Murphy school principal Mary Russo selected as MA Principal of the Year

BOSTON - Mary L. Russo, Principal of the Richard J. Murphy K-8 School, received the Thomas C. Passios Outstanding Principal/National Distinguished Principal of the Year Award from the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals Association last week at a ceremony in Hyannis.

Massachusetts Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll presented her with the award to acknowledge her achievements in school leadership for the past 14 years. Other Boston principals who have received the award are Robert Berry (retired) in 1988 and Patrice DiNatale, Principal of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in 1993.

Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant thanked Ms. Russo for her dedication and congratulated her on the award.

"Her professionalism, leadership in developing programs and dedication to education made her a terrific candidate for this award," he said. "The work that she and her staff have done at the Murphy school is to be commended."

Under her leadership, the Murphy school and its staff and students has earned numerous national, statewide, and local awards and honors, including designation as Distinguished Title I School by the U.S. Department of Education, a Compass School by the Massachusetts Department of Education, a Vanguard School by Mass Insight Education, and an Effective Practice School, a Learning Site School for Mathematics, and a Science Lead School by the Boston Public Schools and the Boston Plan for Excellence.

The Passios Award, established in 1979, is sponsored jointly by the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals Association, the Massachusetts Department of Education and the Fitchburg State College Alumni Association. The selection committee, which included representatives from the three organizations, reviewed nominations that included letters of testimony from parents, teachers, civic leaders, fellow principals, the superintendent and others familiar with Ms. Russo's work.

As the recipient of the award for Massachusetts, Ms. Russo will participate in the National Distinguished Principals Program, which was established in 1984 and is co-sponsored by the United States Department of Education and the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and attend an awards ceremony in the fall in Washington, D.C. with principals from the other states.

For more information on the Murphy school, please visit www.bostonpublicschools.org.