Jim F. Chadwell ’91 (MEd ’93) is at the top of his class. Principal at Northwest High School in Justin, Chadwell was named Texas High School Principal of the Year by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP) in October and now advances to the national competition. National finalists are named in August.

Chadwell was nominated anonymously for the regional competition, which he won last June. To his surprise, the panel found that Chadwell best exemplified the key criteria for the award — collaborative leadership, personalization and curriculum.

“I was completely blown away by this recognition,” Chadwell said. “I realize that I would not have the opportunities that I have without the great team of people with which I work.”

NHS was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2001, a Lighthouse School of Distinction in 2004 and an exemplary campus in the past. “As principal, I am most proud of creating a facilitative leadership model, in which there are many leaders working around central goals,” Chadwell said. “Our school’s motto is ‘Every Student. Every Class. Every Day.’ I truly believe this.”

Chadwell began at Northwest in 1993 as a psychology/sociology teacher and soccer coach. Later he began teaching German and even went on a Fulbright scholarship exchange to Germany. Soon after, he was named assistant principal, and this is his sixth year as principal.