RICHMOND -- Virginia Beach Public Schools Principal Shampriest Bevel has been named the 2023 Outstanding Middle School Principal of Virginia by a panel of principals and superintendents representing the Principal Awards Committee of the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals (VASSP).

Ms. Bevel has been principal at Bayside Middle School, Sixth Grade Campus, since 2021. She has cultivated a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming environment with a clear vision that every student in her Title I school reads at or above proficiency and identifies a career or post-secondary interest. Recent data shows improvement in all categories of Standards of Learning (SOL) tests; reduction of 28% in discipline referrals; and improvement of attendance from 13th to 2nd among division middle schools. The school has garnered recognition with the 2022 National ESEA Distinguished School and 2022 Purple Heart Award.

Following input from student focus groups and staff, Ms. Bevel organized the school into smaller learning communities as a transition strategy from elementary school, an instructional approach for individualization, and an early intervention process for behavior and attendance. Bevel and her Instructional Team use a variety of assessments to place students in programs that match their needs; to equip teachers to develop approaches that better serve their learners; arrange the school day to include time for “Raider Prep” remediation, Read 180, and Achieve 3000; and identify areas of focus, such as Writing within the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, NoRedInk writing curriculum, and relevant topics for social-emotional lessons. Bevel enhanced staff outreach with additional instructional coaches and a behavior teacher. For parents, Bevel started the school’s first PTA, frequently conducts workshops, and holds evening events such as Parent Prom, Literacy Night, and Math & Movie night, and Science Symposium.

Superintendent of Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Dr. Aaron Spence, noted that Ms. Bevel “has exceptional personal character, powerful self-motivation, contagious energy, and extraordinary leadership skills. She deeply believes that every child deserves our very best, and she acts on that belief every day.”

Bevel is a representative of the best principals in the profession and will be honored for her accomplishments at the 95th Annual Virginia Middle and High School Principals Conference & Exposition to be held later this month in Virginia Beach.

As the Outstanding Middle School Principal of Virginia, VASSP has put Bevel in nomination to be the state’s candidate for the award of National Principal of the Year, an award sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

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Department of Communications and Community Engagement, [email protected]

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