Valerie Reinhardt, principal of Smith Middle School, has been selected as the 2009 Wachovia Principal of the Year for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

The award program is sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, The Center for School Leadership Development Principals' Executive Program and the Wachovia Corporation.

Reinhardt now moves on to compete with other local award recipients from the Central Region of the state. After the state selection process is completed, one principal will be selected as the 2009 Wachovia Principal of the Year.

Reinhardt is Smith Middle School's first and only principal to date. She was hired in July of 2000 to open the school in the fall of 2001. Prior to joining the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Reinhardt served as a principal and the director of special education in Pennsylvania's Montgomery Area School District and as the principal of the Selinsgrove Area Middle School, also in Pennsylvania.

She was an assistant principal at three different high schools in Pennsylvania and taught high school English in New Jersey for seven years. Reinhardt holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Education from Montclair State College in New Jersey and a Master's Degree in Education Administration and Supervision from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.

"Since 2000, when Ms. Reinhardt came to the district as Smith Middle School's first principal, she has worked tirelessly on behalf of the students and staff at the school," said Superintendent Neil Pedersen. "She seems to always be at the school attending the many after-school functions that take place at Smith. The Positive Behavior Support System that Smith implemented under her leadership has led to dramatic declines in the suspension rate. Student achievement has steadily increased during Ms. Reinhardt's tenure. She has actively promoted Smith's global studies theme and has even travelled abroad with groups of students."

This is the 25th year Wachovia Corporation has sponsored the financial awards. Local Education Agency Principals of the Year receive a cash award. The regional Wachovia Principals of the Year will receive $3,000 for his or her school and $3,000 for his or her personal use.

Regional award recipients will be selected by February 2009 and the 2009 State Wachovia Principal of the Year will be announced in April 2009 at the state luncheon in Raleigh. The 2008 Wachovia Principal of the Year is Dr. Debra Morris, principal of A.L. Brown High School in the Kannapolis City Schools.