COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (April 13, 2023) – West Collierville Middle School principal Tyler Salyer has been named to the National Distinguished Principals Class of 2023, an honor that recognizes exemplary elementary and middle-level principals on a national level each year. Salyer, a sixth-year principal in Collierville Schools, will travel to Washington, D.C. next fall for two days of events that culminate in an award banquet to honor the accomplishments of the Class of 2023.
Each year, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) recognizes Pre-K through grade 8 principals from across the nation, as well as principals in U.S. private schools and those from the United States Department of Defense Office of Educational Activity and the United States Department of State Office of Overseas Schools. Public school elementary and middle-level principals are nominated by peers in their state, and final selections for the National Distinguished Principal Award are made by committees appointed by each of NAESP’s state affiliate offices.
“We are very proud of Principal Salyer for receiving such a prestigious recognition,” declared Dr. Gary Lilly, Director of Schools. “Tyler is certainly a great candidate and for him to be recognized at the national level is quite the honor and well-deserved.”
Salyer is one of two principals in Tennessee selected to this year’s class by the Tennessee Principals Association, the NAESP’s Tennessee affiliate office. Every state has the opportunity to select up to one elementary and one middle school principal each year.
“I am extremely humbled and honored to be recognized in this way,” said Salyer. “I have had the opportunity to learn from so many amazing people, and would not be where I am in my life if it were not for their influence. I’m grateful to be in Collierville Schools, and to serve such an amazing community.”
Criteria for selection of the principals require that the honorees are active principals of schools where programs are designed to meet the academic and social needs of all students and where there are firmly established community ties with parents and local business organizations. Selected principals must have been a member of NAESP for at least three consecutive years at the time of nomination and maintain membership through the conclusion of the NAESP Award Ceremony, as well as hold a minimum of at least five years of experience as a principal. For additional information about the National Distinguished Principal Program, visit https://www.naesp.org/programs/recognition/ndp/.
