Local News - November 2002

Lincoln honors top administrators

By JEREMY ASHTON, LTN Staff Writer

November 1, 2002 - The Lincoln County school system honored two of its top administrators earlier this week.

On Tuesday, Sheila Finger of Pumpkin Center Elementary School and Denise Patterson of North Brook Elementary School were named the county’s Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year, respectively.

Finger, who received the news by phone from Superintendent Jim Watson, said it was “an honor just to be noted among your peers.” The award, she said, belongs to everyone involved at Pumpkin Center, the largest elementary school in the county, as much as it does to her.

“This is one of the best staffs I’ve worked with,” Finger said. “They are truly committed and motivated … .

“It’s just a combination of everyone. The parents are wonderful to work with. We certainly have good students; we tell them that every day. So it’s a good situation for any principal.”

Finger began her career in Lincoln County in 1979 as a teacher of exceptional children at Rock Springs Elementary School. She gradually worked her way up through the school system, eventually working for three years as principal at Rock Springs and another three in the same capacity at Lincolnton Middle School.

In 1998, Finger was selected to be Pumpkin Center’s first principal. She has been there since it opened in time for the 1999-2000 school year.

“We felt like our goal at this school was to accomplish something different, but we set out to be the best,” Finger said.

In addition to the award, Finger received $200 from Wachovia, the competition’s sponsor. She has until January to compile a portfolio outlining her accomplishments that will be submitted for the regional Principal of the Year competition.

Like Finger, Patterson attributed much of her success to the people she works with at North Brook, which was recognized earlier this year by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction as Lincoln County’s first school of excellence.

“It’s a real community effort here,” Patterson said. “We’re very proud of our school and the successes that we’ve achieved.”

Patterson spent six years at Battleground Elementary School as a teacher and later a gifted support specialist. She distinguished herself while working at Battleground, earning recognition as the 1998-99 Lincoln County Teacher of the Year.

In July 2000, Patterson, who is currently enrolled in the doctoral program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, moved to North Brook to assume her current role of assistant principal.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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