As an Austin High School graduate is in the running for a national award, he thanked the teachers he had while growing up in Austin.

Dr. Joey Page, principal of Richfield S.T.E.M. Elementary School in the Richfield Public Schools, is one of three finalists for Minnesota 2016 National Distinguished Principal (NDP).

Page attended Sumner Elementary School, Ellis Middle School and graduated from AHS in 1990.

“The teachers of Austin Public Schools, played a critical part and still do in my role as an educator,” Page wrote in an email to the Herald. “Teachers like Mrs. Winter in kindergarten, Ellis physical education teacher, Mr. Prunty and Mr. Arneson and Mr. Andersen at AHS along with my coaches, Knox, Smith, Aldrich, Schwab and Gulbrandson showed great enthusiasm for their work.  What is so amazing about their talents in and out of the classroom, was they never told me what to learn, they showed me and for that, I will always admire and appreciate what they did for me.”

Page was also involved in athletics with all-state honors in football and track in high school before he attended South Dakota State University on a football scholarship.

He credited his teachers in Austin for preparing him to learn how to be successful.

“I always felt that my teachers first commitment was not to a curriculum, but to the kids,” Page wrote. “And, now serving as an elementary principal for over a decade I understand what Mr. Pare and Mr. Hecomovich were talking about during an occasional visit to the principal’s office in those elementary years. Thank you to all my teachers in Austin.”

Page is a member of the Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association (MESPA), and this marks the 33rd year MESPA and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) have presented the prestigious award.

“At the helm of every successful school is a successful principal,” said Gail Connelly, NAESP executive director, said in a press release. . “Our National Distinguished Principals program provides us with an opportunity to recognize the outstanding leadership of these principals and their commitment to creating successful learning communities. Because of them, students thrive academically, teachers grow professionally, and communities are strengthened.”

The National Distinguished Principals (NDP) program was established in 1984 to recognize elementary and middle-level principals who set high standards for instruction, student achievement, character, and climate for the students, families, and staffs in their learning communities.