscholastic activities in grades 9-12.
