AUTRYVILLE — Next to family members and educators, Principal James “Bo” Mullins held a crystal award with his name engraved, but he felt the recognition was for everybody at Clement Elementary School.
Mullins, the 2018 Sampson County Principal of the Year and the 2019 Wells Fargo North Carolina Sandhills Regional Principal of the Year, was honored Tuesday afternoon with a surprise reception hosted by the staff. Although Mullins was the center of attention for his accomplishments, he made sure to acknowledge all the educators for their work.
“I do appreciate it, but I feel like I’m taking credit for what you’ve done,” Mullins said.
One example was more than 100 students staying after school for program such as Battle of the Books or tutoring needs.
“That don’t happen everywhere,” Mullins said about the 35 percent of students putting in extra time beyond the last bell.
At Clement, Mullins continued and said there’s only a handful of students not at grade level and mentioned how they’re less likely to graduate from high school.
“There’s a greater chance they’re going to dropout,” he said. “As we reduce the number of students who are not at grade level, we are increasing the chances that we’ll have a better high school graduation rate.”
Each day, Mullins walks around the building and watches teachers as they educate teachers. It’s something he can’t thank the teachers enough for doing. That work includes have a 91 percent proficiency rate for students and exceeding growth on the state’s academic performance and earning an “A” grade for school performance, based on North Carolina’s school rating system. Mullins said the school will continue to thrive to have a higher proficiency rate and continued to thank the teachers, who said don’t get paid enough for their efforts.
“Part of my job is trying to create a climate where you do enjoy coming to work,” he said. “Even though I’m stern and have high expectations, the fruit of that our kids are going to be successful. I hope that’s why we are here today.”
The award also had the National Blue Ribbon seal engraved. In October 2018, Clement was one of just 349 school in the United States and one of eight schools in the state to become a National Blue Ribbon School, for overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
Mullins started his career in Duplin County as a teacher. Over the next two decades, he served as an assistant principal, principal, director of elementary education, and assistant superintendent in Duplin County Schools. He also taught for one year in Wayne County Schools. Mullins came to Sampson County Schools in 2013 for an assistant principal’s role and has been principal of Clement Elementary since 2016.
The Duplin County native holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from North Carolina State University and is working toward a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Mullins’ family was also present during the celebration. He was joined by his wife, Karen; son, Ethan; daughter, Jade; grandson, Jase; and daughter-in-law, Kristen.
“I’m very proud of him,” Karen said during the reception. “He’s worked very hard.”
