NW Charlotte principal says her school feels like home. Now she’s principal of the year
Paw Creek Elementary students celebrated their principal Friday morning with homemade signs, confetti and hugs after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools named Danielle Belton 2022-23 Principal of the Year.
And in a place she calls home, Belton also got to celebrate the honor with her family when her son Brent gave her the biggest hug and a bouquet of flowers.
I’m just at a loss for words,” said Belton, who was the Northwest Learning Community principal of the year. “The love my school community gives me ... every day is amazing. I say it all the time but I have the best staff in CMS, teachers, counselors, everybody here.”
Belton is in her ninth year as a principal at Paw Creek. She began her career at Garinger High as an English teacher in 2004.
“This is my home,” she said after being named the Northwest Learning Community principal of the year. “I think I’ve said 20 times I love my job. I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
‘She values teachers’
She’s created systems and processes to support students academically and socially, said Raymond Barnes, the Northwest Learning Community superintendent. She also values teachers and expertise they bring to the classroom, Barnes said.
Even when her students go to middle school, they often come back to Paw Creek and share their stories.
“My goal is when I send students from elementary to middle school, they have a strong love of learning that will never diminish,” she said.
Belton is from Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Charlotte to attend Johnson C. Smith University and then the University of North Carolina Charlotte for graduate school.
The other finalists
CMS named its learning community principals of the year in September:
▪ West Learning Community: Kimberly Vaught, Allenbrook Elementary
▪ Southwest Learning Community: Rachael Neill, Quail Hollow Middle
▪ Central Learning Community: Catherine Phelan, Sharon Elementary
▪ South Learning Community: Mike Miliote, Jay M. Robinson Middle
▪ North Learning Community: Lydia Fergison, North Academy of World Languages
▪ Northeast Learning Community: Daniel Gray, Hidden Valley Elementary
▪ Southeast Learning Community: Steve Drye, Mint Hill Middle
▪ East Learning Community: Jackie Barone, Piedmont IB Middle
Photographer Alex Slitz contributed to this story.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 10:39 AM.
