CONWAY — Conway Junior High School Principal Todd Edwards was named Middle Level Principal of the Year by the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, which turned out to be a good going-away gift.
Edwards was the junior high principal for three years, but he has been hired as Bryant High School principal.
“I wasn’t trying to get out of Conway,” Edwards said. “Conway’s a great place to work; this is just a career opportunity, and Bryant moves quick. I love Conway Junior High School. I have three great years here, and I feel like I’m leaving my family.”
The staff and administrators surprised Edwards with the award last week.
“They got with the assistant principals and organized that without me knowing, and they sent one of the instructional facilitators, Paula Harris,
into the office to keep me busy while they did it, so it was a very pleasant surprise,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve ever received an award like that.”
The band performed, and the cheerleaders cheered for him during the presentation.
“It was awesome,” Edwards said. Students eating lunch were in the audience, as well.
On hand for the presentation were Richard Abernathy, executive director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, Conway Superintendent Greg Murry and Assistant Superintendent Carroll Bishop, as well as other staff members.
The staff held a reception for Edwards after the presentation.
Murry said in a press release that Edwards has done “an outstanding job of leading Conway Junior High, and this recognition is well-deserved.”
Edwards was president of the Middle Level Principal Association for the 2013-14 school year. He said the middle level is considered ages 10-15, and the junior high has eighth- and ninth-graders.
Alicia Francis, instructional facilitator for literacy at the junior high, said Edwards is the epitome of a great leader and a “multiplier” by nature. “He encourages his faculty to utilize their natural talents for the betterment of their students’ achievements and successes. He knows how to help people build from their weaknesses and maximize their strengths,” she said.
A longtime educator, Edwards started his career in the Greenbrier School District. When he was hired in Conway, he was the middle school principal in Greenbrier.
His first job was in 1991 teaching sixth-grade social studies at Greenbrier Middle School and serving as the junior high assistant football coach. “That’s when I knew I liked the [middle-school-age] students. They were interesting,” Edwards said in an earlier interview in the River Valley & Ozark Edition.
He also served as assistant baseball coach at Greenbrier High School. In 1996, Greenbrier created an assistant elementary school principal position, which was split between two campuses, and Edwards was hired for the job. He described it as “baptism by fire.”
Edwards became principal of Eastside Elementary School in 1998 and middle school principal in 2005.
Edwards moved from a 500-student school in Greenbrier to take the position at the junior high, which now has 1,500 students, he said. Bryant High School has 2,800 students.
Ben Darley, an assistant principal at Conway Junior High, is replacing Edwards.
“He’s definitely ready to take over, and I feel confident that I’m leaving the school in good hands,” Edwards said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.