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MEDIA RELEASE

Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association

1667 North Snelling Avenue, Suite C101

St. Paul, MN 55108

For more information, contact:

Matt Dorschner, Selection Committee Chair, 952-556-6710Frank Catchings, Jr., 2012 Minnesota Outstanding Natl. Asst. Principal, 612-668-3280

Olivia Gault, MESPA Director Communications, 651-999-7313

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Frank Catchings, Jr., Minneapolis Public Schools,

Selected MN National Outstanding Assistant Principal

(jpeg of photo attached to this media release)

(St. Paul, MN, Nov. 22, 2011) Frank H. Catchings, Jr., assistant principal of Burroughs Community

School in the Minneapolis Public Schools, and a member of the Minnesota Elementary School

Principals Association (MESPA), is Minnesotas 2012 National Outstanding Assistant Principal.

MESPA and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) present the

prestigious award, which has corporate sponsorship from Pearson.

The National Outstanding Assistant Principal program was established in 2011 to honor assistant

principals who are doing a superb job in their roles. NAESP is committed to preparing assistant

principals to step into the principal role. This program promotes educational excellence for pre-

kindergarten through eighth grade (PreK-8) schooling and calls attention to the fundamental

importance of the assistant principal. NAESP will share their successes and best practices in a

practical document for other principals to utilize.

I want students to know and understand that they are somebody, said Catchings. They are valued

and heard and it is my hope that this will leave an impression on their lives that will last for an

eternity.

MESPA is honored to be represented by Frank, said P. Fred Storti, MESPA executive director. He

has been both a community builder and a capacity builder at Burroughs Community School. Within

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MESPA, Frank has raised the bar, setting a high standard for Minneapolis principals to be engaged in

their professional association.

MESPA President-Elect Matt Dorschner (principal, Eastern Carver County), chair of the award

selection committee, elaborated: Frank Catchings represents the best in public education leadership.

What is imminently clear in comments from his supervising principal is Franks deep commitment to

utilizing relationships with adults in the school to capitalize on opportunities for the students. One of

the greatest testaments to his leadership comes from a teachers letter of recommendation that stated, I

am invariably inclined to say yes to his requests to teach an after school class or summer school,

simply because it is him doing the asking. This commitment to education is what great leaders are

able to elicit from their staff. I am proud to say Frank Catchings, Jr. is our Minnesota National

Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year.

Speaking to his most significant accomplishments as an assistant principal, Catchings focused on:

The extended day program he established that has helped move ELL students from the 30th to the

70th percentile in reading and math ability.

The Eagle Award for teachers and the Caught in the Act award system for students that he

established to regularly honor teachers and students for their hard work.

The need to have a clear understanding of the difficulties homeless, highly mobile, and high poverty

students experience on a daily basis.

Of the latter situation, Catchings said: In many cases, school is the last thing on their minds. The

word survival is more significant. I wanted our teachers and support staff to have a chance to begin

developing this understanding, and so I arranged a tour of the north side of Minneapolis. We visited

two homeless shelters and volunteered our services in whatever way we could to support these

unfortunate families many of whom were our students.

I also encouraged our teachers to do home visits to introduce themselves to the families, Catchings

continued. One teacher asked me Well what should I do or say? I instructed the person to walk up,

knock on the door and say Hello. I am your son or daughters teacher and I want to talk with you

about expectations for this school year. Then, if you are invited to have a meal with them, graciously

accept. The relationships that were established were awesome. We increased our parent conferences by

50-70%. Behaviors decreased because teachers were able to connect with parents and parents knew, by

name, who was working with their children.

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Frank Catchings, Jr., has been an educator since 1973, starting as a music teacher in Chicago, IL. Since

1993, he has been a vital presence in Minnesota education throughout Minneapolis: middle school

teacher, Benjamin Banneker, 1993-1994; intern assistant principal, Benjamin Banneker, 1994-1997;

intern assistant principal, Ramsey IFAC, 1997-1998; assistant principal, Broadway Community

School, 1998-1999; assistant principal, West Central Academy, 1999-2002; assistant principal, Lucy

Laney Community School, 2002-2005; Burroughs Community School, 2005-today.

Catchings received his: Bachelor of Science in Education, Chicago State University, Chicago, IL;

Master of Arts degree, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN; Educational Administration license,

St. Marys University, Winona, MN.

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MESPA is the professional association of Minnesotas elementary and middle level principals. With

the vision to be the premiere resource for preparing todays principals for tomorrow and a strongleading voice for public education and a statewide membership of 950 principals, MESPA has

represented Minnesotas principals since 1950. MESPA is affiliated with the National Association of

Elementary School Principals and its 29,500 members nationwide.

The NAESP Foundation is partnering with The Pearson Foundation in this endeavor. The Pearson

Foundation extends Pearsons commitment to education by partnering with leading nonprofit, civic,

and business organizations to provide financial, organizational, and publishing assistance across the

globe. The NAESP Foundation advances excellence, innovation, and equity in schools by endowing

leadership and learning for principals for the benefit of all children.

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