Marietta Principal Named National Principal Of The Year Finalist

MARIETTA, GA — Marietta High School Principal Keith Ball is one of three finalists in the running for the 2022 National Principal of the Year award.

Presented by the National Association for Secondary School Principals, the award winner will be announced in October, according to the NASSP website. The award recognizes middle- and high-school principals "who have succeeded in providing high-quality learning opportunities for students as well as demonstrating exemplary contributions to the profession."

Beth Houf of Fulton Middle School in Missouri and Ted McCarthy of Sutton High School in Massachusetts are the other two finalists.

Ball — who was appointed Marietta High's principal in 2018 — was named the 2021 Principal of the Year by the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals in February. Before his days in Marietta, he was assistant principal and principal at Etowah and Cherokee high schools and Woodstock Middle School in Cherokee County.

"When Keith L. Ball was hired at Marietta High School in 2018, he was the school’s fourth principal in five years. Marietta had never met the state graduation rate nor earned above a 'C' on the state report card," the NASSP writeup on Ball said. "The school desperately needed a clear vision and consistent leadership, so from day one Ball intentionally established meaningful ways for students to actively participate in leading it."

In 2019, Marietta earned a 'B' on the state report card for the first time. In 2020, it earned the highest graduation rate in the school’s 128-year history, NASSP officials said.

“Knowing what principals have to do across the country and the challenges that they face, and the process that we went through to get to this point, I’m just humbled,” Ball told The Marietta Daily Journal. "I really hope to celebrate the profession, you know, more than probably celebrating the things that other people think I do well."