MIDDLEBURG – A group of sixth-grade students eagerly listened as Middleburg Elementary Principal Becky Wilkerson told them she picked one of them to receive free tuition for their first two years of college.

When she mentioned the winner was a girl, some of the boys moped dejectedly. The more Wilkerson narrowed her comments, the more Kimberlee Dimorier started to think it was her.

“When she said the winner was in all-advanced classes and was a straight-A student, I thought it might be me,” Dimorier said.

It was.

Dimorier earned a two-year Florida Prepaid College Scholarship. The award came in partnership with Florida TaxWatch and the Florida Lottery.

The scholarship is one of only nine presented in the state. It was made possible because Wilkerson was selected to win one of three Principal Leadership Awards in the state.

“It’s really an award for Middleburg Elementary School,” Wilkerson said as Superintendent David Broskie, District Schools Chief of Staff Kelly Watt, Chief of Elementary Heather Teto, School Board members Beth Clark and Ashley Gilhousen, Florida TaxWatch Senior Vice President of Research Bob Nave, J.M. Rubin Foundation Vice President and Treasurer Kim Harris and Florida Prepaid College Foundation Director Cindy O’Connell participated in the ceremony.

Dimorier said she wants to major in forensic pathology.

According to TaxWatch, the Principal Leadership Awards program acknowledges and rewards educational leaders creating meaningful change in their students’ lives while promoting their uniquely effective practices among their peers.

The program, the only one of its kind nationwide, recognizes nine of Florida’s most successful principals from high-risk kindergarten-through-12th grade public schools across the state – three principals each from elementary, middle and high schools, including traditional and charter schools public schools. Principals are selected based on weighted Department of Education data, not through nominations.

“We don’t pick our winners in a normal way. We use data-based information. It is not a popularity contest,” Nave said.

Middleburg is a Title 1 school. According to the state, it’s also an “A-rated” school.

Nave asked Dimorier’s classmates the two most important factors to learning. He said the keys were the quality of teachers in the classroom and having a good principal.

Broskie said great principals have to do two things. They have to care, and their students have to learn.

“I am very proud of this school,” Broskie said.

Wilkerson will be honored again with the other eight principals at a ceremony in May.

As an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog and taxpayer research institute for more than 40 years and the trusted eyes and ears of Florida taxpayers, Florida TaxWatch works to improve the productivity and accountability of Florida government. Its research recommends productivity enhancements and explains the statewide impact of fiscal and economic policies and practices on citizens and businesses.