DUNLAP, Ill. — The principal of Dunlap Grade School has received statewide recognition.
Mandy Ellis was, on Friday, named Illinois Grade School Principal of the Year.
Ellis, who represented the Central Illinois Valley Region after being nominated in November by her peers, said Friday’s honor from the Illinois Principals Association came as a total shock.
“My secretary had the heads up,” she said.
“The only clue I had was, she told me not to dress down for casual Friday and to make sure my hair and makeup were done just in case something happened.”
Ellis said she officially found out during morning announcements, which the school conducts as a whole-school assembly, when the superintendent of schools and the field representative of the IPA made the announcement.
“Completely surreal. It’s just one of those moments,” she said.
“It’s an honor and a blessing and I’m completely humbled by just the thought of being nominated.”
Ellis, who has been principal at Dunlap Grade School since 2011, will formally accept the award in October at the IPA Fall Conference in Peoria, and then could represent Illinois at October’s National Distinguished Principals Conference in Washington, D.C.
