MALDEN, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Schools Principal of the Year is Mr. Tommy Canterbury of DuPont Middle School in Malden.
Canterbury was announced as the Principal of the Year at the Kanawha County Board of Education meeting Thursday afternoon.
Superintendent of Kanawha County Schools Dr. Tom Williams said Canterbury is very much deserving of this honor.
“We are pleased to recognize Mr. Canterbury for his accomplishments and dedication to Kanawha County Schools, DuPont Middle School, their students, staff and community,” Dr. Williams said.
While speaking to the board of education and the many family members and friends who showed up to congratulate him, Canterbury said he didn’t know what was going on when he arrived for the meeting.
“They brought me down here under the guise that I was going to talk about summer school,” Canterbury joked.
Canterbury moved to Florida for a few years after graduating from college before moving back to the area and begin his teaching at East Bank High School. He then taught at Riverside in 1999 before moving on to Capital High School where he was assistant principal for six years. Canterbury has been principal of DuPont since 2012.
The DuPont Principal first gave credit to those who got him involved in education in the first place.
“Out of everyone I know, all the teachers and administrators, no one has had better mentors than me,” said Canterbury, giving credit especially to his parents, who were there to celebrate the accomplishment.
The teachers at DuPont have also helped Canterbury out along the way. Canterbury showed his appreciation to his staff at DuPont Middle School. He said without them, this achievement wouldn’t of been possible.
“You can’t be the principal of the year without the school of the year and the staff of the year,” Canterbury said.