Manny Melo, the assistant principal at Prairie High School, was recognized as one of the top administrators in the state after only having served in his new role for a few months.
The first year assistant principal received the award as part of National Principals Month in October.
“(The Association of Washington School Principals) sent out a prompt that asked how you’re helping build student leadership in your school, and I responded to the prompt with what we’re doing, like the punch card system, and I was fortunate enough to get selected,” Melo said. “It’s a very cool honor and I’m happy with it.”
The punch card system is a program Melo implemented along with Erin Thompson, Prairie’s other assistant principal. Students bring a punch card to games or events run by the school. Once a student gets 10 hole punches, they give their cards to Melo, who enters them into a drawing for things like backpacks, shirts, hats, and other gear.
Melo said the program aims to build student culture at Prairie High School and strives to encourage the kids to support one another.
“They’re always super supportive of each other, but now it’s just another fun thing to get involved with at the games,” he said. “It’s also fun to see the smiles on their faces when they get the free stuff.”
Melo was originally a physical education teacher at Tukes Valley Middle School for eight years, but transferred to Prairie in September to be the assistant principal and athletic director. Melo said he does what he can to put the students and teachers first, and aims to be as supportive as possible to everyone around him.
“Being an administrator and in a brand new building is different, but we’re surrounded with great people,” Melo said. “The kids are great, the teachers are great, and the (administration) team is very supportive. I wouldn’t say it’s been a seamless transition, but it was a much easier one than I thought it was going to be.”
Melo said remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic posed a challenge for everyone involved, but he commended the teachers for rising to the challenge of keeping students engaged. Now that everyone is back in the classroom, Melo said both the students and teachers are happy and thriving.
“We really want to teach the students what life is about. They are wonderful human beings and I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen so far,” he said.
